We love them, we hate them, we hate to love them. Slot machines are one in their own kind. They’ve been among us since the 18th century. Back then there were no themes, no fancy electronics and no flashing lights. It was as humble as a drum powered machine that relied on the famous poker deck and your goal was to make poker for as low as a penny. Of course, pennies were worth much more two hundred years ago.
We’ve come a long way since then. We’ve actually came so far that we can take the liberty to discuss seven fun and interesting facts about slot machines.
They pay 90% of what they make
Slot machines are responsible for 80% of Casinos revenue but that doesn’t mean they are not generous with players. They actually pay 90% of the money they gather. Now, don’t get too excited. It doesn’t mean that 9 out of 10 people will leave the casino with enough money to buy a Rolex. It doesn’t work like that. It gives small amounts of money to players and the rest starts to accumulate into a succulent jackpot. Maybe next time it could be yours!
Slot machines can get as crazy as you think
We’ve already said it’s a two hundred year old game, so to keep it fresh developers and slot machine companies are investing money into creating attractive themes and acquiring licenses. Around the word you’ll find slots for big shows such as Bing bang Theory, Betty White, The voice, house of Cards and the Netflix hit Orange is the New black. And needless to say, where there’s money you’ll see Gene Simmons creeping around the corner. You don’t need to look too far to find a Kiss slot machine to rock your pockets. Beside of the themes, the visual and sound effects are crucial for these games to differentiate.
Of course, there’s the good’ol pirate and leprechaun theme that never gets old but there’s a crazy version out there where they’ve sent the poor leprechaun from the rainbow pot straight to hell in “Leprechaun goes to hell”. Hey, maybe if you try your luck with the green little man while in hell, he can help you pay for those deserved vacations in Aruba.
Winning myths are only myths
So, there are always myths around every game. There’s always someone that has a system, but sadly all those are just that: myths.
There are no hot or cold machines. They just aren’t design like that. It’s all ran by a random algorithm that can even let you win twice in a row if you are lucky enough. It would be extremely complex to program the machine to win or lose in a coin amount basis and still keep it fair with players. As we said before, slots still pay 90% what they make, so it’s just a matter of luck and that’s what’s been keeping us on our toes for slots since the 18th century.
You don’t need to leave the house anymore
Slots machines are more accessible to players as technical advances hit the market. With the internet speed boost we’ve been experiencing in the last ten years, plus tablets and phones being more capable of taking advantage of the extra power juice, online slot games have become a great way to experience games from your home, the park or while commuting to work. Helped by high resolution screens phones have nowadays, developers can replicate the experience you may get from a physical slot machine, with the same odds and algorithm above mentioned. If you are looking for an online platform that will offer you a huge portfolio of exciting slot games online, you can check out the 888 slot games section.
Taxes made them popular
Sometimes you wonder why there are slot machines in places outside casinos. You can find them in bars, clubs, small shops and minimarkets back in the 80’s. You can thank that to George Bush Sr. and Ronald Regan. They’ve increased taxes on business to a point where they had to find new ways to generate income. Of course, you couldn’t hold a poker game in bar. That’s illegal. But you could register a slot machine as a game. At this point you could find slots in every corner giving them the never ending popularity they’ve earned.
There are more slots in Japan than in United States
When you think about gambling the first thing that comes to mind is Las Vegas, and of course, it’s related to the American culture, movies and what not. You’ll be surprised to know that Japan has surpassed slot machines numbers by a mile. When we think about gambling in Japan we are leaning more towards Pachinkos, but studies resulted that there’s a slot machine for every 27 people in Japan, while in the States there’s one machine for every 350 Americans. That’s a huge difference. That said, Las Vegas has the record of allocating one machine every 8 citizens.
Fist slot machines had five reels
With online and electronic slots, five reel slot games are making a resurgence but for a while it’s been only three.
When slot machines where invented back in 18th century, as we informed above, they were inspired by poker so five reels where needed. The design was simplified to only three somewhere along the way.
Now, with electronic, digital and online slots we have several options to pick. From three to five reels. The advantage of these is that they are harder to manipulate, which makes it more fair to players, and they are cheaper to manufacture and maintain. It’s a win for everyone, since now this way of entertainment is accessible to a vast majority of player.
To conclude, this is a great time to be a slot machine enthusiast. We have online slots with our favorite shows and characters in them, also have old time classics that never get old which you can access from the comfort of your home using your PC, phone or tablet. If you are old school, you can always hit your local casino and spend some time there with the huge offer of slots either mechanical or electronic. Great thing about slots is that there’s something for everyone’s taste and now that you know these 7 fun and interesting facts we hope you enjoy your games even more.
