1 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:07,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to tex Stuff, a production of I Heart Radios 2 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 1: How Stuff Works. Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. 3 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:16,560 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with 4 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:18,640 Speaker 1: How Stuff Works in I Heart Radio and I love 5 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:22,000 Speaker 1: all things tech. And it's time for another one of 6 00:00:22,040 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 1: our classic episodes. The episode you are about to hear 7 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:31,000 Speaker 1: originally published on June eleventh, two thousand twelve, and it's 8 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:35,560 Speaker 1: called tex Stuff Plays the Slot Machines. As the title suggests, 9 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:40,840 Speaker 1: Chris and I sit down to talk about slot machine operation. 10 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:44,559 Speaker 1: How did these devices work? From the mechanical devices up 11 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:48,280 Speaker 1: to the digital age. I hope you enjoy today. We're 12 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 1: going to take a gamble, and yes I made a 13 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:59,080 Speaker 1: jokey joke. We're gonna talk about slot machines today. Actually 14 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:01,680 Speaker 1: high rolling really doesn't have anything to do with it, 15 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:04,840 Speaker 1: but I just I needed something there. So here's a 16 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:06,640 Speaker 1: quick question. Have you ever have you ever played a 17 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: slot machine, like an actual like a real life, for 18 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:16,880 Speaker 1: real z slot machine. Yes, no, you have not know. 19 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:20,440 Speaker 1: I have played a video game slot machines on my 20 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:24,360 Speaker 1: computer and my portable devices, but not for money in 21 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 1: a casino somewhere. I'm even in a non casino I played. 22 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:32,760 Speaker 1: I've played pacinko before, I have played slot machines. Um, 23 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:36,120 Speaker 1: it's now grad the slot machines I've played were the 24 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: more um, the more modern ones. The slot of your machines, Yeah, 25 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:45,840 Speaker 1: the ones that are not dependent upon mechanical operation but 26 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:51,480 Speaker 1: on electrical or computerized actually all of the computerized operation. Um. 27 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:54,800 Speaker 1: But but we're gonna talk a little bit about all 28 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:58,640 Speaker 1: the different kinds of slot machines, not just the not 29 00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:01,520 Speaker 1: just the computerized ones. So for those of you who 30 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:04,680 Speaker 1: have never seen one or don't know what we're talking about, 31 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:09,440 Speaker 1: the slot machine is a gambling machine. And uh, typically 32 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:14,120 Speaker 1: a slot machine has, especially the physical ones have three 33 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:19,760 Speaker 1: or more reels upon which are pictures. And the pictures 34 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:23,519 Speaker 1: could be anything, but you know, the stereotypical one has 35 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 1: like lemons and liberty bell cherries, a bar, you know, 36 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:33,399 Speaker 1: and when three of those pictures line up, or there's 37 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:38,919 Speaker 1: some interesting configuration of those pictures, you win money. Uh 38 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:43,000 Speaker 1: And uh, you know, you might wonder what's the connection 39 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:45,840 Speaker 1: between the pictures and the cash, and that gets really interesting, 40 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:48,600 Speaker 1: particularly when we talk about the modern slot machines that 41 00:02:48,639 --> 00:02:53,000 Speaker 1: are in casinos today. But to start, we should probably 42 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,840 Speaker 1: talk about you know, why do slot machines even exist. Well, 43 00:02:56,840 --> 00:02:59,560 Speaker 1: they're really for the casual gamer. It's funny to think 44 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:02,560 Speaker 1: about because, uh, you know, our our audience is probably 45 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:05,919 Speaker 1: thinking of casual games is something like Bejewel, the match 46 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:09,800 Speaker 1: three type games or Marble shooting games. There are several 47 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:13,440 Speaker 1: different variations of those versus uh, you know, the the 48 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 1: role playing games or the first person shooters. But it 49 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:20,720 Speaker 1: replies to two games in real life too. In terms 50 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:23,240 Speaker 1: of casinos. When we're talking about serious gaming, we're talking 51 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:29,160 Speaker 1: about the card games that require strategy, um, roulette tables, 52 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:33,320 Speaker 1: craps tables, Yeah, anything that has sort of a high 53 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:36,400 Speaker 1: barrier really, because they can be very intimidating to a 54 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:39,040 Speaker 1: person who's never played before. You walk up and you're like, 55 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:41,720 Speaker 1: I don't understand. There's so many things going on with 56 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:45,920 Speaker 1: this and so many rules. I'm not sure where to 57 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 1: start or what's going on. Yeah, I'll admit, you know, 58 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 1: that's one of the reasons I don't play poker. Uh 59 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: it's not because not just because I'm a terrible liar, 60 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:58,360 Speaker 1: but I can never remember which hand is which. I 61 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:00,120 Speaker 1: know you know that there are a certain combo, but 62 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:02,960 Speaker 1: I don't remember where they rank in terms of which 63 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:05,840 Speaker 1: one is higher than others, and high card pair three 64 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 1: of a kind to pair. No, I'm just I'm not 65 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:09,320 Speaker 1: going to go through the whole thing. But yeah, I 66 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 1: mean there's there's flush. Yeah, you have to know something 67 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:15,480 Speaker 1: about gambling if you want to go to the craps 68 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:17,920 Speaker 1: table or if you want to, uh to play high 69 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 1: stakes poker, But you really don't have to know that 70 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:22,680 Speaker 1: much to play a slot machine. You put you put 71 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:25,440 Speaker 1: a coin in the machine, you pull the handle on 72 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:28,000 Speaker 1: the reels click into place, and you either win or 73 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:30,600 Speaker 1: you don't. And and there are two things that make 74 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:33,920 Speaker 1: that game very attractive to people who might otherwise not gamble. 75 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:37,560 Speaker 1: One is that it's easy. Like you said, it's it's 76 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:40,120 Speaker 1: there's not much to it. Yeah, it's it's and it's 77 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: got a nice attractive sort of appeal to it in 78 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:48,720 Speaker 1: that when it wins, it's a very visceral experience, right, 79 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:52,000 Speaker 1: there's bells going off and coins are falling, and it's 80 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:55,200 Speaker 1: a great, you know, way of attracting attention. Well, hey, 81 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:56,880 Speaker 1: you know that's that's one of those things too. I 82 00:04:56,880 --> 00:04:59,320 Speaker 1: mean when you win, when you really win, and the 83 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:02,360 Speaker 1: bells go off, the lights flash everybody around you knows 84 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:04,800 Speaker 1: that you won, so everybody turns around to look at you, 85 00:05:04,839 --> 00:05:08,440 Speaker 1: and there's that thing of hey, awesome. And the second 86 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:10,960 Speaker 1: big attraction to it is that it has a very 87 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:15,359 Speaker 1: low betting point for you know, typical machines do. Anyway, 88 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:19,480 Speaker 1: you can find machines that have much higher requirements, like 89 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 1: a hundred dollars per play, but the vast majority of 90 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:26,919 Speaker 1: them tend to be cents, fifty cents, maybe a dollar 91 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:31,440 Speaker 1: and uh. And so if when when each individual bet 92 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:34,479 Speaker 1: doesn't have to be huge, it attracts the kind of 93 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:38,880 Speaker 1: gamers who would be otherwise disinclined to play a game 94 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:42,720 Speaker 1: where it's twenty five bucks per play, especially when they 95 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:46,400 Speaker 1: don't fully understand the rules. So they and and they's 96 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:49,960 Speaker 1: turned out that these things have become huge money makers 97 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:53,359 Speaker 1: for casinos. There was a report. We have a great 98 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:56,320 Speaker 1: article on How Stuff Works about how slot machines work. 99 00:05:56,400 --> 00:06:02,120 Speaker 1: I really do highly recommend this because animals illustrations, it's 100 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:07,200 Speaker 1: it's an exhaustive approach to health slot machines work. And uh. 101 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 1: In that article, it's revealed that something like six of 102 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:16,080 Speaker 1: gaming profits in the United States stem from slot machines. 103 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:18,280 Speaker 1: And when we get to the point where we talk 104 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:21,200 Speaker 1: about payback percentages. That amount of money is going to 105 00:06:21,279 --> 00:06:25,000 Speaker 1: blow your mind. Yeah, and and those things are changing 106 00:06:25,080 --> 00:06:27,719 Speaker 1: too as as we speak, because there have been recent 107 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:30,279 Speaker 1: developments in the slot machine. I know you're you're going 108 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: really they've changed slot machines. How how changed can they be? 109 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:38,000 Speaker 1: They're changing them to where people think that they're going 110 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:40,320 Speaker 1: to pay even more in the future. But what we 111 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:43,560 Speaker 1: can get into that in a moment, So let's start 112 00:06:43,839 --> 00:06:46,680 Speaker 1: about talking about how they work. Will eventually get into 113 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:49,880 Speaker 1: things like the odds that are involved with the slot machine, 114 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:53,360 Speaker 1: and also the payback percentages, because that's that's the part 115 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:58,880 Speaker 1: that the player really is interested in, in the sense of, uh, what, 116 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:01,839 Speaker 1: what's the likelihood I'll ever win money using a slot machine. 117 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:03,719 Speaker 1: I'll even give you tips on how to pick the 118 00:07:03,839 --> 00:07:07,600 Speaker 1: right slot machine, Okay, because I'm I'm I'm that kind 119 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:10,120 Speaker 1: of guy. Well, I would say there are four basic 120 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:13,120 Speaker 1: types of slot machines. This is this is just me 121 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:15,960 Speaker 1: making I didn't take these four from somebody else. So 122 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:18,680 Speaker 1: I would say the first one would be the purely 123 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:22,520 Speaker 1: mechanical machine. Yes, this is the the old slot machine, 124 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:26,240 Speaker 1: the original slot machines that used mechanical gears and levers 125 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:30,000 Speaker 1: to to execute its function. Yeah. Yeah, those showed up 126 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:33,200 Speaker 1: in uh in the eighteen eighties, yeah, um or eighteen 127 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:36,440 Speaker 1: hundreds anyway, late eighteen hundreds and UM you know that 128 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:41,040 Speaker 1: they THENYME evolved into an electrical or electronic slot machines 129 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:45,200 Speaker 1: where these mechanical elements are working in tandem with electronics 130 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:48,040 Speaker 1: to help control things. And then you have the you know, 131 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:52,080 Speaker 1: a digital slot machine where the pictures are now on 132 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:54,520 Speaker 1: screens rather than reels. Yeah, you can also have a 133 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 1: digital slot machine that still uses reels. Uh, it's just 134 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:01,720 Speaker 1: it's um, the all the workings are behind the scenes digital, 135 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:04,480 Speaker 1: but the ones that you know, what you're looking as 136 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:07,800 Speaker 1: a physical representation. It looks like an analog system because 137 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:11,280 Speaker 1: you've got these physical reels rolling around. But that's you know, 138 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:13,560 Speaker 1: that's really just for show. It's really just to show 139 00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:16,720 Speaker 1: you what the final result of your spin was. And 140 00:08:16,760 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 1: now I think we're moving into the completely computerized version 141 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 1: of UM. But yeah, let's start with the mechanical one 142 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:25,800 Speaker 1: because I think, in a way to me, that one 143 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:29,160 Speaker 1: is the most fascinating simply because it's got UH gears 144 00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:32,640 Speaker 1: and and police and brand and there's a block and 145 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:35,160 Speaker 1: tackle and there's a little man inside. But yeah, there's 146 00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:37,760 Speaker 1: a little little bearded man. I need to check my notes. 147 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:41,240 Speaker 1: I think I think I think we realized that in 148 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:45,000 Speaker 1: a previous podcast that all technology in the nineteenth century 149 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:50,360 Speaker 1: was ultimately powered by bearded old men. That was the 150 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:53,360 Speaker 1: mechanical turk. Yeah, that was That was our hoax podcast. 151 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:56,920 Speaker 1: So we're gonna talk about the mechanical ones. Yeah, if 152 00:08:56,920 --> 00:09:00,160 Speaker 1: you were to open up a mechanical slot machine, first 153 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:01,800 Speaker 1: of all, don't do it in a casino because I 154 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:04,000 Speaker 1: will get you in trouble. Yeah, if you even look 155 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:05,840 Speaker 1: like you're han a mess with the slot machines there, 156 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:08,200 Speaker 1: well they were, they were watching you when he walked in. 157 00:09:08,520 --> 00:09:11,560 Speaker 1: Very large people will come and very very firmly but 158 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:14,120 Speaker 1: gently suggests you high tail it out of there. But no, 159 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:16,840 Speaker 1: if you were to open up a mechanical slot machine, 160 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:19,760 Speaker 1: you would see the reels. Now those are those, the 161 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:22,520 Speaker 1: spinning elements that have all the pictures on them, are 162 00:09:22,559 --> 00:09:26,800 Speaker 1: connected to a metal shaft and it's the central metal 163 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:33,120 Speaker 1: cheft supports the reels and allows them to spin. Uh, 164 00:09:33,559 --> 00:09:36,400 Speaker 1: not that kind of shaft what you talk about. So 165 00:09:36,559 --> 00:09:39,800 Speaker 1: um just talking about I can take it. So these 166 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:43,840 Speaker 1: the reels are actually connected to some notched disks, and 167 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:46,679 Speaker 1: these notched discs are what allow the reels to spin 168 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:51,200 Speaker 1: around the the the shaft, the shaft the and it 169 00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:54,640 Speaker 1: also stops the reels from spinning. And I'll get into 170 00:09:54,679 --> 00:09:56,360 Speaker 1: that in a minute. But anyway, it's got notches. Kind 171 00:09:56,360 --> 00:09:59,840 Speaker 1: of think about how a bicycle wheel when you look 172 00:09:59,840 --> 00:10:02,440 Speaker 1: at the central part of the wheel, it has those 173 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 1: notches where the chain uh connects and pulls the wheel, 174 00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:08,880 Speaker 1: so it turns the wheel, you know I'm talking about. 175 00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:13,000 Speaker 1: So it's same sort of thing. Now that main shift 176 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:15,640 Speaker 1: shaft has a there's a secondary cheft that has something 177 00:10:15,679 --> 00:10:19,600 Speaker 1: on it called a kicker. Now, this kicker is an 178 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:24,400 Speaker 1: element that that hits these uh, these notched disks and 179 00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:27,760 Speaker 1: gets the real suspinning. And the kicker is actually attached 180 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:31,200 Speaker 1: to a spring. So when you put a coin into 181 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:34,480 Speaker 1: a slot machine, a coin detector first of all realizes 182 00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:36,679 Speaker 1: that you put a coin in. Hey there's a coin, yeah, 183 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:39,760 Speaker 1: because otherwise you could operate the slot machine whether you 184 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:41,400 Speaker 1: had put a coin in or not, which would be 185 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:45,920 Speaker 1: not profitable at all to the casino. Also, if you want, 186 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:47,920 Speaker 1: nothing would come out because people would have been playing 187 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:51,760 Speaker 1: that already. But it releases a break that's on that level, right, 188 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:54,800 Speaker 1: So the brake gets released, and once the brake is released, 189 00:10:54,800 --> 00:10:56,559 Speaker 1: you can pull the lever down. This is these are 190 00:10:56,600 --> 00:11:00,120 Speaker 1: the old old machine we're talking about, the purely mechanical 191 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:04,040 Speaker 1: slot machines. Now that that pulls a hook that pulls 192 00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:08,360 Speaker 1: back the kicker, and that compresses a spring. So once 193 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:11,320 Speaker 1: the hook moves past a certain point, it releases the kicker. 194 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:14,720 Speaker 1: The spring makes the kicker move forward, and the kicker 195 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:18,440 Speaker 1: hits those notches that are attached to the reels, that 196 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:22,440 Speaker 1: makes the reels begin to spin. Now, also attached to 197 00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:27,160 Speaker 1: that kicker are three stoppers. And the stoppers are these 198 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:32,080 Speaker 1: these uh, these these pieces of material that can go 199 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:35,760 Speaker 1: into the notches and stop the reel from spinning. It's 200 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:38,960 Speaker 1: like putting a stick through a spoke in a bike 201 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:42,680 Speaker 1: tire as it's spinning. It's gonna make the bike tire 202 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:46,200 Speaker 1: stop spinning. It is not, however, unlike the documentary Indiana 203 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:49,480 Speaker 1: Jones and Last Crusade going to cause you to flip forward. 204 00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:52,000 Speaker 1: I was going to say, don't try that at home 205 00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:55,400 Speaker 1: unless your insurance is paid. Happening and you you don't 206 00:11:55,440 --> 00:11:57,920 Speaker 1: hold us responsible for whatever happened. There was actually a 207 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:01,040 Speaker 1: great episode of MythBusters where they show that that particular 208 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:03,280 Speaker 1: stunt would not be possible, that it would not make 209 00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:06,520 Speaker 1: you flip forward. It would make you crash, but it 210 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:12,240 Speaker 1: wouldn't make you flip. So anyway, Yeah, the stoppers insert 211 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:15,880 Speaker 1: into the notches and stop the reels and the old 212 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:21,360 Speaker 1: mechanical ones. This was all purely by chance. The way 213 00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:24,880 Speaker 1: that these stoppers would come in, and uh, the way 214 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:26,839 Speaker 1: that you would find out if you want, is that 215 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:31,200 Speaker 1: certain notches within that notched disk are deeper than others. 216 00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:34,840 Speaker 1: All right, So if the first stopper happens to go 217 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:37,680 Speaker 1: into one of these deep notches, that deep notch corresponds 218 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:42,320 Speaker 1: with a jackpot symbol on the reel, So that real stops. 219 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:44,360 Speaker 1: And then you get one of the jackpot symbols. So 220 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:47,560 Speaker 1: let's say it's a seven. That's a very common one. 221 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:52,440 Speaker 1: So seven stops, yes, awesome, Well, that particular stopper moves 222 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:54,880 Speaker 1: a little bit to the left and the second stopper 223 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:58,160 Speaker 1: inserts into a notch. Now, if the second stopper inserts 224 00:12:58,160 --> 00:13:02,480 Speaker 1: into the I can jackpot notch, the second one with 225 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:05,439 Speaker 1: the seven, that's again a deeper notch. It moves a 226 00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:07,040 Speaker 1: little bit to the left, and then you see that 227 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:11,479 Speaker 1: a second seven has stopped, and you think, oh gay, 228 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:14,960 Speaker 1: so close, and then the third stopper inserts. Now, if 229 00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:18,400 Speaker 1: the third stopper inserts into the jackpot slot again, it's 230 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:22,120 Speaker 1: a little further in than the other notches. Uh. The 231 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:24,400 Speaker 1: the third and final seven shows up and you think, 232 00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:28,839 Speaker 1: I win. And meanwhile, the stoppers also connected to a 233 00:13:29,559 --> 00:13:32,720 Speaker 1: little lever system that opens up a trap door where 234 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:35,199 Speaker 1: all the coins are, and then the coins fall through 235 00:13:35,240 --> 00:13:39,280 Speaker 1: the trap door and land in your hot little gambling hands. 236 00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:43,400 Speaker 1: But we're all over the floor. We're all over the floor. 237 00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:50,160 Speaker 1: So if however, any of those stoppers hit a different notch, 238 00:13:50,760 --> 00:13:54,240 Speaker 1: they will not go so far in as to allow 239 00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:59,360 Speaker 1: that that doorway, that trap door to open. And so uh, 240 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:02,680 Speaker 1: anything that is not a jackpot would not pay out. 241 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:08,200 Speaker 1: And you could have different systems, uh, you know, different 242 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:12,240 Speaker 1: levels of complexity for your your standard slot machine. But 243 00:14:12,280 --> 00:14:15,400 Speaker 1: the old old old slot machines essentially had one payout 244 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:18,199 Speaker 1: ability and that was it. And if it didn't land 245 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:21,480 Speaker 1: on just that configuration, then it would just keep your 246 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:25,560 Speaker 1: money and you have to keep playing. Yeah, no, Um, 247 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:28,400 Speaker 1: we were talking about casual games. These how these being 248 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:32,480 Speaker 1: casual games. The very first slot machines actually used the 249 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:36,640 Speaker 1: symbols for playing cards on the three reels UM. The 250 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:39,800 Speaker 1: idea of being that it was a system that people 251 00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:43,640 Speaker 1: understood and probably would feel familiar with. UM. But it 252 00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:46,840 Speaker 1: was a guy named Charles Faye who who came up 253 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:49,000 Speaker 1: with a machine called the Liberty bell and then he 254 00:14:49,040 --> 00:14:55,000 Speaker 1: added a symbol of the Liberty bell um UM and 255 00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:57,920 Speaker 1: that was it was sort of an experiment. Really, He's 256 00:14:57,960 --> 00:14:59,480 Speaker 1: trying to see if this would catch on, if they 257 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:01,960 Speaker 1: could use some boles instead of the traditional playing cards. 258 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:04,200 Speaker 1: And as it turned out, it was very very popular, 259 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:07,000 Speaker 1: and that's one of the reasons why they moved to 260 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:11,760 Speaker 1: the symbol version of this UM. And they also introduced 261 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:14,640 Speaker 1: some other, uh, some other innovations to about the way 262 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:20,360 Speaker 1: it would work UM. But Stephen Mille also added more 263 00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:25,800 Speaker 1: symbols and UM also worked on making it smaller and 264 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:28,520 Speaker 1: uh you know, as time has gone on, they have 265 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:34,080 Speaker 1: become easier to put into casinos and other places. UM. 266 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:37,440 Speaker 1: Jonathan and I went to uh UM Hotel and and 267 00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:40,120 Speaker 1: c E s in two thousand and eight, and uh, 268 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:43,400 Speaker 1: you know, the hotel was sort of like any other hotel, 269 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:47,440 Speaker 1: except of course it had slot machines in the in 270 00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:49,400 Speaker 1: the waiting area, and I was thinking, wow, you know, 271 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:52,680 Speaker 1: they'll put these things anywhere at the airport too, but 272 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:54,880 Speaker 1: they're they're smaller and easier to fit, you know. And 273 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:57,480 Speaker 1: then it's sort of like computers. They over time they 274 00:15:57,480 --> 00:16:00,000 Speaker 1: figured out ways to make them more refined and easy. 275 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:03,800 Speaker 1: You're yea, there's a particular slot machine in the Vegas 276 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:07,720 Speaker 1: airport and I can't even remember. I just remember every 277 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:10,280 Speaker 1: time I go there, I hear the same phrase over 278 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:15,440 Speaker 1: and over because I'm always it. There is wheel of Fortune, 279 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:17,680 Speaker 1: which I do hear over and over, but there's another 280 00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:20,680 Speaker 1: one that it has like a like an old prospector 281 00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:24,080 Speaker 1: type voice, like that kind of thing, and it just 282 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:26,480 Speaker 1: goes over and over and over again. And the problem 283 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:29,200 Speaker 1: is that I always get to the airport well in 284 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:31,320 Speaker 1: advance of when my plane is leading, so I get 285 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:34,280 Speaker 1: to listen to it until I am ready to um 286 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:36,960 Speaker 1: to just to screen like a crazy person, which by 287 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:40,520 Speaker 1: the way, I do not recommend you do in an airport, uh, 288 00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:44,720 Speaker 1: particularly in an airport in Las Vegas. I's gonna say, 289 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:47,480 Speaker 1: how how did you find that out? Anyway, moving on, 290 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:51,440 Speaker 1: so so anyway, Yeah, that's that's that's the mechanical one. 291 00:16:51,440 --> 00:16:54,720 Speaker 1: They're literally gears and levers that stop the reels, and 292 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:58,640 Speaker 1: those reels do correspond with payolts, and it all has 293 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:04,119 Speaker 1: to do with the actual physical um uh components. Now, 294 00:17:04,600 --> 00:17:06,600 Speaker 1: once you move on a little bit, it gets a 295 00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:11,159 Speaker 1: little more complicated. The first electrical systems were not that 296 00:17:11,320 --> 00:17:15,840 Speaker 1: different from the mechanical ones, right, the but instead of 297 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:20,120 Speaker 1: having these physical stoppers go into notches and that determine 298 00:17:20,119 --> 00:17:22,880 Speaker 1: whether or not a trap door opened, they would detect 299 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:29,800 Speaker 1: an electrical connection. So the the notched wheel or the 300 00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:35,159 Speaker 1: wheel that's connected to the reels, has little electrical contacts 301 00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:38,239 Speaker 1: on it, and when the contacts line up in a 302 00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:42,240 Speaker 1: certain way, they create a circuit. And depending upon the circuit, 303 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:44,639 Speaker 1: that tells the machine if it's a payout or not 304 00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:47,399 Speaker 1: a payout. And this is interesting to me because it 305 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:51,159 Speaker 1: reminds me a lot of the Enigma machine because you 306 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:53,399 Speaker 1: think about the Enigma machine, which was actually it was 307 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:56,840 Speaker 1: a ciphering device, right, And the way the Enigma machine 308 00:17:56,920 --> 00:17:59,280 Speaker 1: worked is that you would pick a certain letter, you 309 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:03,560 Speaker 1: would you would set the reels of the Enigma machine 310 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:06,320 Speaker 1: to a very specific setting, which you know the person 311 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:09,520 Speaker 1: receiving the message would also have to do. And you 312 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:13,480 Speaker 1: would type in your message and depending upon the way 313 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:16,720 Speaker 1: the connectors went, when you pressed say the letter A, 314 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:20,560 Speaker 1: then an electrical signal was sent to the first reel, 315 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:24,160 Speaker 1: goes in one side of that reel, UH comes out 316 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:26,880 Speaker 1: the other corresponding to a different letter, which goes into 317 00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:29,920 Speaker 1: the second reel, that goes out of the second reel 318 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:32,679 Speaker 1: corresponding to a different letter to the third reel. And 319 00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:35,520 Speaker 1: so the ultimate letter that you would get from your 320 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:38,160 Speaker 1: cipher would be completely different from the letter you typed. 321 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:42,680 Speaker 1: And because there were so many combinations, it was really 322 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:46,320 Speaker 1: tricky to break that code. Well, the funny thing is 323 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:49,199 Speaker 1: is slot machines when they were using these electrical systems 324 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:52,480 Speaker 1: were very similar. So an electrical current passes through one 325 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:54,560 Speaker 1: side of the reel. Let's say that it's a bar, 326 00:18:55,600 --> 00:18:57,880 Speaker 1: and then the second one is also a bar. So 327 00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:01,320 Speaker 1: the electrical current content us all the way through the 328 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:04,560 Speaker 1: first reel. The two contacts between the two reels are 329 00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:09,119 Speaker 1: are touching one another, so then it continues on to 330 00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:11,119 Speaker 1: the third reel, which is at a blank, so you 331 00:19:11,119 --> 00:19:14,359 Speaker 1: have bar bar blank. It hits that third reel, there's 332 00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:18,280 Speaker 1: no corresponding contact. The machine detects that it was a 333 00:19:18,359 --> 00:19:22,360 Speaker 1: failed spin, and you win no money or you win 334 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:27,000 Speaker 1: whatever it is that that two bars and and right 335 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:29,399 Speaker 1: there might be there might still be an electrical current. 336 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:32,160 Speaker 1: But then what would happen is that would be directed 337 00:19:32,160 --> 00:19:36,800 Speaker 1: to a different sensor on the far side of this system. 338 00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:39,560 Speaker 1: So that way, uh, you know, there might be one 339 00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:43,600 Speaker 1: sensor that, when it's lit up, says this dude just 340 00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:46,760 Speaker 1: made himself a pretty penny, and there might be another 341 00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:49,600 Speaker 1: center sensor that says this dude just made some decent money, 342 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:51,960 Speaker 1: and there might be one. So this dude needs to 343 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:54,760 Speaker 1: go and has some drinks at the bar because he 344 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:59,600 Speaker 1: has not one a darn scent. And U Yeah, that's 345 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:02,400 Speaker 1: the essentially the electrical one. But other other than that, 346 00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:05,600 Speaker 1: other than the the electrical component where it's trying to 347 00:20:05,640 --> 00:20:09,720 Speaker 1: make that circuit, it was very similar to the mechanical one. 348 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:12,520 Speaker 1: Now eventually you got to once that would use an 349 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:16,440 Speaker 1: electric motor to spin the reels as opposed to the 350 00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:20,239 Speaker 1: the the gears or the spring really I should say, 351 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:24,440 Speaker 1: because the kicker was spring loaded. Um, there was something 352 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:26,199 Speaker 1: else that that we didn't talk about as far as 353 00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:30,119 Speaker 1: the basic functionality of slot machines in general, Um, the 354 00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:35,000 Speaker 1: wheels spin all the same time when you begin the game. However, 355 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:37,360 Speaker 1: they don't stop at the same time. If you've never 356 00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:41,680 Speaker 1: seen a slot machine, you'll see the reels stop in order. So, uh, real, 357 00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:44,320 Speaker 1: number one will stop and the other two are still spinning, 358 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:47,119 Speaker 1: and we all number two will stop, and so you 359 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:49,280 Speaker 1: have an idea. You know, you may have thought if 360 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:51,000 Speaker 1: you hadn't seen one of these when Jonathan was talking 361 00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:54,080 Speaker 1: about the sevens popping up one after the other, Um, 362 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:56,960 Speaker 1: well you know, aren't they all stopping at the same time. No, 363 00:20:57,160 --> 00:20:59,800 Speaker 1: they're not. So wheels one and two have stopped, but 364 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:02,600 Speaker 1: re is still spinning. What will it be? Yeah? It 365 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:05,680 Speaker 1: helps helps build suspense and it and it encourages people 366 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:08,440 Speaker 1: to keep playing. Yeah. You you might think that there 367 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:12,400 Speaker 1: was a mechanical reason for this. It's not. It's completely psychological. Yeah, 368 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:15,520 Speaker 1: it's it's so that it will convince people to keep playing. 369 00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:21,440 Speaker 1: For one thing, near missus can make a person determined 370 00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:24,720 Speaker 1: to play longer. Right, So, something that looks like it 371 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:28,119 Speaker 1: you almost hit it, like you hit uh, you know, 372 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:30,920 Speaker 1: you almost hit three bars. You actually hit three blanks. 373 00:21:31,119 --> 00:21:34,600 Speaker 1: But it's the three blanks directly above three bars, and 374 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:38,280 Speaker 1: you think, if I close, I just I gotta keep playing, 375 00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:40,920 Speaker 1: And so yeah, it does keep people playing longer, which 376 00:21:41,119 --> 00:21:43,960 Speaker 1: and we'll get into more about the psychological elements later. 377 00:21:44,119 --> 00:21:46,880 Speaker 1: I thought near Mrs meant your wife was standing next 378 00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:48,840 Speaker 1: to you. Your wife's over at the Nichols slots. So 379 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:53,199 Speaker 1: the next you have the photo electric cells version of 380 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:56,639 Speaker 1: UM of a slot machine. Now this is similar to 381 00:21:56,720 --> 00:22:00,439 Speaker 1: the electrical detection systems, but in seven electrical circuit what 382 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:04,800 Speaker 1: happens is the little um notched wheels. Instead of being 383 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:08,280 Speaker 1: notched wheels, they have uh these discs have little holes 384 00:22:08,359 --> 00:22:11,560 Speaker 1: in them and a light source shines from one side 385 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:13,880 Speaker 1: of the slot machine inside the slot machine. You can't 386 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:17,400 Speaker 1: see it from the outside, but shines through, And if 387 00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:20,919 Speaker 1: the reels are lined up properly, then a sensor on 388 00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:23,560 Speaker 1: the other side of the slot machine detects it and 389 00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:26,040 Speaker 1: that's what lets the slot machine know whether or not 390 00:22:26,119 --> 00:22:29,280 Speaker 1: to give a payout. So of course, if the discs 391 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:32,840 Speaker 1: are not aligned quite right, then no light is going 392 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:35,199 Speaker 1: to be passing through and that ends up being a 393 00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:39,000 Speaker 1: miss and so or it could be a hit. I mean, 394 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:41,360 Speaker 1: if you had it where all the different positions had 395 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:44,320 Speaker 1: light except the one winning position. You could have that 396 00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:47,000 Speaker 1: be the hit. It all depends on, you know, the 397 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:52,040 Speaker 1: actual manufacturer. But the the vast majority of slot machines 398 00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:54,320 Speaker 1: you will run into today, assuming you're not going through 399 00:22:54,359 --> 00:22:57,600 Speaker 1: like some sort of museum or curiosity type thing, are 400 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:03,639 Speaker 1: computerized slot machines. And these are absolutely fascinating to me 401 00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:09,760 Speaker 1: because ultimately, the mechanical elements of this device, all the motors, 402 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:13,360 Speaker 1: the reels, the spinning, have nothing to do with whether 403 00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:17,600 Speaker 1: or not you win or lose. In other words, the 404 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:22,560 Speaker 1: old mechanical one, the notches, corresponded with those those pictures 405 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:24,800 Speaker 1: that you saw in the reels, and so in a way, 406 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:27,159 Speaker 1: you could say, the way that the pictures line up 407 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:30,800 Speaker 1: determine whether or not you won. But the computerized ones, 408 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:35,680 Speaker 1: the the whether you won or lost is determined the 409 00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:39,080 Speaker 1: moment you press a button or pull lever. And and 410 00:23:39,119 --> 00:23:42,560 Speaker 1: here's why. Well, yeah, I mean it's really the pictures 411 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:44,760 Speaker 1: are just for the people. Yeah, the pictures really just 412 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:47,280 Speaker 1: tell you kind of the The pictures are just a 413 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:51,080 Speaker 1: physical representation of what the result was of when you 414 00:23:51,119 --> 00:23:53,680 Speaker 1: press the button or pulled the lever. Well, guys, I 415 00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:56,400 Speaker 1: hate to break in here in the middle of a podcast, 416 00:23:56,440 --> 00:23:59,920 Speaker 1: but we all know the house always wins, so let's 417 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:10,080 Speaker 1: take a quick break to thank our sponsor. The secret 418 00:24:10,280 --> 00:24:15,160 Speaker 1: is random number generators, and we've talked about random number 419 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:17,360 Speaker 1: generators and how they're not. Yeah, we did a full 420 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:20,159 Speaker 1: episode on random number generators. It turns out it's really 421 00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:25,040 Speaker 1: hard to build a true random number generator because computers 422 00:24:25,359 --> 00:24:29,200 Speaker 1: depend upon algorithms, and algorithms have set rules, and when 423 00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:32,359 Speaker 1: you have set rules, it's really hard to create something 424 00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:37,240 Speaker 1: that's random. You can create something that is complex, and 425 00:24:37,359 --> 00:24:41,159 Speaker 1: you might have a very long, long, long string of 426 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:44,560 Speaker 1: results that appear to be non repeating, but if you 427 00:24:44,600 --> 00:24:47,440 Speaker 1: were to go long enough, you might start picking up patterns. 428 00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:51,880 Speaker 1: There are random number generator systems that depend very much 429 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:56,600 Speaker 1: on outside systems that we do not control. Therefore they 430 00:24:56,640 --> 00:24:59,879 Speaker 1: feel more random. For example, there are random number generators 431 00:25:00,119 --> 00:25:04,040 Speaker 1: that generate numbers based upon weather conditions. So depending upon 432 00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:07,639 Speaker 1: the barometric pressure and the temperature and things of that nature, 433 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:11,160 Speaker 1: a number will be generated. And because we don't necessarily 434 00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:14,560 Speaker 1: have control over that, it's a very chaotic system and 435 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:20,680 Speaker 1: the numbers are It sounds weird, but more random than others. Well, 436 00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:22,840 Speaker 1: and you wouldn't necessarily know it in the in the 437 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:26,680 Speaker 1: bowels of a casino because they don't have any windows, right, 438 00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:29,840 Speaker 1: very most of them. It's very important, no windows, no clocks. 439 00:25:30,240 --> 00:25:34,159 Speaker 1: The so the the the way these systems work is 440 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:36,600 Speaker 1: they generate a random number through some means, and the 441 00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:40,000 Speaker 1: number tends to be huge, like within the billions in 442 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:43,520 Speaker 1: most cases. So your odds are not exactly stellar. Well, 443 00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:45,680 Speaker 1: it has nothing that doesn't really have a whole lot 444 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:47,600 Speaker 1: to do with it, and I'll explain why. But you 445 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:50,320 Speaker 1: you've got this random number which is generated the moment 446 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:53,280 Speaker 1: you press the button or pull the lever. So you 447 00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:55,320 Speaker 1: put a coin into this machine, you push the button, 448 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:58,639 Speaker 1: you have either one or loss already, the reels that 449 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:03,399 Speaker 1: are spinning. That's just for show because you the machine 450 00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:05,720 Speaker 1: already knows if you want or lost, because what happens 451 00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:09,840 Speaker 1: is it's constantly generating these random numbers. And the lever 452 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:12,120 Speaker 1: is also just for show. These days, you don't need 453 00:26:12,160 --> 00:26:15,320 Speaker 1: a lever, no, that's why they all they have buttons. 454 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:18,160 Speaker 1: Most people I see like this, the quote unquote serious 455 00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:21,240 Speaker 1: gamblers just press the button like they'll they'll just load 456 00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:25,000 Speaker 1: up the the slot machine with credits and then you 457 00:26:25,119 --> 00:26:28,159 Speaker 1: just start pressing the button to stop things. But the 458 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:31,520 Speaker 1: way it works is that it has this big random 459 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:34,000 Speaker 1: number and then it divides that random number by some 460 00:26:34,080 --> 00:26:37,520 Speaker 1: other number, and it all depends on what the machine is, 461 00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:39,760 Speaker 1: who the manufacturer is, what the number is. Tends to 462 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:44,240 Speaker 1: be some sort of factor of of like sixteen six 463 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:49,080 Speaker 1: four something like that, and uh, you end up dividing 464 00:26:49,119 --> 00:26:52,320 Speaker 1: the number by that. You know that you divide the 465 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:55,720 Speaker 1: random number by the non random number. It's always you're 466 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:58,760 Speaker 1: always dividing by that. You take the remainder and then 467 00:26:59,119 --> 00:27:04,240 Speaker 1: you apply that remainder to a virtual reel. So it's 468 00:27:04,359 --> 00:27:07,080 Speaker 1: it's like the physical reels in that it has a 469 00:27:07,119 --> 00:27:11,280 Speaker 1: certain number of slots if you will, but it doesn't 470 00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:16,760 Speaker 1: there's no physical representation of it. This virtual reel is 471 00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:23,239 Speaker 1: mapped to the payouts. And so let's say that it 472 00:27:23,359 --> 00:27:30,640 Speaker 1: lands on on real number UM fourteen, and then through 473 00:27:31,119 --> 00:27:34,679 Speaker 1: connecting all that uh through the system, it could say, 474 00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:37,280 Speaker 1: all right, well, when it's on fourteen, that is a 475 00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:39,960 Speaker 1: payout of five to one. So if you put a 476 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:44,920 Speaker 1: dollar in, you won five dollars. Uh. That's essentially how 477 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:48,119 Speaker 1: it works. Now that virtual real could be pretty large 478 00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:52,160 Speaker 1: and could be mapped to the physical reels in um 479 00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:56,400 Speaker 1: in a very kind of convoluted way, and ultimately you're 480 00:27:56,440 --> 00:28:01,960 Speaker 1: going to be able to assign more of those notches 481 00:28:02,040 --> 00:28:06,640 Speaker 1: in the virtual reel to misses in the the what 482 00:28:06,640 --> 00:28:08,960 Speaker 1: what looks like misses in the physical reels. So in 483 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:13,440 Speaker 1: other words, uh, you know, if you've got sixty four 484 00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:15,919 Speaker 1: actually little we'll say thirty two. Let's say you've got 485 00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:20,440 Speaker 1: thirty two slots in this virtual reel, you could make 486 00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:25,440 Speaker 1: sure that uh, twenty of them go to missus outright, 487 00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:29,920 Speaker 1: So then you have the twelve that are going to 488 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:32,720 Speaker 1: go to some sort of hit. And then out of 489 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:36,040 Speaker 1: those twelve, six of those go to really low payouts, 490 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:40,520 Speaker 1: all right, and then the six remaining three of those 491 00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:44,800 Speaker 1: go to medium payouts. And now the three remaining two 492 00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:48,960 Speaker 1: of those go to larger payouts, and one goes to Jackpott. So, 493 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:53,120 Speaker 1: in other words, you've got a lot more geared toward 494 00:28:53,240 --> 00:28:57,360 Speaker 1: the geared toward the misses than the hits. And that's 495 00:28:57,400 --> 00:28:59,480 Speaker 1: a very simplified way of saying it. Because the virtual 496 00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:05,720 Speaker 1: reel actually adds way more options for the casino because 497 00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:09,080 Speaker 1: you you would have a virtual reel for each physical reel. 498 00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:14,200 Speaker 1: Then you you suddenly made that much more complicated. In fact, 499 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:16,960 Speaker 1: the odds of of hitting the jackpot can be in 500 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:19,480 Speaker 1: the hundreds of thousands, like around two almost like two 501 00:29:19,760 --> 00:29:23,520 Speaker 1: d fifty thousand to one, Like you would have to play, 502 00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:27,840 Speaker 1: you know, a quarter of a million times before you 503 00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:31,440 Speaker 1: would necessarily not necessarily hit it. But I mean that's 504 00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:36,040 Speaker 1: just your odds. Like your odds are two times out 505 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:41,880 Speaker 1: of two thousand you will not hit the jackpot, right, So, uh, 506 00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:43,640 Speaker 1: it's a good thing to good way to think about 507 00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:46,160 Speaker 1: it if you're going in and playing these games. And 508 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:48,080 Speaker 1: that's just one version of it. I mean, it all 509 00:29:48,120 --> 00:29:51,719 Speaker 1: depends on how many slots this virtual reel has. That 510 00:29:51,760 --> 00:29:54,440 Speaker 1: determines what and how many of those are geared towards 511 00:29:54,760 --> 00:30:00,320 Speaker 1: uh losses. That's what determines the odds. So the funny 512 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:02,520 Speaker 1: thing is that means that all those reels that are spinning. 513 00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:05,520 Speaker 1: This also applies for video slot machines. By the way, 514 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:07,760 Speaker 1: all those reels that are spinning is just for show. 515 00:30:08,280 --> 00:30:10,040 Speaker 1: Has nothing to do with whether or not you won 516 00:30:10,080 --> 00:30:14,280 Speaker 1: are lost. Uh so uh there there. That's really again 517 00:30:14,320 --> 00:30:18,160 Speaker 1: that psychological element that draws people into play. What depends 518 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:21,160 Speaker 1: what what determines it is the random number. And there's 519 00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:25,080 Speaker 1: because it's random, and because it's generating millions of numbers 520 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:27,840 Speaker 1: over the course of a second, there's no way to 521 00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:31,080 Speaker 1: know when to press the button or pull the lever 522 00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:34,600 Speaker 1: because there's no way to predict when that random number 523 00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:36,680 Speaker 1: is going to hit the right number for you to 524 00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:41,680 Speaker 1: get a payoff. On top of that, every single spin 525 00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:45,640 Speaker 1: is random, Like every every single second that goes by, 526 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:50,400 Speaker 1: you've got all these random numbers being generated. So hitting 527 00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:54,320 Speaker 1: a jackpot on a machine doesn't mean that that machine 528 00:30:54,400 --> 00:30:57,920 Speaker 1: is not going to pay out for another you know, 529 00:30:58,360 --> 00:31:01,040 Speaker 1: month or three months or year, whatever. That has nothing 530 00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:05,840 Speaker 1: to do with it, just like losing and a spin 531 00:31:06,280 --> 00:31:08,840 Speaker 1: doesn't mean that your next spin is more likely to win. 532 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:12,080 Speaker 1: It's random, so you have just as equal a chance 533 00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:16,800 Speaker 1: to win or not win on each subsequent spin. It 534 00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:19,480 Speaker 1: also means that if you were to ever hit this 535 00:31:20,240 --> 00:31:23,560 Speaker 1: and it does that thing where the payout line we 536 00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:26,640 Speaker 1: didn't even talk about payoutlines. A payoutline is a line 537 00:31:26,640 --> 00:31:29,680 Speaker 1: that goes a physical line, usually, although on video it's 538 00:31:29,720 --> 00:31:33,000 Speaker 1: a it's represented by a graphic, but it's a line 539 00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:36,760 Speaker 1: that goes across the slot machine indicating this is where 540 00:31:36,760 --> 00:31:38,560 Speaker 1: the symbol needs to be in order for you to win. 541 00:31:39,320 --> 00:31:42,520 Speaker 1: All right, So on one of these computerized machines, when 542 00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:45,959 Speaker 1: the real stop and the bar bar bar is just 543 00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:49,080 Speaker 1: above the payout line, that has nothing to do with 544 00:31:49,120 --> 00:31:52,720 Speaker 1: anything like it looks like you were close, but that 545 00:31:52,880 --> 00:31:56,360 Speaker 1: it's meaningless. Uh, it's only if they were all three 546 00:31:56,400 --> 00:31:58,320 Speaker 1: on the payout line. That would just indicate that that 547 00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:00,720 Speaker 1: random number it was in your face, eiver from that 548 00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:04,800 Speaker 1: particular play. So in other words, you have that psychological 549 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:07,840 Speaker 1: kick to keep playing because you were so close. But 550 00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:10,960 Speaker 1: when you're talking about random numbers, close doesn't mean anything. 551 00:32:12,320 --> 00:32:18,480 Speaker 1: So uh, that's that's the basic way that these things work. Now, 552 00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:23,040 Speaker 1: that doesn't mean that there aren't odds and there aren't 553 00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:28,280 Speaker 1: ways to improve your odds. Um. So for example, uh, 554 00:32:28,600 --> 00:32:32,920 Speaker 1: if if you're if you're real, virtual real is one 555 00:32:33,120 --> 00:32:36,480 Speaker 1: is sixty slots long. Here's the actual number I find 556 00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:38,920 Speaker 1: finally found it. Two. Your odds of winning the jack 557 00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:44,440 Speaker 1: putterre one and two, assuming that jackpot is assigned only 558 00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:50,400 Speaker 1: one entry in those virtual reels. Uh, that's that's not great. 559 00:32:50,800 --> 00:32:55,680 Speaker 1: But each slot machine has something called a payback percentage. 560 00:32:56,640 --> 00:33:00,240 Speaker 1: Payback percentage tells you how much money a machine gene 561 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:03,239 Speaker 1: is going to pay back to the player over the 562 00:33:03,240 --> 00:33:08,600 Speaker 1: course of the machines lifetime, So you might think, well, 563 00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:10,800 Speaker 1: what's the percentage? Because a lot of the games in 564 00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:13,800 Speaker 1: in Vegas and in Atlantic City and other places where 565 00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:18,520 Speaker 1: gambling is legal are notoriously weighted towards the house as 566 00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:20,440 Speaker 1: they as they have to be, because otherwise the house 567 00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:23,920 Speaker 1: wouldn't exist. There wouldn't be a business if it weren't profitable. 568 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:26,840 Speaker 1: So a lot of the games you'll you'll play in 569 00:33:26,880 --> 00:33:31,120 Speaker 1: a casino are weighted so that the house wins more 570 00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:34,760 Speaker 1: frequently than it loses, so it makes money. Well. Slot 571 00:33:34,800 --> 00:33:40,200 Speaker 1: machines the payback percentage usually there's a legal threshold that 572 00:33:40,240 --> 00:33:44,880 Speaker 1: they must meet, which could be anything around seventy for example, 573 00:33:44,920 --> 00:33:46,560 Speaker 1: so it says that seventy five percent the money that 574 00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:49,760 Speaker 1: you pay into a machine will be paid out over 575 00:33:49,760 --> 00:33:55,440 Speaker 1: its lifetime. Um most machines in in gambling institutions, especially 576 00:33:55,440 --> 00:33:58,960 Speaker 1: places like in Vegas, are much higher than that, like 577 00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:02,440 Speaker 1: or higher, meaning nine of the money paid into them 578 00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:05,000 Speaker 1: gets paid out over the course of that machine's life. 579 00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:09,520 Speaker 1: It sounds like great odds, right, and why you would 580 00:34:09,520 --> 00:34:11,520 Speaker 1: think why is that even? Why would you even have 581 00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:14,480 Speaker 1: it that high. Well, if you if you lowered those 582 00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:17,279 Speaker 1: payback percentages, if you had machines that had lower percentages, 583 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:20,439 Speaker 1: then people would realize that your machines don't pay out 584 00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:24,799 Speaker 1: is frequently. That's called tight. Machine is playing tight if 585 00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:30,240 Speaker 1: it doesn't do a lot of payouts. Well, if Bob's 586 00:34:30,280 --> 00:34:33,799 Speaker 1: casino down the street has loose slots, meaning that they 587 00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:36,480 Speaker 1: pay out more frequently, you're gonna go down to Bob's. 588 00:34:36,680 --> 00:34:38,640 Speaker 1: You're not gonna waste time at this other casino where 589 00:34:38,640 --> 00:34:40,960 Speaker 1: all the slot machines are tight, right, I mean, why 590 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:45,799 Speaker 1: would you so? In order to be competitive, these casinos 591 00:34:45,840 --> 00:34:49,600 Speaker 1: tend to have payout percentages that are at nine or higher. Now, 592 00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:54,680 Speaker 1: I need to stress this. That does not mean that 593 00:34:54,920 --> 00:34:58,440 Speaker 1: you will win nine of the time you play. What 594 00:34:58,560 --> 00:35:01,680 Speaker 1: that means is a over the course of its life, 595 00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:05,279 Speaker 1: of the money it it takes in will be put 596 00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:08,520 Speaker 1: back out to players. That could mean that you walk 597 00:35:08,600 --> 00:35:11,640 Speaker 1: up to a slot machine dollar slot machine, let's say, 598 00:35:11,680 --> 00:35:15,400 Speaker 1: and you play that dollar slot machine ninety times and 599 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:17,560 Speaker 1: you don't win anything, and you walk off, and someone 600 00:35:17,600 --> 00:35:20,680 Speaker 1: else comes up and plays that dollar slot machine ten times, 601 00:35:20,719 --> 00:35:24,080 Speaker 1: and on the tenth one they win ninety dollars. Well, 602 00:35:24,120 --> 00:35:28,879 Speaker 1: they just that's so that nine could be paid out 603 00:35:28,960 --> 00:35:34,600 Speaker 1: in small payoffs, small wins or big jackpots. And uh 604 00:35:34,600 --> 00:35:37,480 Speaker 1: it's and it's again it's like an average over the 605 00:35:37,600 --> 00:35:41,080 Speaker 1: lifetime of a machine. So on any given day a 606 00:35:41,160 --> 00:35:43,520 Speaker 1: machine might be playing a little tight or a little loose, 607 00:35:43,560 --> 00:35:47,719 Speaker 1: because again it's depending upon random numbers. Uh. And the 608 00:35:47,760 --> 00:35:51,520 Speaker 1: way you adjust those percentages is again those virtual reels 609 00:35:51,560 --> 00:35:53,960 Speaker 1: I was talking about. If more of the virtual reels 610 00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:59,040 Speaker 1: correspond to winning combinations, then the machine will be looser 611 00:35:59,080 --> 00:36:02,439 Speaker 1: than a machine that had as fewer winning combinations. Well, 612 00:36:02,480 --> 00:36:05,279 Speaker 1: you can't tell that as a person just standing there 613 00:36:05,280 --> 00:36:08,400 Speaker 1: looking at a machine. Uh, there's no way of knowing 614 00:36:08,440 --> 00:36:11,799 Speaker 1: whether or not the virtual reels within this machine are 615 00:36:12,080 --> 00:36:17,680 Speaker 1: favoring you or not. So so that's that's the real trick. 616 00:36:18,360 --> 00:36:20,440 Speaker 1: But there are little hints I can give you to 617 00:36:20,520 --> 00:36:24,799 Speaker 1: help increase your chances of winning if if you want to, 618 00:36:25,040 --> 00:36:27,520 Speaker 1: if you want to hear them, sure, However, keep in 619 00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:31,720 Speaker 1: mind that your mileage may vary. Yes, these are all generalities, 620 00:36:32,280 --> 00:36:35,400 Speaker 1: nothing specific, and you need to keep in mind that there. 621 00:36:35,440 --> 00:36:38,520 Speaker 1: First of all, there is no system that will let 622 00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:42,880 Speaker 1: you win at a particular slot machine because it's dependent 623 00:36:42,960 --> 00:36:46,720 Speaker 1: upon random numbers, and when you have a random number, 624 00:36:46,760 --> 00:36:50,759 Speaker 1: generator systems do not apply. So if you've ever heard 625 00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:54,279 Speaker 1: about a surefire system, no fail system for winning at 626 00:36:54,280 --> 00:36:59,160 Speaker 1: a slot machine, it's uh, it's a it's probably it's safety. 627 00:37:00,160 --> 00:37:05,480 Speaker 1: Bullpucky is a good phrase to use to describe that. Um. However, 628 00:37:05,880 --> 00:37:08,680 Speaker 1: there are approaches you can take to playing slot machines 629 00:37:08,920 --> 00:37:12,320 Speaker 1: that will increase your odds of winning. First of all, 630 00:37:12,440 --> 00:37:15,359 Speaker 1: in general, and all again, all of these are generalities, 631 00:37:15,400 --> 00:37:20,440 Speaker 1: not rules, so there are exceptions. In general, the higher 632 00:37:20,480 --> 00:37:23,960 Speaker 1: the amount of money to play the slot machine, the 633 00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:28,520 Speaker 1: higher the payback percentages. So a nickel slot machine might 634 00:37:28,560 --> 00:37:31,719 Speaker 1: have a nine payout and a quarter slops. She might 635 00:37:31,760 --> 00:37:34,960 Speaker 1: have ninety two, and a fifty cent might have four, 636 00:37:35,600 --> 00:37:40,279 Speaker 1: and a dollar might be five, dollar might be ninety seven. 637 00:37:40,560 --> 00:37:44,040 Speaker 1: You can actually find machines with payoff percentages of up 638 00:37:44,040 --> 00:37:48,160 Speaker 1: to so here's the other thing. Though, Once you get 639 00:37:48,200 --> 00:37:53,239 Speaker 1: over five dollars, then the percentage jumps are smaller. So 640 00:37:53,280 --> 00:37:55,440 Speaker 1: in other words, the jump from a nickel to twenty 641 00:37:55,520 --> 00:37:59,839 Speaker 1: five cents might be fairly significant, but by the time 642 00:37:59,840 --> 00:38:01,960 Speaker 1: you to five dollars, the jump from five dollars to 643 00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:05,719 Speaker 1: say a hundred dollars would not be as significant. So uh, 644 00:38:05,840 --> 00:38:09,480 Speaker 1: it's still better than the lower priced slot machines, and 645 00:38:09,520 --> 00:38:12,319 Speaker 1: that the payback percentage is higher, but it's not so 646 00:38:12,440 --> 00:38:15,319 Speaker 1: much higher that you should just immediately go to the 647 00:38:15,400 --> 00:38:18,120 Speaker 1: hundred dollar slots. Chris and I have a bit more 648 00:38:18,160 --> 00:38:20,560 Speaker 1: to say about slot machines. We're gonna push our luck 649 00:38:20,560 --> 00:38:23,000 Speaker 1: in just a minute, but first let's take another quick 650 00:38:23,040 --> 00:38:34,160 Speaker 1: break to thank our sponsor. So rule number one and 651 00:38:34,200 --> 00:38:36,759 Speaker 1: again this is again rule in the sense of just 652 00:38:36,920 --> 00:38:41,640 Speaker 1: general guideline, is to look for the slot machines that 653 00:38:41,880 --> 00:38:44,040 Speaker 1: are going to be priced at a level that you 654 00:38:44,080 --> 00:38:47,040 Speaker 1: feel comfortable with based upon the bank roll you bring 655 00:38:47,080 --> 00:38:50,400 Speaker 1: in with you to play, but are the at the 656 00:38:50,480 --> 00:38:54,080 Speaker 1: highest level of that that comfortable scale. So, in other words, 657 00:38:54,160 --> 00:38:56,240 Speaker 1: if you just want to play all day, the nickel 658 00:38:56,320 --> 00:38:58,480 Speaker 1: slots are fine, you're just not gonna get a lot 659 00:38:58,520 --> 00:39:01,920 Speaker 1: of payback on that. Um, If you have a bankroll 660 00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:04,319 Speaker 1: that's a sizeable nature and you want to play five 661 00:39:04,320 --> 00:39:09,200 Speaker 1: dollar slots, you are more likely to see a payback 662 00:39:09,600 --> 00:39:14,960 Speaker 1: from those machines. It's not a guarantee. Second, UH, machines 663 00:39:15,040 --> 00:39:18,080 Speaker 1: tend to be looser in places where it's going to 664 00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:22,600 Speaker 1: inspire other people to play. So, for example, in high 665 00:39:22,680 --> 00:39:26,600 Speaker 1: traffic areas, uh, that's a good place to go because 666 00:39:27,600 --> 00:39:31,919 Speaker 1: they are their places where people are are walking by 667 00:39:32,040 --> 00:39:34,680 Speaker 1: frequently and it draws a lot of attention. If you 668 00:39:34,920 --> 00:39:38,920 Speaker 1: see slot machines that are on like a raised uh 669 00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:42,439 Speaker 1: diets like, like there's a little platform, there's like five 670 00:39:42,520 --> 00:39:45,680 Speaker 1: or six slot machines up there that look at Yeah, 671 00:39:46,280 --> 00:39:49,040 Speaker 1: those also tend to be a little more loose than 672 00:39:49,160 --> 00:39:51,160 Speaker 1: the ones that are in the middle of the casino. 673 00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:55,200 Speaker 1: You want to find places that like our our near 674 00:39:55,280 --> 00:39:58,640 Speaker 1: say a coffee bar or or just a bar. In general, 675 00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:01,359 Speaker 1: those tend to be pretty good too, because again, people 676 00:40:01,360 --> 00:40:03,480 Speaker 1: who are taking a break start hearing that and they 677 00:40:03,480 --> 00:40:06,279 Speaker 1: want to start playing. So those tend to be a 678 00:40:06,320 --> 00:40:08,720 Speaker 1: little looser than the ones in the rest of the casino. 679 00:40:09,120 --> 00:40:15,680 Speaker 1: Places that are generally tighter include entrance ways because if 680 00:40:15,760 --> 00:40:19,240 Speaker 1: the machines over toward the entrance are playing loose, people 681 00:40:19,360 --> 00:40:23,759 Speaker 1: never really gravitate away. They never leave that entrance, so 682 00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:26,279 Speaker 1: they're also likely to leave once they get to a 683 00:40:26,280 --> 00:40:29,359 Speaker 1: certain point. So casinos don't want people to leave, so 684 00:40:29,400 --> 00:40:32,040 Speaker 1: you need to you know, they're usually a little further in, 685 00:40:32,160 --> 00:40:35,719 Speaker 1: but there in further in towards high traffic areas also restrooms. 686 00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:39,839 Speaker 1: Not necessarily the best slot machines near restrooms, because uh, 687 00:40:41,280 --> 00:40:43,160 Speaker 1: what happens there is that you might be with a 688 00:40:43,160 --> 00:40:45,640 Speaker 1: group of people someone used to go to the bathroom. 689 00:40:45,960 --> 00:40:47,960 Speaker 1: So you think, oh, well, i'll learn the bathroom. I'll 690 00:40:47,960 --> 00:40:50,279 Speaker 1: just play the slot machine a few times. Well, if 691 00:40:50,280 --> 00:40:54,000 Speaker 1: you have, you know, if you're gonna be there playing anyway, 692 00:40:54,040 --> 00:40:56,240 Speaker 1: then you can make that slot machine play a little 693 00:40:56,280 --> 00:40:59,239 Speaker 1: tighter because you know that people are gonna be playing 694 00:40:59,239 --> 00:41:01,879 Speaker 1: it anyway, because it happens to be near the restrooms. Um. 695 00:41:01,960 --> 00:41:06,080 Speaker 1: Also anything that's close to other games. So if it's 696 00:41:06,080 --> 00:41:08,920 Speaker 1: slot machines that are close to say blackjack tables or 697 00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:12,399 Speaker 1: roulette or craps, or it's slot machines that are close 698 00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:16,880 Speaker 1: to say a sports betting area, probably not geared to 699 00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:20,600 Speaker 1: win as frequently because the casinos don't necessarily want attention 700 00:41:20,600 --> 00:41:24,240 Speaker 1: pulled away from those games. So you want to find 701 00:41:24,600 --> 00:41:28,120 Speaker 1: slot machines that are not close to other games, they're 702 00:41:28,160 --> 00:41:31,480 Speaker 1: not close to restrooms, they are in high traffic areas, 703 00:41:31,520 --> 00:41:35,399 Speaker 1: possibly near a coffee bar or just a bar, and 704 00:41:35,640 --> 00:41:39,759 Speaker 1: uh and try those, and try the higher denominations the 705 00:41:39,760 --> 00:41:41,719 Speaker 1: ones that are you're still comfortable with, but are higher 706 00:41:41,760 --> 00:41:45,520 Speaker 1: denominations than saying nickel slots or quarter slots. The other 707 00:41:45,600 --> 00:41:48,640 Speaker 1: rule is that, and again not really rule. The other 708 00:41:48,680 --> 00:41:52,880 Speaker 1: guideline is that not all the machines in that area 709 00:41:53,040 --> 00:41:56,759 Speaker 1: are going to play loose. So a good idea is 710 00:41:56,800 --> 00:41:59,400 Speaker 1: to start playing a machine for a little while, and 711 00:41:59,400 --> 00:42:01,840 Speaker 1: if it just feels like that machine is not playing 712 00:42:01,880 --> 00:42:04,040 Speaker 1: loose at all, you may want to switch to a 713 00:42:04,080 --> 00:42:07,400 Speaker 1: machine that's close by, because some machines in that area 714 00:42:07,440 --> 00:42:10,479 Speaker 1: are going to be playing more loosely than others because 715 00:42:10,520 --> 00:42:13,759 Speaker 1: they the casinos want people to win because it inspires 716 00:42:13,840 --> 00:42:17,560 Speaker 1: more people to play. And keep in mind, even though 717 00:42:17,719 --> 00:42:21,600 Speaker 1: you might walk away a huge winner, like even if 718 00:42:21,760 --> 00:42:24,360 Speaker 1: somehow you beat those odds and you win one of 719 00:42:24,360 --> 00:42:27,880 Speaker 1: those crazy jackpots, over the course of the life of 720 00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:32,200 Speaker 1: that machine, the casino is going to keep Or even 721 00:42:32,239 --> 00:42:34,160 Speaker 1: if it's just two percent of the money that's put 722 00:42:34,200 --> 00:42:37,000 Speaker 1: in there, that's money that's put in there by people 723 00:42:37,080 --> 00:42:40,200 Speaker 1: like you. It's not money that the casino has put 724 00:42:40,239 --> 00:42:43,040 Speaker 1: in there. So the casino, the casino is making money 725 00:42:43,080 --> 00:42:47,000 Speaker 1: no matter what, right, So so don't feel badly for 726 00:42:47,040 --> 00:42:50,280 Speaker 1: them when you win a big jackpot because the casino. 727 00:42:50,480 --> 00:42:54,440 Speaker 1: The casino always wins in the end, always wins. And 728 00:42:54,520 --> 00:42:57,160 Speaker 1: it's because we're the ones pouring the money into the casinos, 729 00:42:57,200 --> 00:43:01,040 Speaker 1: not the casinos themselves. So those are the general rules. Um. 730 00:43:01,080 --> 00:43:05,240 Speaker 1: And again, you could even follow all these rules and 731 00:43:05,880 --> 00:43:10,680 Speaker 1: you could be playing the smartest possible play and still 732 00:43:11,280 --> 00:43:13,879 Speaker 1: not come back with anything. You could you know, lose 733 00:43:13,920 --> 00:43:17,399 Speaker 1: your entire bank roll because it's again ultimately dependent upon 734 00:43:17,400 --> 00:43:20,719 Speaker 1: those random number generators. These are just the ways to 735 00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:24,839 Speaker 1: give you a little bit of an edge when you 736 00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:28,759 Speaker 1: are playing slot machines. So there is no such thing 737 00:43:28,840 --> 00:43:32,840 Speaker 1: as a no fail system. Uh. And uh, your mileage 738 00:43:32,880 --> 00:43:35,839 Speaker 1: may vary. As Chris did say earlier, right right now, 739 00:43:35,840 --> 00:43:39,280 Speaker 1: of course, going back to uh what Jonathan said about 740 00:43:39,280 --> 00:43:42,240 Speaker 1: not feeling bad, slot machines pull in about a billion 741 00:43:42,280 --> 00:43:46,200 Speaker 1: dollars a day in American casinos. So even when you're 742 00:43:46,200 --> 00:43:49,319 Speaker 1: doing these big payoffs over the long run, because these 743 00:43:49,360 --> 00:43:53,759 Speaker 1: slot machines are making casinos major bank Now, when I 744 00:43:53,800 --> 00:43:57,239 Speaker 1: was talking about the computerized slots, um, this is something 745 00:43:57,280 --> 00:43:59,640 Speaker 1: I didn't know about. Now there's a major company that 746 00:43:59,760 --> 00:44:02,960 Speaker 1: makes slot machines. Uh. They're based in Nevada. Believe it 747 00:44:03,040 --> 00:44:07,120 Speaker 1: or not. UM. It's called International Game Technology and they're 748 00:44:07,120 --> 00:44:09,920 Speaker 1: they're pretty much considered, if not the leader, one of 749 00:44:09,960 --> 00:44:14,120 Speaker 1: the very top leaders and making slot machines UM. And 750 00:44:14,560 --> 00:44:17,239 Speaker 1: we were talking about loose and type machines. Well, in 751 00:44:17,239 --> 00:44:20,040 Speaker 1: the past, if you wanted to change the way a 752 00:44:20,080 --> 00:44:22,800 Speaker 1: machine played, you had to actually get into it. You 753 00:44:23,040 --> 00:44:26,240 Speaker 1: have to get a slot machine technician to come in. Yeah. 754 00:44:26,320 --> 00:44:31,520 Speaker 1: Now you know electronic machines, you couldn't automatically control whether 755 00:44:31,520 --> 00:44:33,720 Speaker 1: it was tight or loose. You had to go change 756 00:44:33,800 --> 00:44:36,560 Speaker 1: the electronics in the guts of the machine. And if 757 00:44:36,600 --> 00:44:39,480 Speaker 1: they started getting dated. Well, that's that's sort of an 758 00:44:39,480 --> 00:44:41,359 Speaker 1: older one we were We were just talking a minute ago, 759 00:44:41,680 --> 00:44:45,359 Speaker 1: sort of inadvertently about how they have themed machines, which 760 00:44:45,400 --> 00:44:50,960 Speaker 1: is pretty common. Properties, entertainment properties and different groups have 761 00:44:51,800 --> 00:44:54,480 Speaker 1: sponsored machines. And you know, there are themes that your 762 00:44:54,520 --> 00:44:57,280 Speaker 1: people are familiar with pretty much pretty much like any 763 00:44:57,320 --> 00:45:01,759 Speaker 1: major UM property you can think of, there's probably a 764 00:45:01,800 --> 00:45:05,440 Speaker 1: slot machine that that is tied to that property. And 765 00:45:05,440 --> 00:45:08,440 Speaker 1: and for some people, the entertainment factor of the slot 766 00:45:08,480 --> 00:45:11,120 Speaker 1: machine is enough to keep them playing even though even 767 00:45:11,120 --> 00:45:14,640 Speaker 1: if they're not necessarily winning. Yeah, they might pick a 768 00:45:15,760 --> 00:45:17,799 Speaker 1: machine that goes along with a TV show that they've 769 00:45:17,800 --> 00:45:20,480 Speaker 1: watched for years or something like that. Um, you know 770 00:45:20,560 --> 00:45:23,840 Speaker 1: it's comfortable. But I was reading an article in the 771 00:45:23,880 --> 00:45:26,319 Speaker 1: Huffington Post by Ron Dicker who was talking about something 772 00:45:26,320 --> 00:45:28,879 Speaker 1: that I g T is working on, and they are 773 00:45:28,960 --> 00:45:34,279 Speaker 1: offering server based slot machines. So basically, the machines themselves 774 00:45:34,400 --> 00:45:39,560 Speaker 1: are generic, and the casino would be able to control 775 00:45:39,600 --> 00:45:44,800 Speaker 1: those machines and change the designs on the reels. For example, 776 00:45:45,560 --> 00:45:50,160 Speaker 1: the virtual reels to a different kind of property, so 777 00:45:50,160 --> 00:45:52,480 Speaker 1: they wouldn't have to replace the entire machine if you 778 00:45:52,520 --> 00:45:55,320 Speaker 1: wanted to change from say a Wheel of Fortune machine 779 00:45:55,480 --> 00:46:00,160 Speaker 1: to a Transformers machine. I should add also the virtual 780 00:46:00,239 --> 00:46:02,319 Speaker 1: reels that Chris is talking about are the ones that 781 00:46:02,400 --> 00:46:05,480 Speaker 1: you see as a player, But virtual slot machines also 782 00:46:05,560 --> 00:46:07,799 Speaker 1: have the other kind of virtual reels that I was 783 00:46:07,800 --> 00:46:10,120 Speaker 1: talking about, the ones that even the slot machines that 784 00:46:10,160 --> 00:46:14,520 Speaker 1: have the physical reels they also have the video slots 785 00:46:14,560 --> 00:46:17,720 Speaker 1: also have virtual reels that correspond to that random number. 786 00:46:18,040 --> 00:46:21,320 Speaker 1: This is important because when virtual slot machines first appeared 787 00:46:21,360 --> 00:46:25,160 Speaker 1: on the scene, people were suspicious that perhaps these slot 788 00:46:25,200 --> 00:46:29,280 Speaker 1: machines were fixed in some way, like there was a 789 00:46:29,320 --> 00:46:32,120 Speaker 1: specific number of plays you would have to play before 790 00:46:32,120 --> 00:46:34,959 Speaker 1: there was a payout, but that's not the case. They're 791 00:46:34,960 --> 00:46:37,480 Speaker 1: based on random number generators, just like the machines that 792 00:46:37,560 --> 00:46:41,320 Speaker 1: have the physical reels are um so there's no difference 793 00:46:41,440 --> 00:46:44,600 Speaker 1: in the way they operate on that end. The only 794 00:46:44,680 --> 00:46:48,120 Speaker 1: real difference is that you've got a screen showing you 795 00:46:48,440 --> 00:46:52,759 Speaker 1: the symbols as opposed to physical reels, but the whether 796 00:46:52,800 --> 00:46:54,520 Speaker 1: you win or lose is still based on that random 797 00:46:54,560 --> 00:46:58,200 Speaker 1: number generator. And this makes sense when you think about it, 798 00:46:58,239 --> 00:47:01,160 Speaker 1: because if a casino were to introduce is a game 799 00:47:01,320 --> 00:47:04,280 Speaker 1: that was fixed one you might be able to figure 800 00:47:04,280 --> 00:47:07,200 Speaker 1: out the system right, so then you could game the system, 801 00:47:07,400 --> 00:47:11,239 Speaker 1: and two people would not play those games because I mean, 802 00:47:11,239 --> 00:47:14,240 Speaker 1: why would you play a game that's fixed. So so 803 00:47:14,800 --> 00:47:16,680 Speaker 1: it doesn't not it does not make sense for a 804 00:47:16,719 --> 00:47:21,520 Speaker 1: casino to employ a system that has uh you know 805 00:47:21,800 --> 00:47:25,120 Speaker 1: that that's that's fixed in its favor beyond just the 806 00:47:25,160 --> 00:47:28,440 Speaker 1: way the odds work. Yeah. Well, it sort of reminds 807 00:47:28,480 --> 00:47:31,799 Speaker 1: me in a way of the arcade machines that had 808 00:47:32,080 --> 00:47:35,160 Speaker 1: difficulty settings. I've gone to UH to play a game 809 00:47:35,239 --> 00:47:37,760 Speaker 1: in a convenience store that I played in a pizza 810 00:47:37,760 --> 00:47:40,840 Speaker 1: partlor parlor and I found it one played way easier 811 00:47:41,280 --> 00:47:44,120 Speaker 1: than another, and it's simply because the difficulty settings are 812 00:47:44,160 --> 00:47:47,000 Speaker 1: are you know, changed in that case, and it's it's 813 00:47:47,080 --> 00:47:50,000 Speaker 1: very much like the tightening or loosening of a slab machine. 814 00:47:50,040 --> 00:47:53,719 Speaker 1: They're not going to manipulate that on a game by 815 00:47:53,800 --> 00:47:56,960 Speaker 1: game basis because there's there's no benefit in doing that. However, 816 00:47:57,400 --> 00:48:00,600 Speaker 1: these new server machines will let them change the themes 817 00:48:00,719 --> 00:48:03,960 Speaker 1: of of the machines, and they can also change things 818 00:48:04,000 --> 00:48:08,440 Speaker 1: like the payouts, So they might change the clientele. For example, 819 00:48:08,640 --> 00:48:12,040 Speaker 1: older people might play in the mornings, um, you know, 820 00:48:12,080 --> 00:48:14,080 Speaker 1: because they go to bed earlier, and they might change 821 00:48:14,440 --> 00:48:18,160 Speaker 1: uh to late night. They might change the casino machines 822 00:48:18,200 --> 00:48:23,400 Speaker 1: to higher dollar amounts because a more mature theme. Right whenever, 823 00:48:23,520 --> 00:48:25,920 Speaker 1: whenever the casino is going to be really busy, I 824 00:48:25,920 --> 00:48:28,120 Speaker 1: would imagine that's when they would want to get to 825 00:48:28,320 --> 00:48:31,600 Speaker 1: some of the higher payouts because it would mean that 826 00:48:31,680 --> 00:48:35,319 Speaker 1: if you have someone hit that perfect random number, that 827 00:48:35,440 --> 00:48:44,160 Speaker 1: the the the big celebration would be so overwhelming and 828 00:48:44,280 --> 00:48:46,280 Speaker 1: it would get the attention of a lot more people, 829 00:48:46,920 --> 00:48:50,120 Speaker 1: thus inspiring more people to play that. You know, you 830 00:48:50,120 --> 00:48:54,040 Speaker 1: don't want someone hitting the mega jackpot when the casino 831 00:48:54,160 --> 00:48:59,520 Speaker 1: is practically deserted, because then there's that advertising aspect is 832 00:48:59,520 --> 00:49:03,600 Speaker 1: not part of it. Um. Also, there are games that 833 00:49:03,680 --> 00:49:07,920 Speaker 1: are linked to one another where there's a shared jackpot, 834 00:49:07,920 --> 00:49:11,080 Speaker 1: a progressive jackpot, in other words, the jackpot itself grows 835 00:49:11,280 --> 00:49:16,160 Speaker 1: as more and more people play. Now, from what I understand, UH, 836 00:49:16,800 --> 00:49:18,880 Speaker 1: the player who wants to try and increase their odds 837 00:49:18,920 --> 00:49:22,520 Speaker 1: as best as possible probably should just go to the 838 00:49:22,560 --> 00:49:26,880 Speaker 1: fixed jackpot machines. Um. And also if there is the 839 00:49:26,920 --> 00:49:29,160 Speaker 1: option that most machines have this where you can play 840 00:49:29,280 --> 00:49:32,480 Speaker 1: multiple credits at once, So in other words, instead of 841 00:49:32,520 --> 00:49:35,000 Speaker 1: playing one dollar, you're playing three dollars on a spin, 842 00:49:35,600 --> 00:49:39,359 Speaker 1: which would increase your jackpot. That's also a smart move. 843 00:49:39,520 --> 00:49:43,439 Speaker 1: And while you could play uh, there are some games 844 00:49:43,440 --> 00:49:45,719 Speaker 1: that allow you to have multiple pay lines, like that 845 00:49:45,760 --> 00:49:48,080 Speaker 1: pay line is that that horizontal line that we talked 846 00:49:48,080 --> 00:49:50,919 Speaker 1: about that goes across the machine. You can see when 847 00:49:50,920 --> 00:49:53,719 Speaker 1: it lines up that you are getting credit for that 848 00:49:53,760 --> 00:49:56,840 Speaker 1: particular real right. There are other machines that will allow 849 00:49:56,840 --> 00:49:59,400 Speaker 1: you to play multiple play lines for multiple credits. So, 850 00:49:59,440 --> 00:50:01,600 Speaker 1: in other words, there might be diagonals, it might be 851 00:50:01,600 --> 00:50:03,760 Speaker 1: even more convoluted than that with some of the video 852 00:50:04,040 --> 00:50:06,400 Speaker 1: machines that I've seen, but in general that means that 853 00:50:06,480 --> 00:50:09,160 Speaker 1: your payolts tend to be lower. So a lot of 854 00:50:08,880 --> 00:50:12,640 Speaker 1: the advice I saw was multiple credits are good, multiple 855 00:50:12,680 --> 00:50:16,800 Speaker 1: pay lines not so good if you're looking for significant payouts. 856 00:50:17,239 --> 00:50:20,640 Speaker 1: And again keeping in mind, no guarantees. You could walk 857 00:50:20,680 --> 00:50:24,479 Speaker 1: into a casino, follow all the guidelines and still walk 858 00:50:24,520 --> 00:50:30,680 Speaker 1: out penniless. So yeah, they say that, um, these these 859 00:50:30,680 --> 00:50:33,400 Speaker 1: new machines with the server in the in the back 860 00:50:33,680 --> 00:50:40,000 Speaker 1: end of the machines basically will increase the take from 861 00:50:40,600 --> 00:50:44,840 Speaker 1: what you call them customers see no goers gamblers, um. 862 00:50:44,880 --> 00:50:48,200 Speaker 1: But they also there are also people who are afraid 863 00:50:48,239 --> 00:50:51,080 Speaker 1: that the gambling addiction that it may cause will also 864 00:50:51,160 --> 00:50:54,280 Speaker 1: increase UM. So keep in mind that these these games 865 00:50:54,320 --> 00:50:57,759 Speaker 1: are very addictive. UM. And you know, if you're the 866 00:50:57,800 --> 00:51:01,840 Speaker 1: kind of person that that the that might fall for 867 00:51:02,040 --> 00:51:04,040 Speaker 1: something like this and fall in love with playing it, 868 00:51:04,200 --> 00:51:07,040 Speaker 1: you know, keep that in mind because, uh, the odds 869 00:51:07,040 --> 00:51:09,759 Speaker 1: are that you will not end up a winner over time, 870 00:51:09,880 --> 00:51:12,359 Speaker 1: especially if you find yourself on a warm summer's evening 871 00:51:12,400 --> 00:51:17,600 Speaker 1: on a trainbound to nowhere. That's one of my favorite 872 00:51:17,600 --> 00:51:19,520 Speaker 1: songs of all time, and I am not ashamed to 873 00:51:19,560 --> 00:51:23,200 Speaker 1: admit it. Alright, So anyway, guys, all right, so that's 874 00:51:23,280 --> 00:51:26,360 Speaker 1: that's slot machines, the general rules of how they work. 875 00:51:26,400 --> 00:51:27,920 Speaker 1: And yeah, I feel like there were a lot of 876 00:51:27,960 --> 00:51:29,640 Speaker 1: things that we didn't even we didn't even get to 877 00:51:30,200 --> 00:51:33,560 Speaker 1: this fascinating. It's really cool. I mean, you know, again, 878 00:51:33,600 --> 00:51:37,160 Speaker 1: it's all about the long play. Casinos are all about 879 00:51:37,160 --> 00:51:39,839 Speaker 1: the long play. In fact, it's interesting to me when 880 00:51:39,880 --> 00:51:43,120 Speaker 1: you look at businesses today, how many businesses are very 881 00:51:43,200 --> 00:51:46,600 Speaker 1: much focused on the short term gain and how that 882 00:51:46,680 --> 00:51:50,120 Speaker 1: can hurt a business sometimes if they focus on short 883 00:51:50,239 --> 00:51:54,640 Speaker 1: term gain and they sacrifice long term consequences. And that 884 00:51:54,680 --> 00:51:57,480 Speaker 1: wraps up another classic episode of tech Stuff. Hope you 885 00:51:57,480 --> 00:52:00,320 Speaker 1: guys enjoyed it, and if you have suggestions for future 886 00:52:00,400 --> 00:52:04,040 Speaker 1: episodes of tech Stuff, send me an email the addresses 887 00:52:04,080 --> 00:52:07,960 Speaker 1: text Stuff at how stuff works dot com or hop 888 00:52:08,000 --> 00:52:11,680 Speaker 1: on over to our website that's tech Stuff podcast dot com. 889 00:52:11,719 --> 00:52:14,040 Speaker 1: That's where you're gonna find an archive of all of 890 00:52:14,080 --> 00:52:18,080 Speaker 1: our episodes, including these classics, as well as links to 891 00:52:18,280 --> 00:52:22,080 Speaker 1: our presence on social media and to our online store. 892 00:52:22,400 --> 00:52:29,840 Speaker 1: And I'll talk to you again. Releasing text Stuff is 893 00:52:29,880 --> 00:52:32,400 Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio's How Stuff works. For 894 00:52:32,480 --> 00:52:35,439 Speaker 1: more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the I heart 895 00:52:35,520 --> 00:52:38,680 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 896 00:52:38,719 --> 00:52:39,440 Speaker 1: favorite shows.