Casino Slot Machine Secrets. Use the Casino Lobby. Not everything you see on the homepage (aka. 'the Lobby') of an online casino is worth your money. Casino sites use the lobby. Special Bonuses. Contact Support. Wagering Requirements. 5.: How to Tell if a Slot Machine is Ready to Pay. Here you will find our slots guide on how to win at slot machines, collated and prepared by our team of gambling experts and aficionados at CasinoToday. Plus, we will also share some easy to implement strategies that will help players, just like you, to improve the chances of winning on slot machines overall.

Recently, I read a blog post that suggested I write my posts to an imaginary avatar—an individual who needs my help and advice, and I should write to that person as if we were just shooting the breeze around a campfire.

I have an avatar in mind now. He visits the Winstar Casino in Oklahoma every Friday, and he usually takes one of his 2 girlfriends there.

He plays the slots, and he’s lost almost $7000 this year already. He’s obsessed with climbing the VIP club ladder, too.

Here’s my advice to this Oklahoma slot machine player:

1- Start Playing Poker Instead of Slot Machines, You Nitwit

The payback percentage on the slot machines in Oklahoma is awful.

We’re talking about games in a jurisdiction where the casinos aren’t even required to report their payback percentages.

In many jurisdictions, the payback percentages for slot machines must be above a certain number, and they must report their actual paybacks over time.

Neither of these rules apply to the casinos in Oklahoma, so you don’t have any way of knowing what the payback percentage on these games is.

My guess is that they’re only slightly better than the payback percentage you’d see playing scratch and win lottery tickets.

What does this translate to in terms of hourly expected losses?

I know that you play for at least $3 per spin, and you probably make an average number of spins per hour—600. You’re putting $1800 per hour into action.

At that 80% figure, you’re getting back just $1440 in winnings, which means you’re losing $360 per hour on average. It might be even more than that.

That’s expensive entertainment, man.

Seriously, how many movie tickets can you buy for $720—the predicted cost for 2 hours play on those machines?

But I know you want to keep gambling, so here’s my advice:

Switch to poker.

You like playing poker, and you enjoy socializing with the other players at the table. The only downside to poker for you is the slow action.

You’re probably never going to be a winning poker player, but you at least have a chance in poker.

And no way do you play so badly that you’re operating at a 20% disadvantage.

2- Stop Trying to Climb Higher on the VIP List for the Slots Club

I know you’re excited about the perks of being a high roller on the VIP list in the players club there. You only mention it every time we talk about the casino.

But don’t you realize that the amount of money it’s costing you to climb that VIP ladder far exceeds the amount of monetary value you’re getting in return?

The program has 3 tiers, and you’re already in the 2nd tier, trying to move up to the 3rd tier.

And what kind of perks do you get for that 3rd tier?

A 20% discount at the spa?

Really?

I don’t know what’s in the VIP gift packages, but whatever they include, I guarantee you could buy it cheaper if you stopped losing money playing the slots there.

Yeah, the free stuff is cool, and you feel like a VIP, but you can feel like a VIP just by spending money and come out ahead.

3- Host Your Own Poker Game Instead of Going to the Casino Every Weekend

I love playing in an actual cardroom in a casino, and you’ll find plenty of action at whatever stakes you prefer at the cardroom in the Winstar.

But even that’s not free.

The Winstar, like every other casino in the United States, charges a rake in exchange for hosting the poker game. This takes the form of 5% of each raked pot.

Even if you’re just as good as the other players at the table, you can’t break even when the casino is taking 5% out of every pot.

On the other hand, you know lots of poker players here in town. And I know you own a poker table and clay chips.

The only trick is finding poker players who want to play for the same stakes you do.

I know you enjoy cooking and playing the host, too. You can go to bed after everyone leaves without driving for 45 minutes to get home, too.

Most importantly, you stand a better chance of winning money in your home poker game because you’re not having to pay the 5% rake to the casino out of every pot.

4- Find Some Women to Hang Out with Who Don’t Like to Gamble

I know that part of the reason you visit the casino so often is because these 2 women you date both love to gamble.

I also know that they love gambling with your money, not theirs. After all, we’re talking about one woman who cleans the rooms at a nursing home for a living, and the other woman is a waitress.

Neither of them can afford to gamble at the levels you like to gamble.

I know how much money you’ve lost at the casino this year, but I wonder if that amount accounts for the money you’ve given these 2 girlfriends?

You have a few rational choices here:

You could try finding other activities to engage in with these women. They might like these activities, or they might not.

I doubt either of them would break up with you just because you stop taking them to the casino.

You could try getting these 2 women to learn how to play poker. I’ve met both of them, though, and I’m convinced that neither of them are going to be great at the game.

Even so, they’re not idiots. If they’re willing, they can learn to play Texas holdem well enough to do better at that game than they do at the slot machines.

Finally, you could just dump both these gals and find new ladies to spend time with doing other stuff.

We live near Dallas. You can find plenty of educational and culturally things to do that don’t involve pouring money into gambling machines on the behalf of these women.

I know you struggle with dealing with life without using beer and marijuana as crutches.
But your lifestyle as a degenerate gambler all ties together.

No one—not even you—makes good decisions under the influence.

They especially make bad decision when it comes to gambling.

Losing as much money each year playing slot machines as you do is objectively a bad decision.

You have so many more fulfilling things you could be doing with your money than drinking, smoking, and gambling with it.

If you enjoy the risk involved with gambling, you could try gambling at something that involves higher risks but potentially much higher rewards.

And you’ll have far more influence over your destiny gambling on an investment in your own business than you ever will playing slot machines at the Winstar Casino.

Any of these opportunities at least affords you the opportunity to succeed and win money. It’s also easier to write off your losses as a business owner than it is to write off your losses as a gambler.

In fact, the only way you get to write off your losses as a gambler is if you come home a winner.

Otherwise, your losses are just an entertainment expense, which is not generally a tax deductible expenditure.

You could even combine your love of gambling with a new business. I don’t recommend starting your own underground cardroom, as tempting as that is in this area.

It’s a felony to run a gambling hall in Texas, after all.

But you could open a store in the mall selling poker equipment and do quite well with it.

Poker tables, poker chips, and playing cards are all available wholesale and you can make big profits re-selling such items.

You could even expand your inventory to include things like dart boards, pool tables, and jukeboxes.

You could even sell gambling books and DVDs.

7- Travel to Vegas a Couple Times a Year Instead of Going to Oklahoma Every Weekend

Sure, traveling to Las Vegas a couple times a year might cost a little more than visiting Oklahoma every weekend, but I think you can still come out way ahead—even with the travel costs.

Let’s look at the numbers again. We already figured out that you lose an average of $360 per hour playing slots in Oklahoma.

And you go every weekend, so let’s be generous and say you only spend an hour playing each weekend.

That’s 52 hours at $360 per hour, or over $18,000 per year in gambling losses.

I know, you’ve only lost $6000 or $7000 this year, but if you keep playing, the Law of Large Numbers will ensure that your actual results will eventually start to look like the expected results.

Now let’s say you decide to go to Vegas twice a year instead. We’ll assume you’re going to spend $2000 on flights, and another $1000 on your rooms.

Let’s call it another $1000 for meals and entertainment.

That’s $4000 for the travel expenses to Vegas, including entertainment and food. Your total might be different depending on when you go and where you cut corners.

I know you can fly out there for a lot less than that, but I’m assuming you’re flying first class or something.

Now let’s assume you’re going to spend 3 days in Vegas on each trip, and you’re going to spend 2 hours per day gambling. That’s 12 hours total.

The slot machines in Vegas have a payback percentage of closer to 92%, so the house edge is about 8%–give or take.

If you spend 12 hours putting $1800 into action, you’ll put a total of $21,600 into action.

Your expected loss on that kind of action is $1728.

So you’re looking at $6000 or so in total expenses traveling to Vegas to gamble twice a year, compared to $18,000 if you travel to the Winstar every weekend.

You’ll enjoy the Vegas trips more, too, I promise you.

8- Go Ahead and Open that Online Sportsbook Account You Keep Talking About

I know you watch football every weekend, and I know you participate in the betting pools at work. I also know you’ve been thinking about signing up for an online sportsbook like 5Dimes.

You should go for it.

You don’t have to limit yourself to 5Dimes, but they’re rated 4 stars on our site, and they’re happy to accept action from United States bettors.

Other options include bet365, Bookmaker.eu, and Bovada. Each of them has its pros and cons.

You could get some money into action every weekend during football season, and maybe that would satisfy your gambling urges as well as or better than playing slot machines in Oklahoma.

I’d much rather see you risking your money this way than playing slots or even the lottery.

9- Don’t Worry about Using Up the Rest of Your Player Points this Year

That’s how they get you, man.

If you don’t visit the casino, you can’t lose money on their slot machines.

And the only way you can redeem those player points for something of any value is to visit the casino.

By buying into this incentivized gambling scheme that the casino has going, you’re just keeping that monkey on your back.

If you do decide that you’ve earned so much incentives that you just can’t forgo using them, at least limit yourself to the poker games when you visit.

If you’re not sure you have the self-discipline or self-control to do that, skip it.

Or call someone who’s willing to hold you accountable before, during, and after you visit to the Winstar.

Even better, take someone with you and explain to them what you’re trying to do on your way there.

Those incentives are worth FAR less than the amount of money you’re losing on the slot machines there.

10- Read Some Good Books about How Gambling Actually Works

For most gamblers who want to become better educated about how gambling actually works, I suggest reading Winning Ways: The American MENSA Guide to Casino Gambling by Andrew Brisman.

It’s a great book, and you should definitely find a used copy of it and read it.

But I have another book you should start with:

Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas

This is one of the most eye-opening books you’ll ever read about how slot machine gambling works in any casino, even though it specifies Las Vegas in the title.

Natasha Dow Schüll wrote this one.

Some people consider me a gambling expert, and I know a lot about slot machines and how they work.

But Addiction by Design STILL made my jaw drop with surprise at how nefarious the design and implementation of slot machines works.

Once you’ve read those 2 books, in either order, you should move on to some more general gambling thinking books like Getting the Best of It by David Sklansky.

You should also read books about winning at poker, like The Theory of Poker (also by Sklansky).

And if you decide to follow up on my sports betting suggestions, pick up Sharp Sports Betting by Stanford Wong.

You can find a lot of great information about gambling on the internet for free, but you have to wade through a lot of junk to find informative and educational pages like the ones I write on the internet.

When you’re reading gambling books—especially the ones I recommended above—you can be confident that you’re getting accurate information that might actually help you win some money over the course of your gambling career.

I might sound really negative about Oklahoma slot machines, but I don’t mean to.

I’ve written this post with a specific audience in mind—the guy who spends too much money gambling on the slots in Oklahoma.

If you’re like me, and you only visit Oklahoma casinos 3 or 4 times a year, much of this advice doesn’t apply.

You’re a recreational gambler paying reasonable amounts for your entertainment.

What advice would you give someone who’s playing too many slot machines in Oklahoma?

The first pit stop in Las Vegas for most visitors is usually a casino. Whether you are an experienced player on the casino floor or just starting, slot machines are the most profitable and entertaining games available.

Slot machines have proven to be popular among players time and time again. Casinos and other entertainment facilities are profiting tremendously from the revenues collected from slots.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board reports that the Las Vegas Strip contained over 160,000 slot machines in 40 different locations in 2019, generating revenues reaching almost $270 million per month.

Best Slot Machines To Win In Vegas

While these numbers are beneficial to the establishments and their operators, slot machines are also known to be the most profitable game in a casino for the user.

Slot machines, on average, have an RTP, or return to player, between 75% and 98%; in other words, for every dollar a player spends, the slot machine will yield about 75 to 98 cents right into their pocket.

Even with the high RTP and revenue, Las Vegas and other cities famous for their casinos fill their halls with slot machines because anyone can press a button.

Commitment is never a priority; the player can put down a small individual bet. A poker face is never required, neither is real skill, to win big.

However, research is still encouraged to profit off of slot machines at the highest level, such as reading on user experience on specific games and reading the RTP at each Las Vegas casino.

Return to player is perhaps the most critical factor in picking the best slot to play in Vegas. The higher the RTP percentage, the more likely the slot will payout.

An amateur way to discover a slot’s RTP percentage is to test it with a bet. If a slot claims to have a 94% payout, then after a $100 bet, the payback would equate to about $94. While this may seem straightforward, this method does not fit every player.

Checking message boards and online threads, as well as comparison sites containing slots reviews, are a great way to find the best slots in Vegas. Notable websites encourage players to share their experiences with slot machines; most of their reviews focus on the amount of cash they get to keep after playing.

Another tip to finding one of the better slots offered in Las Vegas is to look for promotions. By signing up to the casino’s player’s club, customers can access unique games, receive free slot plays, and gain eligibility to have freebies on their next visit.

Benefits are significant, especially when the rounds on the slot machines are free, increasing the already high payout.

The most profitable slots are coined as “loose slots” because they pay out the most amount of money to the player and are thus very desirable among customers.

A feature of profitable slot machines called “progressive jackpots” has become a popular way to transform a couple of hundred bucks to millions.

Progressive jackpots offer prize money compared to the national lottery games, which can easily make a millionaire in a single evening.

According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, the dollar slots pay back an average of 95% of receipts, 25 cent slots payout 93% on average, and 5 cent slots give back 90% to the players.

The payout from slots at the downtown or other off-Strip locations is one or two percent higher than those on the Strip. Hotel-casinos frequented by locals, such as Sam’s Town, pay better than the tourist hotels in the city. Nevada residents well know that fact when they consider which facilities contain the best slots in Vegas.

Moreover, the newer and more luxurious hotels are known for having the overall poorest RTP percentages.

Some of those hotels include the Bellagio, Venetian, Mandalay Bay, and the new Wynn Las Vegas. Since the amenities of these hotels are off the charts, slot machines do not have to be the most profitable asset (at least to the player).

However, some of these lavish hotels offer great prizes and entertainment that makes a higher payout from the slot machine. The Bellagio, for example, provides a slot tournament with 2,300 games as options. From jackpots and progressive features, the Bellagio slot machines can grow small bets into millions.

Generally, the best slots in Vegas are located in the older properties of the North Strip.

Slot machines may look flashy and modern, especially themed slots, but that does not mean they have the highest payout. The more traditional and old-looking games may be a better money’s worth.

Much like the endorphin rush of a “win,” a good-looking slot machine can trick the brain chemistry into wagering more money than intended. With that in mind, a simple-looking slot should be considered to help players gamble responsibly and win big.

Rather than always playing Star Wars or Avengers slot machines, players should have an eye out for the more dated and less appealing slot machines available on the casino floor. Many of them have substantial RTP rates and have stood the test of time.

One of these seemingly unappreciated slots is housed in Slots-a-Fun at Circus Circus Casino in Las Vegas. The selection includes classics, such as “Double Diamond” and “Red, White, and Blue.” Although they are not the flashiest, they are the best slots in Vegas.

Slots-a-Fun is a classic and exclusive casino that incorporates slot machines paired with an arcade, pool tables, bowling, and other forms of entertainment. Their slots have been proven time and time again as the machines to make the next big Vegas winner.

As mentioned before, these slots are not located conveniently for the tourists on the Strip. A general rule of thumb to follow: the more touristy the casino, the lower the payback on the slot machines.

While the Las Vegas Strip has a win percentage of about 8%, the slots in Reno and Boulder have a more generous casino wins of around 5%.

Some of the casinos located in Reno, Boulder, and North Vegas include Eastside Cannery, Sunset Station, M Resort, Jerry’s Nugget, Texas Station, and Boulder Station.

Geographical location should not be the only consideration when looking for great slots. Some veteran gamblers and websites claim that corners within a specific casino itself have some of the better slot machines.

High traffic areas, such as near elevators, a front desk, aisles, showrooms, registration areas, etc., contain the loosest slots in the casino.

Some people do not even have to go to a casino to access a slot machine. An entertainment facility is perhaps the unrivaled source to use for the best slots in Vegas.

Airports, convenience stores, and grocery stores are the first locations to avoid playing slot machines. Even though the majority are in clean and well-run establishments, they do not offer significant returns with their slot machines.

What these three different places have in common is that under Nevada law the slot machines in airports, convenience stores, and grocery stores are entirely controlled by large corporations.

With that in mind, it should not be surprising that the slot machines in these facilities provide a much lower payout percentage than the typical slot found in a Las Vegas casino.

Even though convenience store owners can obtain a lease or purchase of slot machines, the Nevada law changed in favor of larger corporations having control over the slots and their payouts.

Nevada grocery stores are the only place that can legally provide slot machines because they have leased the space through a larger company. Although they can offer marginally better odds than the former two, grocery stores should still be avoided when it comes to slot machines.

The loosest slot machines in the past 12 months have been Megabucks and penny slots. Megabucks had the tightest slots at over 11% casino win percentage. Penny slots are the most popular denomination, even though their win percentage is not the most generous.

Megabucks offers some of the best slots in Vegas with the highest winnings. In 2014, a man playing a Megabucks slot machine in Rampart Casino hit a $14 million jackpot after playing for five minutes on a $20 bill when the slot paid off.

This payout is not the only one from a Megabucks machine. Megabucks has produced life-changing jackpots for multiple players for over two decades.

Their slogan markets the casino’s accomplishments perfectly: “Dream big. Win big”. Even with players only spending a $1 for a spin, there is always a chance of the jackpot prize of $10 million.

In addition to Megabucks and Slots-a-Fun, there are plenty of casinos offering some of the best slots available in Las Vegas.

Best Slot Machines To Win On At Foxwoods

Many websites report O’Shea’s, Stardust, and older casinos located on the north side of the Strip as the places to visit for great and profitable slot machine winnings.

The casino nearest to offering the loosest slots in Las Vegas is Palms resort, which has an average game payout percentage of about 94%.

Lower payout slot machines also have distinct locations on the casino floor. Some of those include the leading slot machine on the floor, those near the table games, and close to the poker room. Since all of these areas have too much action, either from different games or other slots, the RTP does not have to be too high.

Furthermore, it is better to be aware of which specific slot machines should be avoided. The reason behind it is the exact opposite as to why the already mentioned slots are the best: the worst slots have a low percentage of payback.

Several slots have unfortunately been added to the universal list of worst slots found in Las Vegas, such as Wish Upon a Jackpot by Blueprint Gaming, Adventures in Wonderland by Ash Gaming, and King Kong by Cryptologic due to their low RTP.

Different software companies specializing in slot machines have reputations that reflect off of the RTP’s. While some developments have been mentioned before for their low percentage payback, others are renowned for their slots having high RTP rates.

Playtech is one of the more famous software companies that develop successful and popular slot machines located in Las Vegas casinos. Games created by this company include: Goblin’s Cave, Ugga Bugga, and Ocean Princess. All offer reputable and above-average percentage payouts.

Other software companies known for distributing slots with high paybacks are Barcrest, WMS, and NetEnt.

In addition to Palms Casino and Resort, there are other casinos in Las Vegas that have multiple slots maintaining an above-average payout.

Fitzgerald’s Casino and Hotel has established a favorable reputation for offering the loosest slots in downtown Las Vegas. Ranked regularly, the machines in Fitzgerald’s that are given the best paybacks include reel, penny, and progressive slots.

Slot machines are incredibly entertaining, easy, and a great reason to visit a Las Vegas casino.

Although research is essential, in-depth research is not necessary unless you are wagering a significant amount of money. Specific slot machines should be sought out to cash in millions, which has been proven to be possible within five minutes of playing.

The different themes, bonuses, promotions, and prizes, prevent slot machines from ever becoming boring. For some lucky few, a slot will transform a single $5 bill to $5 million or more than that colossal amount.

With the press of a button, a slot machine can make an average player into a millionaire, or give the customer an affordable and responsible amount of fun on the Las Vegas casino floor.

With some of these tips that differentiate the better slots in Las Vegas, slot machines can become more of a calculated game than intended.

Overall, Vegas is the numero uno destination to play slots in the United States. The key is to be wise and risk only as much as you can afford to lose.

It is essential to ask around and try some old slots that have a proven track record of wins. Don’t just be impressed with design and wager money in the excitement!