How To Play Lottery Slot Machine

11-05-2021

How To Play Lottery Slot Machine

Play the maximum number of lines available. If you are betting one penny per line, the amount you are wagering for each play is equal to the number of lines you play. For example, betting one penny per line and playing one line will cost you one penny per spin, but playing 20 lines will cost you 20 cents per spin.

In the not-too-distant past, slot-machine players were the second-class citizens of casino customers. Jackpots were small, payout percentages were horrendous, and slot players just weren't eligible for the kind of complimentary bonuses -- free rooms, shows, meals -- commonly given to table players. But in the last few decades the face of the casino industry has changed. Nowadays more than 70 percent of casino revenues comes from slot machines, and in many jurisdictions, that figure tops 80 percent.

About 80 percent of first-time visitors to casinos head for the slots. It's easy -- just drop coins into the slot and push the button or pull the handle. Newcomers can find the personal interaction with dealers or other players at the tables intimidating -- slot players avoid that. And besides, the biggest, most lifestyle-changing jackpots in the casino are offered on the slots.

The following article will tell you everything you need to know about slots, from the basics to various strategies. We'll start at square one, with a primer on how playing slot machines works.

How to Play

The most popular slots are penny and nickel video games along with quarter and dollar reel-spinning games, though there are video games in 2-cent, 10-cent, quarter, and dollar denominations and reel spinners up to $100. Most reel spinners take up to two or three coins at a time while video slots can take 45, 90, and even 500 credits at a time.

How To Play Diamond Lotto Slot Machine

Nearly all slot machines are fitted with currency acceptors -- slide a bill into the slot, and the equivalent amount of credits is displayed on a meter. On reel-spinning slots, push a button marked 'play one credit' until you've reached the number of coins you wish to play. Then hit the 'spin reels' button, or pull the handle on those few slots that still have handles, or hit a button marked 'play max credits,' which will play the maximum coins allowed on that machine.

On video slots, push one button for the number of paylines you want to activate, and a second button for the number of credits wagered per line. One common configuration has nine paylines on which you can bet 1 to 5 credits. Video slots are also available with 5, 15, 20, 25, even 50 paylines, accepting up to 25 coins per line.

Many reel-spinning machines have a single payout line painted across the center of the glass in front of the reels. Others have three payout lines, even five payout lines, each corresponding to a coin played. The symbols that stop on a payout line determine whether a player wins. A common set of symbols might be cherries, bars, double bars (two bars stacked atop one another), triple bars, and sevens.

A single cherry on the payout line, for example, might pay back two coins; the player might get 10 coins for three of any bars (a mixture of bars, double bars, and triple bars), 30 for three single bars, 60 for three double bars, 120 for three triple bars, and the jackpot for three sevens. However, many of the stops on each reel will be blanks, and a combination that includes blanks pays nothing. Likewise, a seven is not any bar, so a combination such as bar-seven-double bar pays nothing.

Video slots typically have representations of five reels spinning on a video screen. Paylines not only run straight across the reels but also run in V's, upside down V's, and zigs and zags across the screen. Nearly all have at least five paylines, and most have more -- up to 50 lines by the mid-2000s.

In addition, video slots usually feature bonus rounds and 'scatter pays.' Designated symbols trigger a scatter pay if two, three, or more of them appear on the screen, even if they're not on the same payline.

Similarly, special symbols will trigger a bonus event. The bonus may take the form of a number of free spins, or the player may be presented with a 'second screen' bonus. An example of a second screen bonus comes in the long-popular WMS Gaming Slot 'Jackpot Party.' If three Party noisemakers appear on the video reels, the reels are replaced on the screen with a grid of packages in gift wrapping. The player touches the screen to open a package and collects a bonus payout. He or she may keep touching packages for more bonuses until one package finally reveals a 'pooper,' which ends the round. The popularity of such bonus rounds is why video slots have become the fastest growing casino game of the last decade.

When you hit a winning combination, winnings will be added to the credit meter. If you wish to collect the coins showing on the meter, hit the button marked 'Cash Out,' and on most machines, a bar-coded ticket will be printed out that can be redeemed for cash. In a few older machines, coins still drop into a tray.

Etiquette

Many slot players pump money into two or more adjacent machines at a time, but if the casino is crowded and others are having difficulty finding places to play, limit yourself to one machine. As a practical matter, even in a light crowd, it's wise not to play more machines than you can watch over easily. Play too many and you could find yourself in the situation faced by the woman who was working up and down a row of six slots. She was dropping coins into machine number six while number one, on the aisle, was paying a jackpot. There was nothing she could do as a passerby scooped a handful of coins out of the first tray.

Sometimes players taking a break for the rest room will tip a chair against the machine, leave a coat on the chair, or leave some other sign that they'll be back. Take heed of these signs. A nasty confrontation could follow if you play a machine that has already been thus staked out.

Payouts

Payout percentages have risen since the casinos figured out it's more profitable to hold 5 percent of a dollar than 8 percent of a quarter or 10 percent of a nickel. In most of the country, slot players can figure on about a 93 percent payout percentage, though payouts in Nevada run higher. Las Vegas casinos usually offer the highest average payouts of all -- better than 95 percent. Keep in mind that these are long-term averages that will hold up over a sample of 100,000 to 300,000 pulls.

In the short term, anything can happen. It's not unusual to go 20 or 50 or more pulls without a single payout on a reel-spinning slot, though payouts are more frequent on video slots. Nor is it unusual for a machine to pay back 150 percent or more for several dozen pulls. But in the long run, the programmed percentages will hold up.

The change in slots has come in the computer age, with the development of the microprocessor. Earlier slot machines were mechanical, and if you knew the number of stops -- symbols or blank spaces that could stop on the payout line--on each reel, you could calculate the odds on hitting the top jackpot. If a machine had three reels, each with ten stops, and one symbol on each reel was for the jackpot, then three jackpot symbols would line up, on the average, once every 10310310 pulls, or 1,000 pulls.

On those machines, the big payoffs were $50 or $100--nothing like the big numbers slot players expect today. On systems that electronically link machines in several casinos, progressive jackpots reach millions of dollars.

The microprocessors driving today's machines are programmed with random-number generators that govern winning combinations. It no longer matters how many stops are on each reel. If we fitted that old three-reel, ten-stop machine with a microprocessor, we could put ten jackpot symbols on the first reel, ten on the second, and nine on the third, and still program the random-number generator so that three jackpot symbols lined up only once every 1,000 times, or 10,000 times. And on video slots, reel strips can be programmed to be as long as needed to make the odds of the game hit at a desired percentage. They are not constrained by a physical reel.

Each possible combination is assigned a number, or numbers. When the random-number generator receives a signal -- anything from a coin being dropped in to the handle being pulled -- it sets a number, and the reels stop on the corresponding combination.

Between signals, the random-number generator operates continuously, running through dozens of numbers per second. This has two practical effects for slot players. First, if you leave a machine, then see someone else hit a jackpot shortly thereafter, don't fret. To hit the same jackpot, you would have needed the same split-second timing as the winner. The odds are overwhelming that if you had stayed at the machine, you would not have hit the same combination.

Second, because the combinations are random, or as close to random as is possible to set the program, the odds of hitting any particular combination are the same on every pull. If a machine is programmed to pay out its top jackpot, on the average, once every 10,000 pulls, your chances of hitting it are one in 10,000 on any given pull. If you've been standing there for days and have played 10,000 times, the odds on the next pull will still be one in 10,000. Those odds are long-term averages. In the short term, the machine could go 100,000 pulls without letting loose of the big one, or it could pay it out twice in a row.

So, is there a way to ensure that you hit it big on a slot machine? Not really, but despite the overriding elements of chance, there are some strategies you can employ. We'll cover these in the next section.

Slots are the easiest games in the casino to play -- spin the reels and take your chances. Players have no control over what combinations will show up or when a jackpot will hit. There is no way to tell when a machine will be hot or cold. Still, there are some pitfalls. It's important to read the glass and learn what type of machine it is. The three major types of reel-spinning slots are the multiplier, the buy-a-pay, and the progressive.

The multiplier. On a multiplier, payoffs are proportionate for each coin played--except, usually, for the top jackpot. If the machine accepts up to three coins at a time, and if you play one coin, three bars pay back ten. Three bars will pay back 20 for two coins and 30 for three coins. However, three sevens might pay 500 for one coin and 1,000 for two, but jump to 10,000 when all three coins are played. Read the glass to find out if that's the case before playing less than the maximum coins on this type of machine.

The buy-a-pay. Never play less than the maximum on a buy-a-pay, on which each coin 'buys' a set of symbols or a payout line. The first coin in might allow the player to win only on cherry combination, while the second coin activates the bar payouts, and the third coin activates the sevens. Woe is the player who hits three jackpot symbols on a buy-a-pay with only one coin played--the player gets nothing back. A variation is the machine with multiple payout lines, each activated by a separate coin. All symbols are active with each coin, but if a winning combination lines up on the third-coin payout line with only one or two coins played, the payoff is zero.

The progressive. You also have no reason to play less than maximum coins on a progressive machine. A player who eventually lines up the jackpot symbols gets a percentage of each coin played. The first progressive machines were self-contained--the jackpot was determined by how much that particular machine had been played since the last big hit. Today most progressives are linked electronically to other machines, with all coins played in the linked machines adding to a common jackpot.

Best Slot Machines To Play

These jackpots can be enormous -- the record is $39,710,826.26, a $1 progressive at a Las Vegas casino. The tradeoff is that frequency and size of other payouts are usually smaller. And you can't win the big jackpot without playing maximum coins.

If you must play fewer than maximum coins, look for a multiplier in which the final-coin jump in the top jackpot is fairly small. Better yet, choose a machine that allows you to stay within your budget while playing maximum coins. If your budget won't allow you to play maximum coins on a $1 machine, move to a quarter machine. If you're not comfortable playing three quarters at a time, move to a two-quarter machine. If you can't play two quarters at a time, play a nickel machine.

With so many paylines and the possibility of betting multiple coins per line, video slots are different. Some penny slots with 20 paylines take up to 25 coins per line. That's a $5 maximum bet -- a pretty penny indeed! Most players bet less than the max on video slots but are sure to cover all the paylines, even if betting only one coin per line. You want to be sure to be eligible for the bonus rounds that give video slots most of their fun. Some progressive jackpots require max coins bets, and some don't. If a max-coins bet is required to be eligible for the jackpot and you're not prepared to roll that high, find a different machine.

Money Management

Managing your money wisely is the most important part of playing any casino game, and also the most difficult part of playing the slots. Even on quarter machines, the amount of money involved runs up quickly. A dedicated slot player on a machine that plays off credits can easily get in 600 pulls an hour. At two quarters at a time, that means wagering $300 per hour -- the same amount a $5 blackjack player risks at an average table speed of 60 hands per hour.

Most of that money is recycled from smaller payouts--at a casino returning 93 percent on quarter slots, the expected average loss for $300 in play is $21. Still, you will come out ahead more often if you pocket some of those smaller payouts and don't continually put everything you get back into the machine.

One method for managing money is to divide your slot bankroll for the day into smaller-session bankrolls. If, for example, you've taken $100 on a two-and-a-half-hour riverboat cruise, allot $20 for each half-hour. Select a quarter machine -- dollar machines could devastate a $100 bankroll in minutes -- and play the $20 through once. If you've received more than $20 in payouts, pocket the excess and play with the original $20. At the end of one half-hour, pocket whatever is left and start a new session with the next $20.

If at any point the original $20 for that session is depleted, that session is over. Finish that half-hour with a walk, or a snack, or a drink until it is time for a new session. Do not dip back into money you've already pocketed.

That may seem rigid, but players who do not use a money management technique all too frequently keep pumping money into the machine until they've lost their entire bankroll. The percentages guarantee that the casino will be the winner in the long run, but lock up a portion of the money as you go along, and you'll walk out of the casino with cash on hand more frequently.

That is changing in new server-based slots that have started to appear in casinos. Operators will be able to change payback percentages at the click of a mouse, but they still must have regulatory approval to do so.

There is a lot more to slot machines than meets the eye. But if you learn the ins and outs of playing them, you can use some strategies that just might help you hit the jackpot.

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Introduction to Washington Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2020

Washington slot machine casino gambling consists of 31 tribal casinos with a unique type of electronic player terminal based on scratch tickets controlled by a state-wide Tribal Lottery System (TLS).

All state-tribal compacts set a minimum theoretical payout limit. However, no return statistics are publicly available.

This post continues my weekly State-By-State Slot Machine Casino Gambling Series, an online resource dedicated to guiding slot machine casino gambler to success. Now in its third year, each weekly post reviews slots gambling in a single U.S. state, territory, or federal district.

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Relevant Legal Statutes on Gambling in Washington*

The minimum legal gambling age in Washington depends upon the gambling activity:

Land-Based Casinos: 18/21 depending upon the casino
Poker Rooms: 18
Bingo: 18
Lottery: 18
Pari-Mutuel Wagering: 18

Washington’s player terminals at tribal casinos are based on the lottery’s scratch ticket games in electronic form. This unique form of slot machines makes Washington slot machines unique in the U.S. All other U.S.-based lottery terminals are based on draw lotteries, not from lotteries other game: scratch tickets.

Twenty-nine tribes originally negotiated tribal-state compacts to offer gambling at tribal casinos. However, the state and these tribes could not agree whether Vegas-style slot machines should be legal in Washington.

Scratch-based gaming machines resulted from early negotiations of these gaming compacts. This impasse resolution led to creating a secondary lottery system for player terminals at tribal casinos. The state lottery was a model for the TLS.

Draw-based terminals create tickets at the time of the bet using random number generators (RNGs). However, scratch-based terminals know in advance the result of each wager. Put another way, the outcome of each bet is pre-determined and do not require an RNG.

Another technical difference between lottery draw tickets and scratch tickets is how many of them can exist. For example, there are as many draw tickets as players are willing to buy. However, lotteries create only a limited number of scratch tickets but, hopefully, enough for a busy night at a Washington tribal casino.

All negotiated tribal-state compacts also have other legal restrictions for their scratch-based terminal-style slot machines. These limits have been expanding over time as part of this state’s dynamic gaming industry. The requirements are:

Allows replaying of credits won
No handles
No mechanical spinning wheels
A minimum payout return (see below)
$5 maximum wager on 85% on VLTs
$20 maximum wager on 15% of VLTs
Cap of 2,500 VLT machines per tribe

*The purpose of this section is to inform the public of state gambling laws and how the laws might apply to various forms of gaming. It is not legal advice.

Slot Machine Private Ownership in Washington

It is legal to own a slot machine privately in the state of Washington if it is 25 years old or older.

Gaming Control Board in Washington

The gaming control board is the Washington State Gambling Commission offering licensing, regulation, and enforcement of certain aspects of the gaming industry in Washington. Their regulatory responsibilities primarily include testing and approving new electronic gaming machines.

Further, each tribe with a casino in Washington has a tribal gaming agency (TGA). Agents of a TGA are the primary regulators at tribal casinos. At all times, at least one TGA agent must be on duty at a tribal casino.

Casinos in Washington

There are 31 American Indian tribal casinos and multiple cruise ships based in the state of Washington.

The largest casino in Washington is Muckleshoot Casino with 3,125 electronic gaming terminals.

The second-largest casino is Ilani Casino Resort with 2,500 electronic gaming terminals.

Commercial Casinos in Washington

The state of Washington has no commercial casinos with slot machines.

Virginia Lottery Slot Machines

Tribal Casinos in Washington

The state of Washington has 31 tribal casinos:

Angel of the Winds Casino Resort in Arlington, 50 miles north of Seattle
BJ’s Bingo & Gaming in Fife near Tacoma
Chewelah Casino in Chewelah, 50 miles north of Spokane
Coulee Dam Casino in Coulee Dam, 40 miles north of Seattle, owned by 12 Tribes Colville Casinos
Elwha River Casino in Port Angeles, 70 miles northwest of Seattle
Emerald Queen Casino & Hotel (EQC) in Fife near Tacoma
Emerald Queen Casino (EQC) I-5 in Tacoma
Ilani Casino Resort in Ridgefield, 25 miles north of Portland near the border to Oregon
Kalispel Casino in Cusick, 53 miles north of Spokane
Little Creek Casino Resort in Shelton, 23 miles north of Olympia
Lucky Dog Casino in Skokomish, 23 miles north of Olympia
Lucky Eagle Casino & Hotel in Rochester, 26 miles south of Olympia
Mill Bay Casino in Manson, 200 miles northeast of Seattle on the north shore of Lake Chelan, owned by 12 Tribes Colville Casinos
Muckleshoot Casino in Auburn, 20 miles south of Seattle
Nooksack Northwood Casino in Lynden, 14 miles north of Bellingham
Northern Quest Resort & Casino in Airway Heights, 10 miles west of Spokane
The Point Casino in Kingston, 18 miles west of Seattle via Bainbridge Ferry
Quil Ceda Creek Nightclub & Casino in Quil Ceda Village, 30 miles north of Seattle
Quinault Beach Resort and Casino in Ocean Shores, 90 miles west of Tacoma
Red Wind Casino in Olympia
7 Cedars Casino in Sequim, 70 miles northwest of Seattle by ferry
Shoalwater Bay Casino in Tokeland, 75 miles southwest of Olympia
Silver Reef Casino Resort in Ferndale, 17 miles north of Bellingham
Skagit Valley Casino Resort in Bow, 75 miles north of Seattle
Snoqualmie Casino in Snoqualmie, 30 miles east of Seattle
Spokane Tribe Casino in Airway Heights, 9 miles west of Spokane
Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort in Suquamish, 15 miles west of Seattle via Bainbridge Ferry
Swinomish Casino & Lodge in Anacortes, 70 miles north of Seattle
Tulalip Casino in Quil Ceda Village, 30 miles north of Seattle
12 Tribes Casino in Omak, 165 miles northeast of Seattle, owned by 12 Tribes Colville Casinos
Yakama Legends Casino in Toppenish, 20 miles south of Yakama

Other Gambling Establishments

As an alternative to enjoying Washington slot machine casino gambling, consider exploring casino options in a nearby state. Bordering Washington is:

North: The Canadian Province of British Columbia
East: Idaho Slots
South: Oregon Slots
West: The Pacific Ocean

Each of the links above will take you to my blog for that neighboring U.S. state to Washington.

Our Washington Slots Facebook Group

Are you interested in sharing and learning with other slots enthusiasts in Washington? If so, join our Washington slots community on Facebook. All you’ll need is a Facebook profile to join this closed Facebook Group freely.

There, you’ll be able to privately share your slots experiences as well as chat with players about slots gambling in Washington. Join us!

Payout Returns in Washington

The TLS directly controls the results of Washington’s unique terminal-style slot machines. TLS’ central computer system provides the outcome of each bet made on each terminal at the time of the wager. This off-site control extends to any bonus rounds.

All tribal-state compacts in Washington established a minimum theoretical payout of 75% for slot machines. Further, no return statistics for slots are available to the public.

Georgia Lottery Slot Machines

Summary of Washington Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2020

Washington slot machine casino gambling consists of 31 tribal casinos with electronic scratch ticket video player terminal slot machines. The state-run Tribal Lottery System (TLS) controls the results of all bets offsite from the tribal casinos.

Tribal-state compacts have set a minimum theoretical payout of 75% for their unique terminal-style electronic slot machines. No return statistics are available to the public.

Annual Progress in Washington Slot Machine Casino Gambling

Over the last year, Tulalip Resort Casino with its 2,400 gaming machines has dropped from second largest casino to third largest, replaced by Ilani Casino Resort with its 2,500 gaming machines.

Further, two tribal casinos have opened within the last year, including Kalispel Casino in Cusick located 53 miles north of Spokane and Spokane Tribe Casino located in Airway Heights a few miles west of Spokane.

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