Casino Guide: Designing Casinos to Rule the Competition

Entertain, build a dreamy atmosphere, and arouse the senses: that’s what good casino design is all about. Most casinos don’t have windows to the outside, clocks or water fountains – nothing that would sidetrack a patron from the games or the availability of free cocktails. The typical casino layout encompasses a tremendous amount of square footage – you would need a casino map to get around the 171,000 square feet of slot machines and gaming tables at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Another feature of casinos is the intentionally poor navigation – these facilities are built like mazes, so it’s hard to find your way out. Then there’s the steady bombardment of noises, some of which are intended to give you false hope, because if you can constantly hear bells ringing on the slots, then people must be winning, right? Loose slot machines, which pay out more often, are usually placed near high traffic areas such as aisles or near the change booth, so more patrons can witness winners.

Very few casinos have more than one level, although The Sands in Macao is a glaring exception. Their casino map features various gaming and entertainment facilities layered above each other. This breaks the unofficial casino design rule of gaming facilities developed horizontally with any hotel towers being placed above them. Normally there would be no stairs within a casino, because owners want to allow free movement within the facility.

Any casino guide worth its salt would tell you that the theme of the facility is a vital concern. Support facilities like golf and the health spa are also important, since patrons base their opinions on the entire experience, not just the gambling. Attention must therefore be paid to the hotel tower, and the quality of the rooms. Another essential aspect to the casino layout is parking – players who have driven to a gaming area will often stick to a casino that’s close to where their vehicle is parked.

The layout of a casino is usually carefully planned in consultation with a casino psychologist, who will ensure that the different games are placed in positions that would encourage patrons to spend as much as possible. The psychologist tells the casino where to put the looser slots, and where the tighter ones should go. Almost every aspect of casino design and layout is done with the input of the casino psychologist.

The next time you find yourself roaming around, take a moment and realize that the experience was specifically tailored and created; the casino layout was designed to grab you, and your wallet!

Thanks to their ability to leave the gamer flat broke, and also because they were initially controlled by a lever on the side instead of the modern button on the front panel, casino slot machines are also known as one-armed bandits.

Secrets of Internet Slot Machines Revealed

The Slot machine has become the most popular way to gamble in Las Vegas. They take up most of the space on casino floors, and contribute largely to overall gambling revenues. The first thing you need to do when playing slots machines is to decide what your hard line betting number will be. Our slot machine guide research led us to some simple conclusions. We recommend three-reel pay lines, because when learning about how slot machines work, we discovered that these machines frequently pay the most and the most often.

Both spinning reel and video have their slots payout based on a random number generator (RNG). They all have a programmed amount of winning and losing combinations. Of course, there are far more losing and small win combinations than there are large and top prize combos. If you get a near miss, don’t fall victim to the “I’m about to hit the jackpot” mindset – that’s precisely what the casino wants. Each spin is unrelated to the last, and is selected by the RNG.

Slots on the Internet

Internet slot machines are pretty straightforward. The random number generator chooses three figures in a three-reel game, each of which matches up to a stop on each reel, and then the machine directs the reels to stop on the spots chosen by the RNG. Five-line video slots use the same principle: five random numbers, one for each reel. By the time the reels start spinning the game is already over – the RNG has already picked the stops and the reels spin only as a courtesy to the player.

Casinos initially installed slot machines as entertainment for casual gamers. In due course the machines moved off the sidelines to become the most popular and lucrative game in town, bringing in excess of 60 percent of the yearly gaming profits in the United States – the idea of slots had proven to be a monstrous success. Trying to figure out how slot machines work has become difficult since there are so many varieties. Classic mechanical designs have been almost totally replaced by computer-controlled machines.

One of the biggest myths about slot machines is that they stop on different numbers with equal probability. This is not true of modern machines: a slots payout is more likely on some slots than on others. Every attempt you make on the machine is random, and unaffected by past attempts.

Always remember that casino operators are several steps ahead of your efforts to locate the one machine that’ll pay you big. That said, the first step you need to take is to familiarize yourself with how slot machines work. Begin your visit by testing the penny machines with a $5 limits. If you don’t get at least hit from a dozen tries, move on: that machine is probably not player-friendly.

Slot Machine Strategy: How to Win (Most of the Time)

    1. Casinos tend to put the slot machines that have better odds of winning at the front and on the ends of rows, so people walking by will see winners.
    2. Check your budget to decide how much you want to bet during the session, so you can know which machines you can play.
    3. In our study of how slot machines work, we found that you should bet the maximum if you want to start beating slot machines. Most casinos will give you a bonus for winning if you bet the maximum so it pays off to max out.

In spite of these strategies, winning at slots is tough; because there is no way anyone can determine the exact outcome of a machine roll. Modern slot machines use random number generators to produce millions of number combinations for each spin. Even the idea of the “loose” machine suggested by many strategists is now considered by experienced gamers to be a myth.

One of the few ways of beating slot machines outright is to play progressive slots. Simply note what the basic jackpot is, and when the progressive ticker brings it to three times what it started at, begin playing. If you favorite game’s jackpot starts at $1000, for example, wait until the progressive jackpot is up to $3000 and then start playing keenly. As the progressive jackpot rises, the expected value gets better and better, until at one point it becomes positive.

Because of this slot machine strategy, and the ever-increasing payouts of these machines, many players are attracted to progressive slots. The system sets no limits on the jackpot, and as more and more players try the machines, the jackpot grows. There are several types of progressive machines offered in casinos nowadays. Most casinos only keep one type for easier regulation.

No Slot Machine Strategy Is Guaranteed

Video slot machines are like reel slot machines when you get down to the basics. This is especially important when playing video slots. Winning at slots, whether it’s live or online, entails knowing the rules, so make sure you read them before you play. And don’t fall into slot machine myths: if a video slot machine hits a jackpot it doesn’t mean it can’t hit another on the next spin.

Random number generators take less than one-hundredth of a second to crunch numbers. It is always generating numbers, even when idle. Keep in mind that slots are games of chance, and there’s no way to learn what will happen next, but that doesn’t mean you can’t play smart!