Slot players are always looking for their one true love. Unlike in affairs of the heart, they want that one true love to be loose. One can take a quick glance at the slot payback tables in this issue, or any issue, of Strictly Slots to get an idea of which regions of the country have the highest slot machine payout percentages. Conversely, one.

'A Myth Comes True
For years slot players have believed a myth that the casinos could change the payback of a machine with the flip of a switch. They worried that the casino could tighten the machines during busy times such as weekends and then loosen them up to pay more during the week. With the new server based system this myth could actually become a reality as they can change the payback of the machines through the server. ' I found my answer at casinogambling.com

It always HAS been possible to do that--it's a myth that it is a myth.
I remember, on several occasions, watching a slot tech use a key to make a menu come up on the screen of a video slot, and selecting a payback percentage from that menu. He didn't even have to open the machine. Five choices: 1) 97.4% 2) 95.9% 3) 94.0% 4) 92.4% 5) 91.2%. Select one. Turn the key. Boom. Done. That makes me laugh when I read that it would be impractical and take too much time to manually change all the payback percentages on the casino floor. (And I saw the scene described above as long as fifteen years ago, so the capability has been there for quite some time.)

'The Missouri regulators, for example, were making the rounds with the hypothetical issue of whether casinos should be banned from allowing better slot paybacks to players who gamble more - a feature that is possible with server-based games.
Clayton said Nevada regulations prohibit casinos from offering one player a better chance of winning than another

That's only partly right. A high-roller absolutely has better odds on a slot game than a low-roller because the models are different on a $100 machine than on a 5c machine. It's also okay to give a player who bets more a better return within a single machine -- that's what *every* multiplier slot does when they bonus the last coin. Same thing with VP games and the bonus pay on a royal. I think the issue is whether the same machine being played at the *same level* should have a different payback based on some external criteria like comp points, but even then the effect of the comp rewards on higher players makes the net payback better anyway, so...

It always HAS been possible to do that--it's a myth that it is a myth.
I remember, on several occasions, watching a slot tech use a key to make a menu come up on the screen of a video slot, and selecting a payback percentage from that menu. He didn't even have to open the machine. Five choices: 1) 97.4% 2) 95.9% 3) 94.0% 4) 92.4% 5) 91.2%. Select one. Turn the key. Boom. Done. That makes me laugh when I read that it would be impractical and take too much time to manually change all the payback percentages on the casino floor. (And I saw the scene described above as long as fifteen years ago, so the capability has been there for quite some time.)

Nobody who knows slots would dispute that. However, it would be impractical to open every machine and change the return on a daily or weekly basis. The myth is that some guy in the back room can change the return on any machine from his desk because he doesn't like your polka dotted hat, or any other reason he wishes. However, with server based slots, now he can. As noted, in Nevada he has to wait until the machine has been idle for four minutes, and then is has to be down another four minutes.

You guys obviously know your games of chance. My original question, Is there a particluar time and day of week that is better to play slots with a greater chance of winning? ANd additional are there any other factros that should be considered; size of crowd, denomination, minmax bet, type of slot game, player level, parent company, ....

Time of the day, day of the week, size of crowd: Doesn't matter.
Denom, Min bet: Definitley does matter, the higher the denom, the higher the return (generally).
You would also be advised to avoid slots with fancy signs with a movie or television theme, as these are usually set to around 88%, which for slots is pretty low. Then again, they may provide more entertainment value.

You would also be advised to avoid slots with fancy signs with a movie or television theme, as these are usually set to around 88%, which for slots is pretty low. Then again, they may provide more entertainment value.

Modification to that: when they first bring those kind of slots out, the slot techs generally set them to the highest available payback, to garner interest, then after a few weeks, they tighten them up. One slot tech told me that since just about all themed slots have bonusing games, the determinant for the variable payback percentages is usually the frequency of the bonusing game--nothing else is usually altered.
So if you see what looks like a very new themed slot, it might be worth a fun play for a while--it'll cost you less now than later.
I have one secret location in Vegas where all the Monopoly machines are set to 97.4%, per the slot tech I know who works there...you can play for HOURS on those machines without getting wiped out. He said that he was told to leave those machines at the highest setting in order to increase play in an area that gets a lot of foot traffic, but that traffic is usually going somewhere else. The frequency of the bonus games makes people stop and take a look, and hopefully, sit down and play. (He also told me that the rest of the Monopoly machines in the casino were set to 92%.)

He said that he was told to leave those machines at the highest setting in order to increase play in an area that gets a lot of foot traffic

If they wanted to attract the players, wouldn't it make more sense to advertise the generous payout rather than keep it a secret?
In general, I don't quite understand how loosening the games on low traffic days will help the casino, unless they make it known to the public. I kinda take the lack of that advertising as an indirect confirmation of Wizard's point, that they don't do this as a rule, because they either see it as too cumbersome or just not good for the business.
Sure, they could just leak the info discreetly, so that people, who hear the rumor think they'd just been let in on a huge secret, and run to the casino ... But in that case, they also don't have to actually increase the payout - they just need to allude that they are going to ...

Do They Loosen Or Tighten Slot Machines On Saturdays Night

Do They Loosen Or Tighten Slot Machines On Saturdays Back

Modification to that: when they first bring those kind of slots out, the slot techs generally set them to the highest available payback, to garner interest, then after a few weeks, they tighten them up. One slot tech told me that since just about all themed slots have bonusing games, the determinant for the variable payback percentages is usually the frequency of the bonusing game--nothing else is usually altered.

Correct me where I'm wrong, but I thought that it was standard on 'participation games' that the return is set close to 88%. For those who don't know, participation games are ones where the casino and the slot maker share in the revenue. They generally have some kind of branded theme and very fancy signage and machines. I'm sure the brand being promoted gets a cut too. I was quoted saying as much in a LV Sun article about a year about, on the Sex and the City slot machine, and I heard IGT got very mad. The next week the Sun ran a puff piece praising slots.

Do They Loosen Or Tighten Slot Machines On Saturdays Near Me