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  • Appendices
  • Slots Analysis
  • Miscellaneous

Introduction

The following table ranks the Las Vegas casinos according to the looseness of their video display reeled nickel slot machines. The returns are based on a sampling of five different types of machines. The data collected goes back as far as October 2001 so the information is a bit dated.

Las Vegas 5 Cent Slot Survey

RankCasinoAverage
Return
1Palms93.42%
2Gold Coast92.84%
3Sahara92.81%
4 (tie)Bourbon Street92.63%
4 (tie)Imperial Palace92.63%
4 (tie)Slots a Fun92.63%
7Key Largo92.60%
8Western92.57%
9Ellis Island92.56%
10El Cortez92.56%
11Orleans92.56%
12Circus Circus92.56%
13Gold Spike92.55%
14Fitzgeralds92.54%
15Fiesta - Rancho92.53%
16Arizona Charlie's East92.51%
17Barbary Coast92.50%
18Terrible's92.49%
19Arizona Charlie's92.49%
20Hard Rock92.47%
21Town Hall92.47%
22Longhorn92.47%
23Riviera92.23%
24California92.14%
25Lady Luck92.10%
26Nevada Palace92.06%
27Plaza91.94%
28Luxor91.92%
29Paris91.92%
30San Remo91.88%
31Excalibur91.84%
32Palace Station91.84%
33Ballys91.82%
34Las Vegas Club91.76%
35Four Queens91.75%
36Texas Station91.71%
37Casino Royale91.67%
38Boulder Station91.55%
39Aladdin91.5%
40O'sheas91.48%
41Hilton91.40%
42Boardwalk91.28%
43New York New York90.99%
44Horseshoe90.96%
45Sam's Town90.89%
46Santa Fe Station90.87%
47Flamingo90.86%
48Golden Nugget90.85%
49Stratosphere90.8%
50Tropicana90.71%
51Golden Gate90.64%
52Silverton90.57%
53Main Street Station90.56%
54Westward Ho90.40%
55Fremont90.37%
56Castaways90.36%
57Monte Carlo90.24%
58Stardust89.97%
59Frontier89.91%
60MGM Grand89.81%
61Harrahs89.32%
62Treasure Island89.32%
63Mirage89.3%
64Caesars Palace89.05%
65Mandalay Bay88.87%
66Rio88.72%
67La Bayou88.26%
68Mermaids88.26%
69Bellagio87.42%
70Venetian86.66%
71Airport85.02%

Excluded Casinos

The Suncoast and Rampart Casino in Summerlin do not allow playing slots and taking notes at the same time. I can not include any casino that prohibits the method in which I gather data.

Location Averages

The next table shows the average return by location.

Returns by Region

LocationAverage
Return
Off strip92.07%
Downtown91.66%
Strip91.47%
Total91.74%

The above sign can be found across the street from the Palms. Although I did the study Anthony Curtis published it in the LasVegas Advisor, which is how it become well known. The'...' in the sign encompases quite a bit of information,which was conveniently left off the sign. Actually the study only says that the Palms had the lowest nickel video slotsof the casinos surveyed in Las Vegas. The small print at thebottom says, 'Independent study conducted between November2001-February 2002 on Austin Powers, Fortune Cookie, Reel'em In, and Wheel of Fortune games. They left off LeopardSpots, and the study began in October.

Observations

There seemed to be no truth behind slot placement myths. Machines on the end of a bank did no better on average than those in the middle. There was also no correlation between return and proximity to such things as the main door, table game pit, high traffic areas, and low traffic areas.

Most casinos were very consistent in their slot returns.If one nickel machine had a return of x% then all others like it also returned x%. However some casinos did mix up loose and tight machines, most notably Treasure Island and the California casinos.

Methodology

A kind and anonymous source provided me with par sheets for the games in question. The EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) chip is what tells the machine the order of the symbols on the reel, in some cases how the stops are weighted, how much each winning combination pays, and any other pertinent information about how much the machine pays.It is up to the slot manager to select which EPROM chip to order according to the return percentage desired. On atypical game there might be about 8 different possible return percentages, ranging from about 85% to 98%.

Each of the different par sheets has five sets of distinct reels. On video display slots the stops are not weighted; in other words all stops are equally likely. The distribution of each symbol on each reel is what determines the theoretical return of the machine. For example a higher paying machine may have more of the higher paying symbols.

On the machine itself three consecutive symbols arevisible on five different reels. By comparing actualobservations of results to the par sheets it is possible todetermine which reels the machine uses, and thus which par sheet and which return. There are various three-symbol combinations that appear in at least one but not all par sheets. So if one of these combinations occurs on an actualmachine it narrows down the possible par sheets. By playingenough the player can narrow down the possible par sheets tojust one.

To help identify the unique combinations I wrote a computer program for each game, which had the exact reel order of all 5 reels of all the par sheets. The program then counted the number of par sheets with each possible three-symbol combination. If the number was greater than 0 and less than the maximum then that combination was identified along with the associated par sheets it belonged to.

It is then a matter of simply playing the game and comparing the outcomes to the list of partially unique combinations. It only takes about 5-10 plays per machine to narrow down the possibilities to just one par sheet.

The averages in the table are actually an average of averages. For each kind of machine at each casino I took an average return. Then I took the average of these averages over the five kinds of machines I tested for.

Old las vegas slots free

Slot Machine Definition

There is some confusion about what constitutes a 'slot machine' or 'slot.' My definition, and that of most gamblers, is a gambling machine with either actual spinning reels or video representations of the them.

People in the gaming business and regulators generally refer to a slot machine as any gambling machine, including reeled slots, video poker, video keno, video blackjack,etc.. For purposes of statistics both casino managers and regulators combine all the electronic gambling machines together. For example, the Slot Chart in Casino Player magazine and reports by the Nevada Gaming Control Board do not isolate just reeled slots but consider all electronic games a 'slot.' Therefore my return percentages should not be expected to agree with those reported by the casinos or regulators. As far as I know mine is the only source to isolate just the return of reeled slots.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Rob Feldheim for helping with the slot play and record keeping. Rob helped me with most of the casinos on the east side of town and part of downtown. I would also like to thank par Sheet Pete (not his real name)for providing the par sheets, without which this project would not have been possible.

Internal Links

Go to slot machine appendix3B (Jean/Primm slot returns).
Go to slot machine appendix 3D(Henderson slot returns).
Go to slot machine appendix 3E(Las Vegas quarter and dollar slot returns).
Go to slot machine appendix 3F(Montreal slot return).
Go back to slot machines.

Las

Las Vegas Slot Machine Videos

External Links

The main-stream media has covered this study in depth. Here are links to some articles.

Vegas

Las Vegas Best Slot Machines To Play

  • Turning'em loose, an article that appeared in the Las VegasReview Journal on May 19, 2002, about the possible effectsof this study.
  • One-Armed Bandit or Robin Hood?, an article by myself for Contingencies Magazine explaining the methodology, results, and weaknesses of the study.
  • Play by the rules and the one-armed bandits will still win. Boston Globe article about slot machines, in which my Las Vegas survey is mentioned and my advice quoted. (cache)

Written by: Michael Shackleford

Las Vegas Best Old School Slot Machines For The Money

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Old Fashioned Slots In Vegas


maps. maps.
las vegas
reno
Las Vegas Eats Its Own
Las Vegas has been undergoing a massive facelift the last ten years in theattempt to attract more and more visitors with full wallets. In the madscramble for cash and prizes, most of the older slot machines are beingkicked off casino floors and snapped up by collectors. Always a sucker fornovelty nostalgia, I'm maintaining this location list of older gamblingamusement devices and other vaguely-related esoterica.

Old-tyme slot machines:
Bruno's (Gerlach NV) - one machine with fruit
Bill's Casino (Lake Tahoe NV) - ~eight quarter machines, 1920's?
Pioneer Hotel (Laughlin NV) - six life size wooden character slots (50's)

Strange machines:
Sigma Derby (usually found near the sport betting area): Circus Circus,Caeser's Palace (tricked-out Centurion style; 25 yards into the ForumShops),Imperial Palace (upstairs),Riviera

Other novelties of interest:
The famousVegas Vicwaving cowboy neon sign and Vegas Vicky are located at theFremont Street Experience - I mention this because I called Las Vegastourist info and they had indicated that the signs had been torn down.Thanks for the 'info', I almost missed 'em.

There is at least one Mahjong slot machine in that Reno Silver Legacy/CircusCircus/etc adjoining casino.

Foreign:
Sigma Derby: Venice Casino (Venice Italy), The Pelican (Venezuela),El Panama Hotel (Panama)
Sigma Derby Mark VI:Casino de Genting (Genting Malaysia)
Sega Derby: Salamis Casino (Northern Cyprus)

Bizarre 'Chainsaws & Toasters' slot machine: The Aladdin(probably elsewhere as well)

Questions:
I'm always looking for more information to add, whether it be exactly wherein a casino a certain slot machine or old machine is, or anything of thatnature, including corrections. Thanks!

Notes:

Old slot machines (display only) can be found at the Maxim (LV), Stardust (LV),Station House (Tonapah), and Classic Car Showroom (30 slots, Laughlin NV).

Desert Valley Museum (Mesquite NV) has five slot machines from 1936.

Liberty Belle Casino (Reno NV)has a (display only) slot machine museum (and 'slot machine book store');it's run by the grandson of Charles Fey, inventor of the slot machine.(hours are not posted on the website; from experience, I say definitely callbefore visiting) They've also published a slot machine book which is justgrand.

There is a nice catalog of multiple-player casino games at Frolicker. Ofspecial interest:Bingo Party, Sigma Derby 4000, Sigma Derby Mark VI,Royal Ascot II,and Boat Race.

Related: my horrendous casino standings.

Lastly, remember: the best form of money management when gambling in LasVegas is to jam as many coins in the slot as possible at one time, wait forthe mechanic to come over, then do the standard hostage-for-money swap.Cake ... walk.

Best Slot Machines In Vegas

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