Is it ever +ev to play a slot machine?

[logistik]

I know that sounds absurd. But as I was standing at a dead table at work the other day, there were these slot machines across from me. They are progressives machine called BC Gold, it counts every nickle played or whatever and asigns a point value, and the meter goes up. It is gaurunteed to be given out by 2000 points(nuggets in this case). And well, yesterday it was the highest Ive ever seen with out awarding the jackpot, 1,980 nuggets. This means it would have to be awarded with the next 2-3 minutes. Would it not be worth it to risk like 5 dollars, you only have to be playing to have a chance to win. There are about 10 machines contributing to this game, so that's a 1/10 chance of hitting this jackpot for very little money invested. Do you think in this extreme case it would be +ev to play a slot machine?

[ajizzle]

If it were exactly as you described it, then yes, it is definitely +EV.

However, I doubt that would be the case at all. The appeal of slot machines is that you never know when they are going to hit. Letting the average gambler know when it will hit seems like it's a losing money proposition for the casino's and they would be better off putting in regular machines.

[waffle]

Progressive jackpots and casino comp systems have the possibility of making slot machines +EV. It takes specific analysis to determine if a slot machine in certain conditions has a positive expectation; the presence of these two bonuses does not guarantee it.

[Cheeseweasel]

In the past I've made a great deal of money playing slot machines. There are two instances where it can be profitable.

1) Banking slot machines. These are machines in which a bonus is held in abeyance as a reward for continued play. The bonus is awarded when a certain event occurs on the machine. You play banking slot machines only where the bonus has been banked by someone else and not yet extracted where the total EV > 100%. For more info, read Robbing the One-Armed Bandits by Dr. Charles Lund.

2) I have volumes of technical papers about all slot machines from all manufacturers. The most pertinent information is the probabilities of payouts. When I find a progressive slot machine, I can compute whether it is EV+ and I decide whether it is worthwhile to make a run at the progressive. If it is EV+ I'll put in a team of players to tie up the machine or the whole bank of machines 24 hours a day (if I can get away with it) until I hit the progressive.

[Blackjack]

WTB that guide!

Gimme gimme or tell me how you got it

[canis582]

[ QUOTE ]
In the past I've made a great deal of money playing slot machines. There are two instances where it can be profitable.

1) Banking slot machines. These are machines in which a bonus is held in abeyance as a reward for continued play. The bonus is awarded when a certain event occurs on the machine. You play banking slot machines only where the bonus has been banked by someone else and not yet extracted where the total EV > 100%. For more info, read Robbing the One-Armed Bandits by Dr. Charles Lund.

2) I have volumes of technical papers about all slot machines from all manufacturers. The most pertinent information is the probabilities of payouts. When I find a progressive slot machine, I can compute whether it is EV+ and I decide whether it is worthwhile to make a run at the progressive. If it is EV+ I'll put in a team of players to tie up the machine or the whole bank of machines 24 hours a day (if I can get away with it) until I hit the progressive.

[/ QUOTE ]
Let me guess, you work for some slot machine concern and are trying to trick us into playing them.

[AngusThermopyle]

[ QUOTE ]
Let me guess, you work for some slot machine concern and are trying to trick us into playing them.

[/ QUOTE ]

Let me guess, you have no idea how progressive slots work.

[Cheeseweasel]

My informational treasure trove would do you no good without a very key piece of information (which I also have access to).

Let's say that you find an IGT Red White and Blue in a casino with a "high" progressive. The total payback of a Red White and Blue can be set from 85.03% to 97.45% (by the manufacturer, not the casino). You have to know what percentage payback machines that the casino buys for that particular denomination.

For instance, the Luxor may buy their slots according to the following guidelines:

denominationayback %
$.05: 88%
$.25: 92%
$1: 94%
$5: 95%
$25: 96%
$100: 97%
$500: 97.45%
$1 Megasuck: 86%

whereas the Trop would have different purchasing payback guidelines.

It's impossible to effectively compute your theoretical payback without this information.