Switching to Penny Slot Machines
Thursday July 31, 2008
An article in Gaming Today reported that the casino's overall revenue from slot machines is down. However there has been an increase in revenue from the penny slots which seems to suggest that more players are lowering the denomination of slots they are playing. Many are switching to the penny or nickel slots to stretch their playing dollars. Do you agree? Have you lowered the denomination of the slots you play?
Comments
Bill,
As a matter of fact, i have move down that scale.Ya sure don’t hit any jp’s on 25 denomations.Nickles are bad too, so now its pennies. And funny part of it is that it can cost more playing pennys (to hit the 3rd table payouts)than playing dollars or guarters. But at least people can play 1 penny at a time, if they choose,and actually enjoy sitting there and finishing a drink or such. But thats all gonna change too, when we find out ya can’t hit anything on those either. I know, I’ve tried.And quite often.
Now the sad thing about this is,we players get smart in the process.And so before ya know it,those penny machines will be vacant too. Its too bad to say it, but its the truth.
And I can still see Las vegas sliding even farther, because of the reduced payouts from the pasts.
I think I mentioned it in your coluum in the past, but not sure, so here it is again….
Las vegas was been known to be the place to play,and have a real chance of hitting a decent payout, to enjoy while on vacation here. And most everyone does give it back.
The Hambugers didn’t cost 8 to 10 dollars.
the buffets were not 30 to 40 dollars each. But of course drinks are free,beside a tip, if your playing.
And if you ever paid attentioned to the quarterly revues of profits made by casinos,And I’m sure you have),or the bonuses
that the Ceo’s recieve when theres a profit.
it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out whos winning.especially when we’re talking billions now instead of millions. I agree there into making this profit. But I’m seeing it to be short lived because the folks that are sponsoring this, are getting tired of losing.And losing all the time.
And its like I mentioned before. If las Vegas casino’s still wants to be the #1 spot for gaming,they better look at this trend seriously. Because other states are stepping up and creating a more desirable destination.
they are traveling less, playing more, and surely eating on alot less than Las Vegas.
I’not writing this to encourage folks to look for other options.I writing this because I have played along enough to know what has been created here within the last 6 years or more.
This might work out for a few more years, but i guarantee if it continues longer than that, Las vegas will be close in the bottom of the gaming industry. And its a shame too.
Because it boils down to greed.And they’re gonna push it to see how far they can go until they have no-shows. I can’t wait to hear about the way they will be able to adjust the percentages of slots,by a computer.
Keep us in tune with it Bill, I’m very interested in the outcome.
As always, I’m not trying to throw out the negatives to folks, its merely the opinion of a guy who has played long enough to see how this trend it working out.
To make a long story short, I play pennys now, because it takes longer for them to take my money that i set aside for gambling (not intertainment), but to give myself a chance to win alittle more than what I started with.
Bill Orielly says it best….the spin stops here ! Wake up Vegas. Throw a few tax slips out there to us folks, and everyone wins. You….because we’ll be heading back to your casino. Uncle Sam really enjoys alittle money now and then. And most of all, the people who wins, spreads the word. And I’m sure you’ll have plenty left to build bigger and better casino’s.Maybe not as fast as your doing it now? but you’ll have a balance that will work for everyone. Again Bill, Thats my Opinion…
and thank you for letting me put it out there.
I still see lots of players on the penny machines. They don’t interest me that much because the max is often 100 or 200 coin—so that’s $1 or $2—I think the payoffs are better on a 2-coin $1 slot for the same money!
It’s simple really. People down deep know they aren’t going to win, at least not for long. So why gamble; for the entertainment of course. And at what denomination do you get flashy graphics and glitzy bonus rounds? At the dollar or quarter level? No. You used to be able to find them abundantly at the nickel level, Money to Burn, Price Check, etc. but even thats becoming rarer. People can easily part with 100 pennies a spin than they can nine nickels times five lines. IGT and WMS have found this out. They are not in the business to make money for themselves. They are in the business to make money for casinos who continue to buy the next product they make, so they can make money to buy the next product they make…
Think of it this way, no matter what coin you are playing it all amounts to one credit, dollar, quarter, dime, nickel or penny. Which of these is the easiest too part with.
We have been going to Vegas for 30= years. We also agree that in the last 6 years there is little entertainment for your dollar. In the beginning the 5 cent and penny machines offered you entertainment, while losing your money, you got more payoffs, more bonus rounds, then today. I can drop $100.00 in a machine and never get a bonus round. I’ve tried a variety of machines, all the same. The table games have increased their minimums and increased the house edge at the same time. While I never take more money than I can afford to lose, I still enjoy having some entertainment during that process. Therefore I have made the decision not to return unless I hear that things are changing, I can find other ways to spend my money getting a better value. Denomination means nothing as all that changes is how many minutes it takes the casino to get it all.
The same thing is happening here in Michigan. is there anyplace where they still have the older machines??? now the indians are wearing silk moccasins.