Liberty Bell Slot 1899
Photo Courtesy of Marshall Fey
If you want to play slots, you better be ready! The times they are a changing - coinless slots are here to stay and they offer a new challenge: remembering that credits and vouchers have real value!
Slot machines have gone through a rapid metamorphosis in the past decade. The first slot machines, like the original reel-type slot, the Liberty Bell, accepted a single coin and didn't pay out any coins. Payoffs were handled by the bartender or cigar store attendant.
Later, slot machines that had automatic payouts became popular, and according to author Marshall Fey's book, Slot Machines, the design and functions stayed the same for decades.
When my parents whet out to play and hit a nickel jackpot, the machine dumped part of the payoff into the small tray with a resounding splash of coins. They were so happy and excited they cheered. Then, an attendant ran over (ah, those were the days) with a paper sack or a cup that held the remaining $5.50 in nickels the jackpot paid. Sometimes players like my parents even went home with the coins.
So, the casinos got smarter, they made the buckets bigger. Players looked at those buckets longingly and thought, "Wow, those slots must pay great, look at size of those buckets."
But when a player put a few bucks worth of nickels into one of those huge buckets the coins looked lonely swimming around at the bottom. I can almost hear the nickel players now saying, "Wow, I can't cash in my coins, there's practically nothing in my bucket," so they kept playing. The psychology was working.
Today's coinless slots offer a new challenge. No buckets, no coins dumped into the coin tray. No notice to the players like, "Hey, you hit something good, take a break."
Remember, those credits on your machine are real money, and when you push the "cash out" button that silly white slip with the bar code is just like cash too, but only if you get to the cage and cash it in. The casinos know you'll be more cavalier with a slot ticket than with actual bills. It's easier to slide a $240 ticket into a machine and lose it than it is to feed a dozen twenty-dollar bills into the machine, one at a time, right?
Be wise with your winnings. Take some home with you to visit!
Comments
In my opinion, the Casinos have taken all the fun out of playing. Yes, the coins were a hassle to lug around and cash in, but the sounds and feels of all those coins was exciting. The casinos pushed tito because it saved them a ton of money in expenses handling the coins. Where did that extra money go? It didn’t go back to the players! It went into the pockets of the Corporate executives to maintain their luxury cars and vacation mansions. It had the added benefit of trivializing the money won so they could keep more. Now they are talking about server based slots to save them more money. All of these tricks are designed to extract as much money as possible from the players. It’s no fun anymore to go to the casinos for a good night out.
Dan,
You really hit the nail on the head when you mention
in coinless slots! You have to remember the credits on the machine are still real money.
I just love the new paper ticket machines, No more digging for the right coins just shove the ticket or paper money in and off you go. No more dirty hands from the coins, And they even have a sound like the coins coming out of the machine if your lucky enough to win. I’m sure the casino’s are saving money with lots less people(no coins to handle). And do agree the payouts should be better because of this..
Nice blog here! Also your website lots up very fast! What host are you the usage of? Can I get your affiliate link in your host? I want my web site loaded up as fast as yours lol