Strictly Slots December 2022

READERS TALK BACK

The Magazine for Slot & Video Poker Players VOLUME 19 • NUMBER 10

P R E S I D E N T & C H I E F E X E C U T I V E O F F I C E R Derek James P U B L I S H E R & E D I T O R I A L D I R E C T O R Lisa Rober tson-Dziedzic

Late Bonus Could you please tell me something about slot machine odds and bonuses? I was playing for a while and it seemed like the bonus wasn’t hap pening very often. I spotted a guy with a name tag that said“slot supervisor,”and asked him how often the bonus was supposed to come up. He said no set time, but he thought the average was about once in 80 plays. I went back to play and counted. It took 224 spins before I went to the bonus.How is that even possible if it’s supposed to come up once per 80? Thank you. —Anonymous Via theWeb Results are random, and every result is possible on every spin. If the odds are 1 in 80 of going to the bonus round when you start, they’re still 1 in 80 if you’ve gone 80 spins without a bonus, or 100 spins, or 224 spins. Over a very long time, the odds of the game will lead toward about 1 spin per 80 taking you to the bonus round. To illustrate, I’m going to make up an over simplified example. Imagine you were rolling an 80-sided die, with spaces numbered 1 through 79 and one space marked “BONUS!”You could have a chart giving you a slot reel combination for each number. No. 1 could be five ravens, No. 2 five unmatched symbols, and so on.When the die landed on BONUS!, you’d get to play a separate game to accumulate extra credits. The first time you rolled, chances would be equal of the die landing on each space. The second time you rolled, your actions would be exactly the same, and the chances for each space would still be equal.No matter how many times you rolled and how long you went without a bonus, you’d still be starting from scratch on the next roll.If you rolled 224 times without a bonus, the chances on the next would still be 1 in 80. Slot machines are more complex, with many more possible outcomes. Instead of one face among 80 on a die, one-eightieth of thousands—or even millions, in the case of big

jackpot games—of combinations will take you to the bonus. You are a 79-1 underdog of going to the bonus on each spin.That makes long bonus-less streaks not only possible, but inevitable. There’s a flip side.Given enough chances, multiple bonus events within a few spins also are not only possible, but inevitable. Hand-Pays and ‘Must-Hit-By’ Thanks for printing my letter “Bonus Bets” in the September Strictly Slots . I related a recent win on a Crazy RichAsians bonus round.Unfortunately,my letter included a typo.I reported a win“about $400 short of”a hand-pay.(As your readers know,a hand pay of $1,200 or more would trigger a tax form and money owed to the IRS.) I meant to say that my win was“$40 short”of $1,200.Roughly $1,160. So, nearly a hand-pay. Not that an $800 win isn’t nice, but I wouldn’t have bothered with a letter over that amount.My apologies for the mistake. But it raises another question. I’ve seen some progressives with “must-pay by” signs. Crazy Rich Asians isn’t one, but is it possible that some machines are designed to pay off a bonus or big line hit just a little bit short of $1,200, to save the casino the bother of issuing pa perwork? This wasn’t the first time I’ve hit a simi lar win. (Not to mention a few well above $1,200 as well, luckily.) Might a machine have a“must-pay by” limit without advertising it? —Paul C. ValleyVillage,CA Thanks for the correction, Paul. On your other question, the answer is yes, slot manufacturers very consciously set jackpots just under the $1,200 limit for the convenience of both the player and the operator.It’s why, for instance, the royal flush on a quarter video poker game pays $1,000. On “must-hit-by” jackpots, the machines always advertise it.Must-hit-by pays are designed to generate so-called“jackpot fever”when the level nears where it must hit by. It will be an exciting race as players chase that jackpot, hoping to be the first to hit the predetermined level. Progressive Math I subscribe to both Strictly Slots and Casino Player magazines. I really enjoy reading them,and I figure that one good article can pay for my subscription for the year with money saved at the casino.With that said, I have been skimming through my older issues of Strictly Slots and looking at the Slot Spot light sections. Of particular interest to me is the Payback % Range. I have never been one to play

S E N I O R E D I T O R S Sean Chaffin Karrie L. Zukowski

C O P Y E D I T O R Lon Rozelle

P R O D U C T I O N D I R E C T O R Diane Stevens-Gillan

C O N T R I B U T I N G W R I T E R S

Frank Scoblete Tim Wassberg Sharon Harris-Zlotnick

John Grochowski Steve Kieva Frank Legato Jerry “Stickman” Stich

N AT I O N A L S A L E S D I R E C T O R Karrie L. Zukowski

C I R C U L AT I O N MA R K E T I N G D I R E C T O R Maureen Rober tson

C I R C U L AT I O N D I R E C T O R Jessica Taylor

I T D I R E C T O R Rober t Walden S U B S C R I P T I O N & R E N E W A L C U S T O M E R S E R V I C E 1-800-969-0711 O F F I C E S ATLANTIC CITY: 333 E. Jimmie Leeds Rd., Suite 7 Galloway, NJ 08205-4123 (609) 484-8866 • Fax (609) 645-1661 LAS VEGAS: 1137 South Rancho Drive, Suite 110 Las Vegas, Nevada 89102-2259 (702) 736-8886 • Fax (702) 736-8889 Strictly Slots (ISSN 1527-5027). Strictly Slots is published 12 times a year by Casino Player Publishing, LLC 333 E. Jimmie Leeds Rd., Suite 7, Galloway, NJ 08205 4123 Basic Subscriptions: 12 issues $24; 24 issues $37; 36 is sues $53. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Strictly Slots, 333 E. Jimmie Leeds Rd., Suite 7 Galloway, NJ 08205-4123 Periodicals Postage rate paid at Galloway, NJ and at additional mailing offices. © 2022 Casino Player Publishing, LLC. All Rights Reserved. No por tion of this publication can be reproduced without expressed written permission of the Publisher. Strictly Slots magazine is a publication of Casino Player, LLC, owned by Casino Player Media (CPM). Not re sponsible for typographical errors. READER’S ADVISORY: Readers are recommended to make ap propriate inquiries and take appropriate advice before sending monies, incurring expense, entering into any binding commit ment, or wagering any sum in relation to an adver tisement, ar ti cle, column or other feature published in Strictly Slots. Strictly Slots shall not be liable to any person for loss or damage in curred or suffered as a result of his/her accepting, offering to ac cept, or following an invitation, advice, or other recommendation contained in any adver tisement, ar ticle, column, or feature pub lished in Strictly Slots . The views and opinions expressed by the writers and columnists of this magazine are not necessarily representative of the views of its management and employees.

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