Hey Folks:

Here are some guidelines I wish slot manufacturers would follow. Feel free to add in your own:

1. The bonus round shall never pay zero.

2. The bonus round shall never pay less than twice the total bet.

3. A $20 bill should be enough to trigger at least one bonus round no less than 50% of the time.

4. If 3 symbols trigger a bonus round, 4 and 5 symbols should pay significantly more than just capturing the minimal 3 symbols.

5. Sometimes the touch screen is not working. Enable a secondary way to select things without using the screen -- make it clear how this is accomplished.

6. Don't make people pay extra for a bonus round.

Add your own ... or discuss whether you disagree with some of these.

/\/\/\/\ the Shamus /\/\/\/\

As ticket systems have replaced the old coin in/out, it signalled a new level of convenience. No more soiled hands, long lines at the cashier, stacks of coins in containers, or waiting for hand fills of the machines.

With these great advances, the number of slot techs and cashiers have been drastically reduced.

Utopia? Usually ...

Just ask patrons at the Niagara Fallsview casino on May 25th how they liked the tickets. The system started only being intermittently available starting in the late afternoon. The first sign of trouble was machines not accepting the paper tickets. Then, machines were giving handpays for low abouts --- like 25-cents ... when people tried to cash out of their machine. Within 30 minutes, hundreds of patrons were standing around waiting for "hand pays" of less than $10 each. The reduced number of slot techs had to put up with increasingly aggravated customers -- once a runner manually wrote out the number of payouts, they had to put an "out of order" sign of every machine. It took nearly an hour for many people to receive their funds. Some may have been longer. There was never an announcement made not to put $$ in the machines (as you may not get it out).

On the Memorial Day long weekend, the casino looked like a weekday by 9:00pm --- when things should have been bustling.

With lots of time to talk, we found out this is an all-too frequent occurrence at this location. A recent upgrade was supposed to ensure this did not happen again. This is only a 2000 slot operation. Something is very wrong when they can not track down the source of the issue. At very least, everything should be redundant -- this should not be able to happen any longer.

To summarize ... Ticket in/out is great -- as long as it is not broken.

/\/\/\/\ the Shamus /\/\/\/\

IGT is the largest machine manufacturer in the world. It is a post IGT may not be able to hold on to. If you invested in a slot machine company such as IGT or WMS Gaming back in 1998 -- you certainly can not complain. An investment in IGT has gone up about 400%, while WMS Gaming has gone up about 1100%.

While both have provided a good investment return, WMS has pulled away in term of the bottom line. Yes, WMS is much smaller, and has more room for growth -- but most slot players who notice, see the difference. WMS Gaming and Bally are eating away at the slot floor dominence once held by IGT. When the name of the game was mechanical slots, "Double Diamond", "Haywire", "Red, White and Blue", "Pays 5 Times" were all mainstays.

When the trend on the casino floor switched to video slots, IGT was a follower, rather than a leader. IGT pulled a rabbit out of a hat with the paper in/out systems. WMS Gaming was carving out casino floor with hits like Monopoly.

IGT reached "peak" popularity when "Double Diamond" was incorporated into the "Wheel of Fortune" brand of slots. This slot still enjoys some success today. A testiment to a good game. In recent years, the "Wheel of Fortune" name has been "pimped out" for a video slot (where players would keep playing in order to solve puzzles), there was the "Big Wheel" -- which was a great concept, but didn't catch on with a lot of players (don't beleive me -- a seat is almost always available on this game ... if anyone is even playing. Especially true as the denomination goes up from 1-cent). In recent years, IGT has shifted to "Server Based Gaming" -- likely the future of gaming -- but the games released on this platform ... well ... have not proven popular. I rarely see people playing games like, "Ducks in a Row", "Shinobi", "Alien vs Predator" or "Alien". IGT's marketting strategy appears to be attempting to attract the younger male demographic. Does IGT think "violence" is the answer to a good slot. How many people remember games like, "Texas Tina", "Moolah", "Sea Monkeys", or "Snow Globes"?

If you look at WMS, they have been innovating -- getting back into mechanical reels, with 9-line innovations. While IGT took their video reels and converted games like "Little Green Men" into mechanical versions -- same game, different displays ... WMS was making new, original titles. WMS has at least doubled the number of new multi-line video releases. They have embraced low-denomination gaming, with games that have volatility -- copying the popularity of Aristrocrat games, but adding in graphics, sound, animations and originality lacking by other makers. There is also Community Gaming and Cascading Reels machines -- which proves the company can cause new trends..

Perhaps WMS Gaming success is partially due to its roots. It was one of the few "arcade Survivors". It has talents from Bally, Midway, Atari and Williams (Williams became Bally). The name of the game was to capture quarters from game players -- to keep the parent company, Williams afloat. With this pedigree, it should be no surprise that WMS Gaming has prospered.

If IGT is to get back on track, they need to acquire the "Passion" -- to create original machines ... which capture the players excitement. Good products from, "Action Gaming" like 100-pays Poker, Multi-strike power in the type of ingeniuty this company needs.

Credit: The Shamus (www.slotmachinesforum.com)

hiya Shamus, good suggestions for bonus rounds.

you are right, they should at the very least payout chump change simply for making it to the bonus round.

immediately following a ZERO bonus round, a courtesy 2x multiplier could be somethin at least.

later,
blitzed

__________________
cheers!
blitzed
http://crazynuts.hollosite.com/pick_lottery_numbers/

Hi Folks. I recently had a visit to the casino called "Casino Du Lac-Leamy" located in Hull (Quebec) in Canada (a $10 cab fair from Ottawa, Ontario). The place is nice ... high ceilings, etc. The selection of slot machines is a great representation on how "not" to outfit a successful slot floor. Being located in a French-speaking province, I'm sure there are some special requirements Quebec gaming officials have for slot manufacturers. That said, it's unclear exactly what the requirements are ... slots may have a french language display, but could have english graphics and english voice effects.

Here is a list of the no-no's from this casino:

Age of machines --- it's not a bad thing to have some vintage titles. There are some timeless classics. However, the number of single line IGT slots is quite staggering. It is litterally hundreds of 25-cent machines ... barely touched. What a waste of space. It's no wonder players would drive out to the Ottawa Carlson race track slots. How about the old 5-line , "Wheel of Fortune" machines from 10 years ago ... the one where you had to pump in more bills in order to get to the bonus round and solve the puzzle.

Major Manufacturers Not Represented --- There is not a single WMS Gaming, Atronic or Aristrocrat machine in the building. They are not represented at all. The combination of IGT, Bally and Konami take of the lions share of floor space. Surprisingly, there are machines by little known slot manufacturers like BLUBERI (a local Drummondville, Quebec company) and Spielo (now part of the same company as Atronic). In short, the Bluberi games were only 10% occupied. A bank of 10 "Cool Cat" machines had one or two players. While the graphics and animation were fine, the payouts were dismal ... and the bonus round was near impossible to acheive. Either ditch the unproven local product ... or bring up the standards. A small company should be offering greater innovation and new options in order to break into the big time. Bluberi seems content on cheap and tired ripoffs from the same tired conventions.

Part II to follow ...

/\/\/\/\ the Shamus /\/\/\/\

Machine Selection - I wonder how this casino decides how many of each title should be ordered. In most 2000 slot casinos, they might buy 5 machines with the same title if they feel it is a "hit" (usually they get to try the machine at the gaming shows, and they put in an order). So, I guess the Konami game "Billionaires" must be a major hit -- because there are over 20 of this machine. Hey, the game is fine --- but with so many other Konami themes and titles from the same time period (think of Mariachi Madness, Sgt Fritter, Money in the Bank, 3 Wild Bees, etc etc) -- why 20 of the same title. They are not connected to a progressive -- in fact, there is no rhyme or reason. Strangely, there is an old IGT machine ... at least 15 years old, called, "Triple Bucks" --- this is still the most popular machine in the casino ... with at least 20 machines ... nearly always filled to capacity. It's a good game ... but when people play old games over new releases, you know something is really wrong.

Mixing Denominations - Going back to those Billionaire machines ... have you ever seen 1-cent machines mixed with 5-cent machines ... alternating in a row. This is routine in this casino. There are no "multi-denom" machines ... they are fixed denominations -- and they are all mixed up.

Paying out in Coin - Okay ... so there is no good way to know if the slot you are on in going to pay out in coin ... or with a paper slip. If it is coin, you will be paid in quarters --- regardless of the denomination. Unfortunately, if you have an odd amount ... it will necessitate a visit to deal with that fractional 15-cent or 20-cent amount remain in the machine. This was not isolated. On of their newest machines, Konami's "Rocky" progressive ... still had the issue. When a casino decides to go "paper slip" ... they should retrofit all machines ... and get rid of the machines which are too old to handle the technology (like the SEGA horse racing game called, "Royal Ascot").

I don't know what the "payback percentages" are --- but they seem dismal. Sure, they have a few 1-cent denomination machines --- but often in places where it goes not make sense (eg. 9-line machines). There are no frequent hit modern 40, 50 and 100 line games.

For a slot destination, I'm sure you can find a few fun machines to park your money in ... but don't go looking for big payouts on low-denomination machines. The machines are older (which is good, if you are into the 5-cent video "Wheel of Fortune" game --- where you have to keep plugging in nickels until you solve the puzzle).

On the night I was there ... certain machines were busy, and the rest of the place was virtually dead. I can understand why. They need a slot manager who knows something about what the slot players want. I wonder if the management is the same at the Casino Du Montreal --- because I noticed similar trends there. Finally ... apparently Quebecers really like playing, IGT's "Wild Bear" (not the more modern "Salmon Run" ... but the original, "Wild Bear") ... because they have at least 30 to 40 of these machines. Seriously!

/\/\/\/\ the Shamus /\/\/\/\

The individuals who make the decisions on planning a casino slot floor have an important job. They need to purchase good machines (months in advance of receiving them). They need to order the right payback percentage (to match the objectives of the casino. They need need the right mix of denominations ... and they need to locate them in a spot where they will be played.

At best ... when this is done well, you will increase business, and lure patrons to your casino.

Setting the the denomination for a machine requires a basic understanding of the slot in question. For example, on a recent trip to the Bariie (Ontario) Racetrack slots (in Canada), I witnessed a number of "Goldfish" machines, some of the most popular machines at Fallsview Casino (Niagara Falls, Ontario) and Seneca (Niagara Falls, New York) sitting idol throughout most of the day. Curious, on an otherwise busy day. The "Goldfish" game really requires a 20-line bet, and a 10-coin top-up to qualify for the extra bonus rounds (30 credits total). In Fallsview and Seneca, these were 2-cent and 1-cent machines (or 60-cent / 30-cent) to cover all lines+bonus. In Barrie, it was a nickel machine ($1.50 to cover all lines+bonus). The fallsview and Seneca were multi-denom machines ... so they could also accomodate a nickel slot player ... however, the Barrie machine was fixed at 5-cents. Why?

Take the example of IGT's "Carnival of Mystery". As a 1-cent or 2-cent machine, it can be a fun game. As a 5-cent machine, it's over $1.25 to minimally cover all lines. At Mohawk Raceway casino (near Milton, Ontario), it is a 25-cent machine -- or a minimum of $6.25 per spin, at minimum, to cover all lines. Does it surprise anyone that nobody is every playing this machine? In the same line are a number of newer IGT titles which also do not get played for the same reason. There are also 10 Atronic machines, like "The Wild Bunch" which would have been popular as nickel machines, but are rarely played as quarter machines. A new machine should do plenty of business in the first 3 months ... not sit empty on the slot floor -- clue ... someone ... anyone ... the denomination is not working! Try something else. Also at Mohawk, the popular, "Texas Tea" machine has never been anything but a quarter machine at this casino.

Take, Casino Lac Lemey (in Hull, Quebec, Canada), they have the Konami game, "Billionaires" -- a 9-line game, in 1-cent denominations. So, 9-cents to cover all the paylines. Even if you play 27-cents, it's tough to win anything substantial in the game. In this case, the low denomination does not make any sense for the game. On the other end of the scale, Grand River Slots (Elora, Ontario), had a "Billionaires" machine they removed in the winter of 2008 (presumably because it was underpeforming other Konami games). The reason? You could play 1x, 10x, 20x, 30x, 40x times the line bet -- so it jumped from a 45-cent total bet, to a $4.50 total bet by just switching to the next button. Yes, I think this was an error in the configuration ... but nobody noticed ... and maybe, nobody cares (except from of the players).

Slot Managers, please examine the number of $1 dollar 20-line slots you have on your slot floor -- do you have enough high rollers to justify $20 to $100 spins? Many modern, volitile slots can swallow $20 on a nickel machine in 5 minutes. How much fast do you want to vacuum the money out of our wallets?

I suggest you give the people what they want to play -- low denom. You can always bet more lines, but you can't bet less ... unless it is a multi-denomination machine. If multi-denom is an option, use it!

Slot players are resigned to the fact they are going to lose over the long haul. It is a slot manager's job to give us a positive experience while doing it. If you are going to take our money, you owe us that much.

/\/\/\/\ the Shamus /\/\/\/\

When you gamble on Blackjack, Keno, Roulette -- or any other table game, the house advantage is easy to find. With one of the more favourable payback percentages, Blackjack has become one of the most popular games.

Why then, is the payback percentage of a slot machine such a secret? The casino does not want us to know the payback percentage. It's no secret that the slot machine is the "cash cow" of the casino floor. If you knew machine "Machine X" has a better payback percentage than "Machine Y" would it cause you to make a different choice? If you knew Casino X has a lower payback percentage than "Casino Y", would you reconsider your casino destination. They kinds of questions shake the very foundations of a casino operation.

I think you should be asking your state or provincial government to legislate that every machine should post the payback percentage. In the lottery, I can check how many tickets are printed, and how many prizes there are ... but I have no idea what my odds are on my favourite slot.

/\/\/\/\ the Shamus /\/\/\/\

you are right about carnival of mystery, the machine says 243 ways to win, it should say 243 ways to lose

Getting $0 in a bonus round drives me crazy. Last happened to me on a Powerball Roman Free Spin machine. This guy complains about it too on this blog I just found.

http://thebadgambler.blogspot.com/20...ard-of-oz.html