Slots Payouts
Slots Payouts
Slot machine payout percentages are set at the factory. The manufacturer will
offer a certain type of slot in various denominations in with a variety of
payout percentages. For example, a casino might order 25 cent "Blazing 7's"
slots with an 86.7% payback. Or it might order the same slot with an 89.5%
payback percentage. The casino bases the payback percentage on several factors.
In super competitive environments like Atlantic City or Las Vegas,
where
results are published frequently, a casino cannot afford to lag too far
behind its competition. Therefore, it has to set its machines close to the level
set by nearby competitors.
In general, lower denomination slot machines payout percentages are lower than
the higher denomination machines. In other words, dollar machines are generally
set to pay back a higher percentage than quarter and nickel machines.
Competitive gambling states like Nevada, New Jersey, and Mississippi pay back
more than most other jurisdictions. In general, states where slot results are
published, (for example: New Jersey, Nevada, Mississippi, Colorado, Connecticut,
Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, and Quebec) invariably offer a higher
payback to the player. The reverse is also true. Michigan and Ontario, for
example, do not publish slot payback percentages. The only conclusion that can
be reached is that these jurisdictions do not want to suffer an unfair
comparison to Nevada and New Jersey. You can safely assume that states that do
not publish payback percentages run paybacks between 75% and 85%.
Payout percentages vary from casino to casino and even from slot to slot within
a particular casino. You will often see signs posted regarding the percentage of
payout particularly at the dollar carousels. You might see as high as 98.2%
payback, this does not mean that for every $100 you play you will get a return
of $98.20. What it does mean is that over time (200,000 to 300,000 pulls), the
machine will pay back the posted percentage. Calculated in all of this are the
small wins and the jackpot wins. A player could put $500 into a dollar slot
machine and get very little back, perhaps a hundred or two and even less. This
does not mean the percentage payout is incorrect. It simply means that you have
not experienced the 98.2% payback. The next player coming along may feed a few
dollars into the slot machine and win a jackpot. In his case the payback far
exceeded 98.2% posted on the carousel. Over a long period of time it all
averages out to the posted percentage. Variations in payout percentage from
casino to casino can vary widely. Generally speaking, penny and nickel slots
have a lower payback percentage than quarter and dollar machines. The higher
denomination slots pay back a higher percentage to the player.
