Dear John:
Thank you so much
for your candor with your responses to the often trite quips some people
tend to write to you about! I really enjoy reading your column. With
that said, here are a few questions I have which I hope you can answer
with the same honesty and expertise as all the rest.
I remember reading
something a while ago regarding the RNG in the newer slots and how the
virtual reels basically don't stop and that the RNG is continuously
generating numbers and does not stop this process. My question is how
can the RNG be pumping out these random combinations endlessly? I mean
how can something start if it has not, at one point in its lifetime,
been at a stopped position in order to start? If true, then the RNG
can't be constantly on and generating combinations for outcome possibilities,
correct?
What is your experience
with a slot machine tilting, like a pin-ball machine? I was playing
a quarter 3-reel triple star machine, hit the spin button and blammo
-- all the reels just started going, and going, and going. It was a
slow spin and all three reels would not stop. Obviously there was an
error and the light came on and the attendant was notified. The dial
reported TILT. The attendant opened the machine, reset it and went away.
I asked why this happened, she said sometimes it just gets out of whack
or something generic like that. I have never seen this before and was
curious.
Again, thank you
for all your wonderful insight and advice!
Ashlee
Dear Ashlee,
Thank you
for the kind words about my column.
It's true
that the RNG runs continuously on modern slot machines. But there
is a time when it gets started. When a machine is turned on, it runs
some self-checks, starts the RNG, and then waits for someone to play
it.
It's exactly
like booting up your PC. Nothing is running when it's off, but when
you turn it on, it runs some self-checks, loads some software, starts
running some processes, and then waits for your input to tell it what
to do.
I have had
a machine tilt on me while I was playing it. The attendant gave you
a pretty good explanation. The machine has detected something that
isn't quite right and it is requesting that an attendant reset it.
I suppose you'd have to check the slot management system or query
the machine itself to find out exactly what has gone wrong.
Ed Rogich,
vice president for marketing for IGT, once said this about tilts:
A tilt can be caused by a number of factors, including jammed tokens,
a power surge, improper maintenance and a security breach.
Best of
luck in and out of the casinos,
John
Dear Sir,
I was wondering
something. When I visit my sister in Michigan, we usually go to the
Soaring Eagle. We
play the Triple Diamond slot machines. Which is better, putting a couple
of dollars in at a time, or putting a $20 bill in to play with. The
last time I was there, I played a long time on the Triple Diamond and
then I got off and played something else. While I was gone, a man took
over and won 1800 credits on it. I think he kept putting 20s in.
So what do you suggest?
Thank you for reading
this and helping me.
Sincerely,
Cynthia
Dear Cynthia,
It doesn't
make any difference whether you put in a couple of dollars at a time
or a $20 bill. The machine only cares that you have enough credits
to play a game. It doesn't care if you load up on credits before you
play or pay as you go.
Best of
luck in and out of the casinos,
John
My mother was in Dover, Delaware playing a slot machine when the power
went out on the line of machines she was playing. She had a lot of credits
and lost all of them due to this power failure.
I witnessed this
myself because I was playing a machine beside her. I had just cashed
out when this happened, so I did not lose anything.
The casino checked
on this for her and said she did not lose any, but I know she did.
Slot machines
are designed to be able to recover from power failures without losing
anything. If you're sure that your mother did lose credits, I suggest
that you file a complaint with the appropriate casino control commission.
Best of
luck in and out of the casinos,
John
dear sir the question i have is regarding the realationship between
the bet button and the spin button on say any three wheel slot machine
for simplicity shall we say in other words is the rng set in motion
or activated or predetermaned by the bet button and time interval of
the spin button sounds funny but is there a realationship that takes
place as it seems as though the odds increase as the bet amount does
so you would think the bet and spin button would possibly have a bearing
on odds versus rng versus start time for rng or may be something like
1 coin bet would be equal to 16 bit encryption calculations for the
rng sequence and so on 2 coin bet 24 bit encryption calculations 3 coin
bet 32 bit calculation for the rng to increase the odds of hitting that
magic number that corresponds to the jackpot symbols on a machine just
curious
The number
of coins you play has no influence on the RNG. There is only one RNG
function, one virtual reel layout for each reel. The program running
the slot doesn't even care about the number of coins played until
it comes time to determine if the result chosen by the RNG is a winning
combination and, if so, how much to pay for it.
Finally,
may I suggest that you Google "punctuation"?
Best of
luck in and out of the casinos,
John
Dear Mr. Robison,
I'm the Revenue
Manager for an European Cruise Line and I have an important question
for you.
At the moment I'm
crossing the Atlantic Ocean from Italy to Florida; one of our passenger
likes to play with slot machines - 1500,00 $ per day -.
After few days she
asked me if it's possible to play with the same machines every day;
of course she is a very nice lady and she did many cruises with us,
but I need to know if it's legal to reserve a slot machine just for
her onboard a Cruise ship....We have some complaints for other pax,
but as Revenue Manager I want to give a good service and make money!
I know that we can
do with the tables but what about slot machines? There is any rules
in USA?
Waiting for your
reply.
I can't
give you any legal advice. You'll have to consult with your attorneys
for that.
I can say
that each gambling jurisdiction in the United States sets its own
rules about reserving machines. It's not unusual in Las Vegas, for
example, for a casino to reserve a high-denomination machine for the
exclusive use of a player during his or her stay.
Best of
luck in and out of the casinos,
John
