Casino Tech's Tell Mystery About Slot Machines

True, players can’t get an edge on slot machines except in rare circumstances such as large progressive jackpots or partially completed banked bonuses. The best strategies for playing the slots: B. Conserve your bankroll so that even losing sessions are a fair price for entertainment. There are no signals to look for that can tell you when a.

Ever seen one of the many Ocean’s films? They’re all about pulling off the perfect casino robbery. The meticulous planning, the execution; it’s enthralling to watch play out.

A certain casino repair man in Massachusetts, however, couldn’t do it with quite as much style.

According to the Boston Herald, Salvador Montalvo, Jr. thought he’d figured out the perfect way to swindle some money from his workplace, the MGM Springfield Casino. His job as a repair tech gave him access to slot machines in the casino. And as part of his duties, he’d need to ensure the machines awarded money correctly.

So over the course of five months, Montalvo, Jr. completed some documents with the forged signatures of his supervisors. Then he used those forms to withdraw $23,940 from cashiers at the casino, pocketing most of money in a plan he apparently thought was bulletproof.

Casino Techs Tell Mystery About Slot Machines Free Play

We know what you’re probably thinking. It would’ve been way cooler if he’d just rigged the machines and had some deep, calculating plot to have a friend come in and win a bunch of money, right? YES! That would’ve been way more Ocean’s-like. Done correctly, Montalvo and his friend could’ve been halfway to Tahiti before anyone realized what had happened.

Or maybe he could’ve gone all-in on the movie robbery. He could’ve assembled a team of professionals, including a computer hacker and a trapeze artist. He could’ve instructed the hacker to disable security, while also sending the trapeze artist through the ventilation shafts so they could rappel down into the casino’s vault and steal the money. And then he could’ve used his skills as a slot machine repair tech to make all of the machine’s go absolutely berserk at just the right time, providing the perfect distraction so he and his team could make an escape.

We’d pay $20 to go see that in a theater.

Unfortunately, Montalvo, Jr. chose to steal the money in the most straightforward way possible; he took it, he created records of him taking it, and then he never gave it back. His mistake was believing that — because the casino had so much money — it wouldn’t notice that a few thousand dollars had gone missing. But casinos are meticulous when it comes to keeping track of funds. Someone was inevitably going to figure it out. And sure enough, they did.

Now, you don’t need to dream up some elaborate — or in this case, simple — way to rob a casino. You can actually gamble online and potentially win some money without even having to spend a time. There are a bunch of casinos that offer free spins, and website that catalogs them where you can learn more.

As for Montalvo, Jr? He’s been indicted and faces charges for both larceny and falsifying documents. There’s no word on when he’ll face trial or how much time he could potentially face in prison, but we do know this: had he just played some casino games online, he could’ve made some money without ending up in cuffs.

Or he could’ve dreamed up a more Hollywood-friendly scheme and sold his story to a film studio. Seriously, how did he think the casino wasn’t going to notice all that missing cash?

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Casino Techs Tell Mystery About Slot Machines To Play

No other segment of the gaming industry has benefited more from the technology revolution than the slot machine. Once considered the ugly stepdaughter placed on the gaming floor to appease the spouses of table players, the slot machine has been transformed into the fairy princess of the gaming world. With her, she has brought a dowry of riches no one would have imagined for the casino and a few lucky players as well. Over twenty years ago the slot machine accounted for 30 percent of the casinos' profits. Today it accounts for about 70 percent. Computer technology and the ability to play with little to no gambling knowledge makes it possible to offer life-changing jackpots big enough to turn a pauper into a king.

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However, the fact that it doesn't take much gambling knowledge to play means that most people don't understand the inner working of the slots -- which makes it easy to explain a loss or a win with some false logic. Like any other 'wives tales' these are passed from person to person until they become gospel. Most of these myths and misconceptions are harmless but they can add to your frustration and take away some of the enjoyment of your casino visit. Let’s take a look at a few of the most popular myths and the truth behind them.

Myth #1

Someone hit a jackpot on the machine you just left -- so you would have won that jackpot if you kept playing.
This is probably one of the most common notions about slot machine gambling -- but it's patently false. The slot machines have a computer chip inside that runs the Random Number Generator (RNG). The RNG is continuously cycling through numbers even when the machine is not being played. These numbers correspond to the stops on the wheel that display the winning or losing symbols that you see when the reels stop. When you hit the spin button or pull the handle, the RNG picks the combination at that given microsecond. If you had stayed at the machine, it is highly unlikely that you would have stopped the RNG at the exact nano-second to display that same combination of numbers. In the time it takes to talk with a friend or sip your drink the RNG has cycled through thousands of combinations.

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Myth #2

You can tell the odds of winning by counting the symbols on each wheel.
Actually, you can't. The RNG generates a number for each spin. There can be hundreds of virtual stops on each wheel even though you only see a few symbols. For example, you may see 20 symbols on each wheel of a three-reel machine. You figure 20 x 20 x 20 = 8,000 combinations and your chance of hitting the jackpot is 1 in 8000. In reality, the computer chip may program 256 stops for each wheel which makes the odds 256 x 256 x 256 =16,777,216 combinations. Being able to generate millions of combinations is the reason that slots can offer large paybacks.

Myth #3

Casinos can loosen or tighten the slot machines with the flip of a switch.
In actuality, the slot machines have a computer chip in them that determines the payback percentage. These are preset at the factory. In order for a casino to change the payback, they would have to change the chip. In most jurisdictions, there is paperwork that has to be filled and submitted to the Casino Control Commission for each machine if the chip is changed. It's time-consuming and the chips are very expensive. For this reason, it is more economical to decide on the payback percentages before purchasing the machines and having the factory ship them with the proper chip.

Myth #4

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A machine that has not been paying out is due to hit.
There is no way to determine if a machine is due to hit. Each spin is a random occurrence and has no bearing on what has happened previously. Don't ever play more than you should because of this misconception -- it will be devastating to your bankroll if you do.

Myth #5

The temperature of the coins played will affect the way a machine pays.
Unfortunately, the machine is not affected by temperature. It doesn't matter if you play hot, cold, old or new coins. The coin slot is a mechanical device and has no feeling.

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Myth #6

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If you use your slot club card the machine will pay back less.
This may well be the most damaging myth of them all. There is no link between the card reader and the RNG, but by not using your player's card you are denying yourself valuable comps and sometimes cash back from the casino.