How much does a Slot Technician make in the United States? The average Slot Technician salary in the United States is $47,342 as of October 28, 2020, but the range typically falls between $39,604 and $59,718.Salary ranges can vary widely depending on many important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills, the number of years you have spent in your profession. As slot machines can and often do stay in place on a casinos gaming floor for many years, one way that a casino owner or operator will ensure players have a good playing experience when any new slot machines are placed on their gaming floors is by increasing the pay-out percentages for a few days or weeks.
The first time I saw people use member cards for slot games, I didn’t know what they were. I asked the man sitting next to me and he explained a few details about the rewards club. But he wasn’t using a card himself.
When I asked him why, he said he once had a card but stopped winning when he played with the card. He thought the casino was monitoring his playing and adjusting the slot game results.
This rumor has circulated both online and offline for many years. It’s normal for people to hear something repeatedly and wonder if there is truth to it. But I’ve never found any proof that casinos can change the way slot games play by flipping a switch.
What makes it difficult to combat this idea and other rumors about slot machines is the many different markets where you find them. Slot machine games are regulated by each country. Complying with different regulations may mean that a slot maker must change how its games work.
The clearest example I can give is how slot games are decided in the United States. Class II slot games decide the outcome on the basis of one random number then configure the display to match that result. Class III games use several random numbers to control the reels.
How Modern Slot Machine Games Work
There aren’t many physical slot games left. They’re all electronic now, and the electronic machines use random number generator chips to decide results.
But there is more involved than just generating a random number. The “slots” in the slot games are spaces on reels. The computers now simulate these reels.
How Does Slot Machines Make Money
Former and current slot machine manufacturing employees answer questions about game design on several websites including Quora. This answer was posted in September 2014, and it explains how the simulated reels are managed by software.
The programs to simulate the reels and assign the random numbers are etched into ROMs, Read-Only Memory chips. These ROMs must be physically changed by a technician to change how the game payout percentages work.
Legitimate Online Casino Operators Lease Games From Service Providers
There are over 2,000 online casinos. It’s impossible to be sure about how they all manage their slot games. But what is known about the most popular casinos is that they don’t run their slot games from their own servers.
Instead the online casinos lease game services from secure data centers. These gaming platforms are run by companies like Blue Ocean and EveryMatrix. Some of the game design companies also run their own servers, leasing resources to online casinos.
Although it would be simple for online gaming companies to switch things up, they would risk losing independent certifications if they allowed the games to be rigged.
There’s no need for casinos to adjust the percentages. They can order the percentage breakouts for house edge and return to player that they want to offer. This way, they maintain competitiveness and support long-term profitability.
Many Games Publish the Theoretical Return to Player
Some slot games include the theoretical return to player in their help screens.
If the players see that RTP has been adjusted downward, they can play elsewhere. If players only suspect that the RTP has been adjusted without proper notification, they might still leave.
Casinos need players. The best strategy to grow their customer base is to keep game rewards high enough to make the risk worthwhile.
Some Governments Regulate Return to Player Percentages
Licensed gaming casinos must comply with local laws governing their businesses. Some countries provide more regulation than others.
In the United States, commercial land-based casinos are regulated by their states. However, Native American casinos are mostly regulated by the tribal governments that own them. Each jurisdiction has the authority to set minimal RTP percentages to ensure the casinos don’t make too much money.
The 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act creates the legal framework used by tribes to protect their traditional gaming activities from state regulatory laws. The act also defines the three classes of gaming and how they are to be regulated.
Class II games are regulated by the tribes but only in states that allow any kind of gaming. Only Class III games are subject solely to state regulation.
True slot machine games are Class III games. Native American casinos offer Class II bingo games that are made to look like slot games. The game cabinets must display the casino bingo games that are used to determine wins.
Class II slot machines may have reels and bonus games but they’re not really slot machine games as defined by federal law.
How Do You Determine the Odds That a Slot Game Pays?
Casinos may or may not be required to declare the return to player for their slot games. Some casinos place a plate or sticker on their slot games with a notice. Other casinos leave it to the game help screens (thus, the manufacturers) to inform players.
The games’ odds may be reported as a theoretical RTP percentage, but they could also be reported as a ratio, similar to the way lottery games declare chances of winning a prize. Either way, these games don’t have to tell you how often to expect to win a prize of any amount.
Some players merely judge the looseness of slot games by how much money they win or how often they win as they play the games.
Some players judge the looseness of slot games by how popular they appear to be. This observational strategy assumes that the crowd knows more than the individual.
One of my friends tells me he only plays slot games with low jackpots. His reasoning is that players need to lose less money for someone to win $10,000 than for someone to win $20,000.
Slot Machines May Have Programmed Payout Limits
In another post on Quora from 2016, someone claimed to have industry experience in the Caribbean.
In his post, he said that a machine won’t pay more than it has accumulated after the first month of operation. That first month establishes the limit based on the profit the machine made.
The system is designed to be random within a range of percentages. The software decides when and how much to pay but won’t go over the monthly limit.
It should be obvious that this limit could be reset.
The Games Are Designed to Be as Random as Possible
People who design and repair slot machine games express much trust in the random number generator chips these games use. The RNGs, as they are called, use the latest available algorithms at the time they are manufactured.
Math has not yet progressed to the point where truly random numbers can be generated. Mechanical devices require input from an outside source to be truly random.
The way slot game designers handle this limitation is they design the chips to generate thousands of random numbers every second. The random numbers each take a turn at being available for use by the game.
Because of the percentage payouts and internal limits they use, slot machine games don’t have to be reprogrammed to improve casino profits. Everything is designed to run with as little intervention as possible.
And that is better for the casino because the more they can intervene in a game’s function, the more likely they’ll face regulation over that intervention.
Casino game techs often say that replacing chips in slot machines must follow a special procedure (in the United States). They are closely monitored and every part must be accounted for. So, it’s less expensive for casinos if they don’t tweak the games.
Conclusion
Slot Machines For Sale
An honest casino doesn’t need to control who wins at a slot game. They already control who can play a slot game. They can ask anyone to leave for any reason.
Naturally, casinos don’t do that. Instead. they purchase gaming systems that are designed to create an entertaining experience for patrons while legally retaining a profitable percentage of wagers.
No matter how much one’s frustration tempts a player into wondering about Big Brother Casino tweaking the game, it’s more profitable for the casino to let nature take its course.
A very common question that I get from people who are interested in advantage playing slots is how much money can I make? I’ll be straight up with you. It’s impossible to give a direct answer to that question. I know slot hustlers who barely make enough to pay their rent. I also know hustlers who regularly make more than $500000 a year. There are a variety of factors that will determine how much you can make. Here are the biggest ones that I can think of.
Machines
This one is pretty obvious. If there are few, if any advantage machines in a casino like Ocean Magic, Golden Egypt, Scarab or others, you won’t make much money. Some casinos are absolutely loaded with these types of slots you’ll feel like a kid in a candy store.
Competition
What you are capable of earning may be affected by how many other people are trying to do the same thing you are. Some of us get lucky & have a casino with little, if any competition. Whereas a place like Las Vegas with their many casinos & advantage machines obviously has a ton of slot hustlers which may make things difficult.
Bankroll
What are you working with? When I started doing this I had next to nothing. This put me in a significant disadvantage against the other advantage players because I was limited in what I could go after. Most must-hit by progressives were out of the question in the beginning because I couldn’t risk a big loss or busting out without hitting it. But don’t fret if your starting bankroll is low. Just be cognizant of it & hopefully someday you’ll be able to play for the big bucks.
Time
How much time are you willing to put into this? Some people view advantage playing slots simply as a hobby or a part-time job. They go to the casinos a few times a week & never spend more than a few hours each session. These types in my experience are usually the most easy-going hustlers because their entire existence doesn’t depend on casinos. On the flipside there are the hardcore hustlers who make this their entire life. No exaggeration, their entire life. These people are in a casino almost all day, everyday.
Discipline
What is your goal? Hopefully it’s to make a substantial profit over the long-term. But what do you do when there are no advantage machines in a playable state? Do you remain patient or do you break & start playing non-advantage games? What happens when you lose or take a bad beat? Do you brush it off & move on to the next play or start gambling on random machines in an effort to get back those losses?
How disciplined you are will go a long way in determining how successful you are at slot hustling. Just about all slot hustlers are pretty good at making money. But many of them do a poor job of holding onto it. After all most slot hustlers started off as your average, run of the mill gambler before figuring this stuff out & many often fall into some form of gambling trap. They may love to bet on sports, play at the tables or maybe have a favorite machine but I personally know too many hustlers who should be living comfortably but are grinding everyday because they keep blowing their winnings. Don’t be like them.
Build Your Own Slot Machine
With that said it is my hope that new advantage players will gain insight & develop a realistic expectation to how much can be made given their situation. This lifestyle isn’t for everyone but for some it could be everything they could ever dream of in a casino & more.