Slot Machine Check The Reels For Proper Operational
Slot Machine Check The Reels For Proper Operation Christmas Child

You don’t need any special skills to play a slot machine. All you do is select the spin button and wait for results.

The preceeding is a list of machines known to have been made by Caille Bros. Click on any machine name to bring up the encyclopedia page for that machine. The slot machine reels usually have around 50 to 100 symbols, three of which are displayed on the screen. The combinations may sometimes repeat, and reels can have a different length, but let’s assume that there are 50 unique combinations on each reel.

But this isn’t to say that you can’t do certain things to improve your chances of winning in slots. One of the easiest ways to boost your odds is by playing slot machines with high payback percentages.

Much like any other casino game, winning back more money gives you better odds of beating the casino.

But how do you find the highest-paying slot machines? And is this made easier with popular slots?

Find out as I cover different methods of finding payback for popular slot machines in both land-based and online casinos. But first, I’m going to discuss exactly what payback is for those who know little about this concept.

What Is Payback Percentage and Return to Player?

Two terms that you’ll often see in the slots world include payback percentages and return to player.

Slot machine check the reels for proper operations

Payback percentages and return to player (RTP) are the same thing, and they refer to how much money a slot machine pays over the long term.

Here’s an example.

A slot machine has 94% RTP
You bet $100 on this game
100 x 0.94 = $94
This slot machine will theoretically pay you $94 for every $100 wagered

I stress the word “theoretically,” because slot machines don’t hit their intended payback percentage in the short run. Instead, these are volatile games that only realize their RTP after hundreds of thousands or even millions of spins.

You might think that this diminishes the value of finding RTP. But if you continually play slot machines with high payback, then you’ll have the best chance to win money.

Finding Payback for Popular Land-Based Slot Machines

The land-based casino industry features plenty of famous slot machines, including IGT’s Ellen, Aristocrat’s Game of Thrones, Bally’s Hot Shot, IGT’s Megabucks, and IGT’s Wheel of Fortune.

Given how these machines take millions of dollars in collective bets every day, you’d think that it would be easy to find RTP for each one. But the truth is that it’s really hard to get info on land-based slot machines.

Note:

One problem is that casinos can order different payback for the same game. If IGT offers 10 different RTP options for their Ellen slot machine, then many casinos will to choose differently from each other.

Another problem is that there’s just not much information out there on land-based slot machine payback. You can google different terms again and again and still not find RTP for the most popular slots.

But as impossible as finding brick-and-mortar slots payback may seem, there are a few different avenues you can take.

Look at State Gaming Reports

One of the most reliable ways to find RTP data on slot machines is by looking at reports from gaming jurisdictions.

These records contain general information on what payback you can expect from different casinos. You may even get lucky and find payback percentages on the popular games.

This 2017 report from the Nevada Gaming Control Board shows the state’s average win from various coin denominations, as well as Megabucks.

Penny Slots = 90.17% payback (9.83% house take)
Nickel Slots = 94.54% payback (5.46% house take)
Quarter Slots = 93.06% payback (6.94% house take)
Dollar Slots = 93.94% payback (6.06% house take)
$5 Slots = 94.16% payback (5.82% house take)
$25 Slots = 95.03% payback (4.97% house take)
$100 Slots = 93.21% payback (6.79% house take)
Megabucks = 87.93% payback (12.07% house take)

Megabucks is arguably the world’s most famous slot machine. This game has paid out many of the biggest slots jackpots in history, including the largest one at $39.7 million.

This is why the Megabucks slot machine is the only one that regularly appears on the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s monthly/annual reports.

The data above shows that Megabucks only paid back 87.93% throughout 2017. This game doesn’t even match payback from Vegas penny slot machines (90.17%), which are notorious for being tight.

But it’s worth adding that the 87.93% payback refers to what Megabucks starts at after IGT seeds the initial jackpot.

Given that this is a progressive game, the jackpot grows with every bet. And Megabucks’ payback can be much higher than the 87.93% listed value.

Many famous slot machines with big progressive jackpots start around 88% payback, including Wheel of Fortune. You can then use the jackpot size to make an educated guess on how high the RTP has grown.

Be sure to look at your state’s gaming report to see what you can dig up on slot machine payback.

Odds are that you won’t find data on specific games, like with Megabucks in Nevada’s report. But you’ll at least get an idea of the casinos and coin denominations that are paying well.

Make General RTP Assumptions About Coin Denominations

Generally speaking, slot machines with higher coin denominations pay more money.

Of course, the statistics don’t always show this. A good example can be seen in the 2017 Nevada report discussed above, where everything from nickel to $100 slots are relatively even.

But also keep in mind that the $25 slot machines had the highest payback (95.03%). As for the $100 slots only paying 93.21%, this can be chalked up to a smaller sample size.

Only a small percentage of gamblers can actually afford to bet $100 per spin. This means that the $100 slot machines’ statistics will be more volatile than other denominations.

We can look at payback for coin denominations at Connecticut’s Foxwoods for evidence of this.

Penny Slots = 89.88% payback (10.12% house take)
Nickel Slots = 90.58% payback (9.42% house take)
Quarter Slots = 91.95% payback (8.05% house take)
Dollar Slots = 93.45% payback (6.55% house take)
$5 Slots = 94.08% payback (5.92% house take)
$25 Slots = 96.16% payback (4.84% house take)
$100 Slots = 96.76% payback (3.24% house take)

Slot Machine Check The Reels For Proper Operational

You can see here that payback progressively increases when moving from penny to $100 slots. The biggest separation is seen when moving from the $5 slots (94.08% RTP) to $100 games (96.76%).

Making generalizations about slots payback percentages based on games’ coin size isn’t a guaranteed plan. But it’s a solid method to use when you don’t have any other information.

Be careful when seeking out higher-denomination slots just for the payback, though. You’re still going to lose more money on high-denomination slots overall, even with the increased RTP.

Here’s a comparison using the Foxwoods’ data to illustrate this point.

I play a penny slot machine with 89.88% payback
I make 100 spins on this game, which has a $0.50 minimum bet
0.50 x 100 x 0.1012 house edge = $5.06 in losses
I play a $5 slot machine with 94.08% payback
I play 100 spins on this game, which has a $5 minimum bet
5 x 100 x 0.0592 house edge = $29.60 in losses

If you really want to play the higher-denomination games, then by all means, do so. But don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you’ll win more money this way.

Look at Overall Slots Payback for Casinos

You won’t have much luck finding RTP for individual slot machines, but you can at least develop a composite average by looking at overall payback among casinos.

State gaming reports, like the