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I'd like to share with
you an intriguing tale about my wife's visit to the slot machine
Twilight Zone at the new Argosy's Empress Casino Joliet the evening
of Saturday, May 31.
Since a vast
majority of recreational casino gamblers play the slots, I thought
it would make for interesting as well as informative reading. Here's
what happened:
She was playing
a 3-coin fifty cent IGT "Triple Stars" reel machine. She
started with twenty dollars and had 171 credits on the machine ($85.50)
after about 10 minutes of playing time. Then came the fateful spin:
She hit the max-coin play button and watched as the jackpot symbol
came to rest on the first reel payline, followed by the jackpot
symbol on the second reel payline, then felt her heart skip a beat
waiting for the third and decisive reel to stop.
Georgette knew
that on the particular machine she was playing, the two jackpot
symbols meant than any symbol that nestled on the third reel's payline
would mean a 9-times payoff. A third jackpot symbol would mean the
6,000-coin ($3,000) jackpot. Unfortunately, she never found out.
As soon as the
second reel stopped, the machine shut down. Her 171 credits were
erased from the electronic meter. The third reel froze with no symbol
on the payline. We immediately summoned a casino slot attendant,
who determined that it would be necessary to call the on-duty representative
from the Illinois Gaming Board.
The IGB official
assessed the situation, then instructed the slot attendant to open
up the machine. He then asked the attendant to remove the internal
circuit motherboard. The official took possession of the board and
ordered the machine to be taken out of service. He then informed
us that it would be sent to an independent testing lab to be examined.
The slot attendant
reimbursed my wife for the 171 fifty-cent credits she had on the
machine at the time of the incident, then took our name and address
and said we'd be contacted when there was resolution.
I presented
this scenario to nationally recognized video poker and slot machine
expert John Robison, who holds a Master's degree in computer science
from the prestigious Stevens Institute of Technology. Here, in part,
is what John had to say:
"Wow. That's
quite a story. I know I'm stating the obvious, but there was some
sort of massive malfunction. I have no idea what it might have been.
Whether or not the result of the spin was going to be a hand-paid
jackpot is another matter.
"The machine
stores the results of the last five or so games. I don't know when
the machine stores that information, but it's probably done sometime
between starting the game and stopping the reels. The casino should
have been able to retrieve the result of the spin, but it seems
like the failure may have caused them to not be able to retrieve
it.
"The outcome?
Well, (mathematically) the most likely symbol to land on the third
reel is probably a blank. If the lab says that the third symbol
was supposed to be a blank, it's impossible not to think that you're
being cheated.
"I think
there are three scenarios. One: the lab cannot retrieve what the
result was supposed to be. Two: The lab says the third symbol was
a blank. Three: The lab says the third symbol was a non-blank."
As soon as the
results of the testing lab are in and we hear from the Illinois
Gaming Board, I'll let you know what happened.
In the meantime,
always be alert when playing slots and video poker. Be sure to report
any irregularities in the play of the machine to a casino representative.
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