• Slots At The Meadows Apartments
• Best Slots To Play At The Meadows
• Slots At The Meadows Golf Course
• Slots At The Meadows Casino

The Meadows is a Pennsylvania racino, located in North Shabone township, about 25 miles south of Pittsburgh. The venue consists of a harness racing track and casino. Hyatt Place (part of the world-renowned family of Hyatt hotels) is minutes away by footbridge or shuttle bus.

The Meadows is one of two Pennsylvania gambling properties owned by Wyomissing, PA-based Penn National. While there is no online casino associated with the Meadows, the property serves as the land-based partner of the popular DraftKings online sports betting app in PA.

A man won $1,192,567 at a slot machine at the Meadows Casino Thursday afternoon. The winner's name is being kept a secret, but he's from Morgantown and said to be a regular patron of the casino. The Meadows online casino slots Golden Nugget’s pride and joy is its massive online slot library. However, do not expect The Meadows to go crazy licensing the same number of slot titles.

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The primary icons in the Enchanted Meadow slot game include high-value playing card such as Nine, Ten, Jack, Queen, King and Ace. In addition, there are plenty of other bonus icons too. Playing to Win Play the maximum number of coins. Many machines require that a player gamble. The Meadows Casino Racetrack & Hotel is home to the most dynamic and exciting casino in Pittsburgh. Our casino floor has more than 2,500 of the hottest and newest slot machines, over 65 table games, a.

The Meadows is one of two casinos in Pennsylvania which declined to apply for any online gaming licenses. Since Penn National owns both The Meadows and Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, the powers that be saw no reason to double up on the $10 million fee package fee.

Besides, the Meadows can advertise Hollywood’s online casino extensively, and it will make no difference to patrons or management. The Hollywood’s mobile betting app is available throughout the state, and the money all flows to the same place. Like Hollywood, Meadows does have a strategic partner in IGT. The Meadows doesn’t have an online poker license, but again, sister property Hollywood Casino does.

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Introduction to Meadows Casino

The Meadows is one of six licensed racinos in Pennsylvania. The racetrack was in existence long before the addition of casino games. In fact, The Meadows, which has been operating since 1963, was the first horse racing track to accept parimutuel betting in Western Pennsylvania. Over the years, the track underwent numerous ownership changes. It is currently owned by Gaming & Leisure Properties and operated by Pinnacle Entertainment.

Unlike most harness racing tracks, The Meadows offers a year-round racing program. Live races take place on more than 200 days each year. Specific racing days vary, but most races take place on Monday and Tuesday afternoons and Wednesday and Friday evenings. Simulcast racing and wagering is offered daily.

The Meadows was one of the facilities in Pennsylvania that was awarded a gambling license for slot machines after legislation allowing slots gambling was passed in 2004. A temporary slots casino opened adjacent to the racetrack on June 11, 2007, after which the old grandstand was removed to make room for a permanent casino. When the permanent casino opened on April 15, 2009, the temporary casino closed. Following the approval of table games in Pennsylvania casinos in 2010, Meadows casino patrons were able to play table games, too.

Amenities

Hyatt Place

The Meadows Racetrack and Casino is a place that people can come either just for the day or evening or for a more extended stay. A four-star luxury hotel, Hyatt Place, while not on the property per se, is easily reached by casino shuttle or footbridge, making it super convenient for those who would like to stay in the area overnight or longer. This completely smoke-free luxury hotel is the recipient of the TripAdvisor 2016 Certificate of Excellence.

Accommodations can be booked online as well as by phone and range from spacious rooms to 670 square-foot suites with a separate bedroom and living room. All rooms and suites include the following amenities:

• One king bed or two queen beds with plush Grand Hyatt bedding
• Cozy Corner with a sofa sleeper
• 42” flat screen swivel HDTV
• Mini-fridge
• Single-cup coffeemaker
• In-room safe
• Generous workspace
• Luxury skin and hair care products

In addition, all hotel guests can take advantage of the following:

• Complimentary breakfast buffet
• 24/7 room service menu
• Indoor heated pool
• Free garage parking
• Complimentary shuttle to Tanger Outlet Center or any other destination within a five-mile radius
• Free Wi-Fi and free access to public computers with Internet access

Discounts and promotions

While rates vary, they are surprisingly reasonable for a hotel of this caliber. Special discounts are offered for Hyatt Gold Program members, seniors, AAAmembers, and government employees, but even without a discount, weeknight rates can are generally well below $200 and can be as low as $127. Government employees receive a bargain rate of $89 most nights.

Hyatt Place participates in the Hyatt Gold Passport loyalty program. If you are a frequent guest at Hyatt hotels, a stay at Hyatt Place can help you qualify for a free night at any participating Hyatt resort worldwide. Hyatt Place has been consistently rated excellent on visitor review sites. Guests rave about the spacious and clean rooms and friendly, accommodating staff.

Dining and nightlife

The restaurants at The Meadows include both upscale and casual eateries. For fine dining with a panoramic view of both the racetrack and the casino floor, there is the award-winning Bistecca Steakhouse.

For more casual dining, visitors can choose from The Carvery,an upscale buffet overlooking the racetrack, Delvis, a trackside restaurant open during all live racing programs, or the Food Court (located on the casino floor). Another option is the Band Wagon, an indoor food truck serving wings, sliders, lobster rolls, and other bar food. Clearly, anyone who comes to The Meadows hungry, won’t be hungry long!

While the casino games-racing combo should suffice on its own to keep anyone at The Meadows from being bored, guests seeking other entertainment besides gambling won’t be disappointed. Headliners, located on the main casino level near the Food Court, offers live music from local bands on Friday and Saturday nights. Vibe Ultra Lounge, also located on the main casino level, is a dance club with live DJs that is open Friday and Saturday nights as well.

Alternatively, and this is a rarity at casinos, The Meadows also offers bowling. Hours of operation are Sunday-Thursday from noon to midnight and Friday and Saturday from noon to 2 a.m.

In addition, from time to time, special events take place at The Meadows. Rather than today’s hottest acts, the performers are old-timers like Tony Orlando and Blood, Sweat, and Tears. Tickets are reasonably priced, starting at just $19.95.

Casino overview

Who can play at Meadows casino?

The regulations concerning the minimum age to gamble at Meadows Racetrack and Casino are the same as for any other licensed Pennsylvania casino. No one under age 21 can play in the casino. This age requirement is strictly enforced at all times. Anyone over the age of 18 is allowed to place bets on the horse racing.

Security and fairness

The Meadows Racetrack and Casino is licensed and regulated by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board(PGCB), the same agency which oversees all legalized gambling in Pennsylvania. Under the PGCB’s watchful eye, The Meadows is a safe place to play and the fairness of its games is ensured. Furthermore, longevity says a lot about the trustworthiness of any gambling operation, and the Meadows Racetrack has been operating successfully for over 50 years. Even though the casino is a relatively recent addition, this is clearly a venue that the people of Pennsylvania trust.

While many players have complained about the tight slots, the same is true at all of the Pennsylvania casinos, and the payouts are well within the PGCB guidelines.

Casino games

The 350,000 square-foot casino floor is one of the largest on the East Coast, offering over 3,300 slots and video poker machines and more than 67 table games. There is also a small poker room with 14 tables.

Slots and video poker

All of the slot and video poker terminals incorporate a ticket in/ticket out feature, which makes moving from one machine to another easy. The slots offerings include everything form traditional three-reel games to the latest, most technologically advanced multi-line video slots, including some with progressive jackpots. Some of the casino’s most popular slots include the recently added games Super Monopoly Money, Lord of the Rings, and Sphinx 3D.

Whatever your preferences in slots happen to be, finding a game to fit your taste and bankroll is not a problem. If you are more comfortable sticking with familiar favorites, there are lots of those games. But if you are eager to try something new, head for the New Game Zone containing the latest releases, exclusively.

There is also a high limit room for high-end slot players, offering slots and video poker machines starting at $1 and going up to $100. Players can bet up to $375 per spin.

Players say slots are too tight

While slot players at The Meadows are probably very happy with the wide selection of games, they are unhappy about the rate of return and feel that the machines are not paying them back as often and as much as they should. However, similar sentiments are expressed by slot players at all of the Pennsylvania casinos. So clearly the problem is not limited to any one casino, but is statewide.

The complaining players are not imagining that the frequency of slot payouts is probably less than what they might have experienced at other casinos out of state. The average return to the player (RTP) for Pennsylvania slots is only 89-90 percent, as compared to several percentage points higher at many other casinos. However, Pennsylvania casinos are allowed to offer returns as low as 85 percent on their slots and still meet PGCB guidelines.

One likely reason why the slot payouts in Pennsylvania aren’t better is that many players are realizing that they have better shot of winning at table games, especially blackjack. So increasing the hold on the slot machines could be a way to preserve the bottom line. Another reason why Pennsylvania casinos may not be inclined to offer loose slots is the relatively high 55 percent tax rates the state imposes on slot machines.

Furthermore, penny machines, which have become very popular, are known to have a lower RTP than higher-denomination machines.

If you still want to play slots at The Meadows, your best recourse is to set aside a strict budget for your slot play and adhere to it. Keep your sessions short, and if you’re lucky enough to be winning, pocket some of your winnings so you leave with at least some profit intact.

Table games

Meadows Casino offers all of the following table games:

• Blackjack
• Roulette
• Mini and midi baccarat
• Craps
• Texas Hold ‘Em Bonus Poker
• Pai gow poker
• Three card poker
• Four card poker
• Criss-Cross Poker
• Let It Ride
• Mississippi Stud
• Big Six wheel

Minimum and maximum bets vary depending on the game. However, high stakes action is welcome. In fact, in addition to the high limit room for slots players, there is another one for table game players offering blackjack, roulette, midi baccarat, and craps. The minimum bet is $50 and the maximum is $15,000. Special amenities include a VIP lounge, butler service, and a private salon.

Table games odds and prop bets

American roulette appears to be the only version of roulette offered at this casino. If that is the case, it is unfortunate because American roulette not only has the usual 0 on the wheel, but also a 00, which raises the house edge substantially, to 5.26 percent. European roulette, with a single zero only and a house edge of only 2.70 percent, is a better game for the player.

As you will see, The Meadows offers many varieties of casino table poker. Just make sure if you play one of these games, that you familiarize yourself with the rules and format of that particular game variant.

Craps players who want extra action and excitement will find it at this casino, which offers 10x odds plus an optional Fire Bet, with the opportunity to win up to $5,000. Baccarat players can choose either midi baccarat or mini-baccarat, which have basically the same rules, except that in midi baccarat, players can hold the cards, whereas in mini-baccarat they cannot. The Big Six wheel is a carnival type game with a very high house edge, so it is best avoided except for an occasional small bet just for fun.

Blackjack

There is no doubt that blackjack is the most popular table game at The Meadows, as the consistently crowded tables indicate. One of the reasons for this game’s widespread appeal is that many players know it offers better odds than most other casino games. Another is that the outcome depends on skill as well as luck, which some players like because they feel that they have more of say in their ability to win.

There are many different variations of blackjack, with different sets of rules, which can make the game either more or less favorable to the player. Instead of encountering inconsistent rules, the PGCB determined the rules and made them uniform for all land-based casinos in the state. Furthermore, the blackjack game that the Pennsylvania casinos offer is a good one; the rules, which are summarized below, are superior to what you will find at most other American casinos:

• Blackjack pays 3:2
• Dealer stands on soft 17
• Doubling down permitted on any two cards
• Doubling down after splits
• Splits up to three hands (except aces)
• Late surrender

In order to maximize your potential to win with these good rules, it is important to play according to the correct basic strategy. Blackjack players at The Meadows who employ the correct basic strategy encounter a house edge of only .40 percent.

Another area where blackjack players need to be mindful is the table minimum. Small stakes players with a limited bankroll might not find any available tables at the stakes they are prepared to play. Most of the Pennsylvania casinos don’t have any $5 blackjack tables at all; while this casino does have a few, but they are only offered on weekdays and fill up quickly.

Blackjack prop bets

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Blackjack players at The Meadows have the option to make certain proposition bets in addition to the standard blackjack bets. However, if you do so consistently, your improved chance of winning based on the otherwise favorable rules will be negated. If you try these bets at all, do sosparingly and for low stakes only. On the other hand, having one of these extra bets going for you occasionally adds to the fun of the game and, you never know, you could be a big winner!

Lucky Ladies

This is a bet that your hand will total 20 on the first two cards. The payouts are as follows:

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• Any 20: 4 to 1
• Suited 20: 10 to 1
• Matched pair: 25 to1
• Two queens of hearts: 200 to1
• Two queens of hearts against a dealer blackjack 1,000 to 1

21 + 3 Xtreme

Your first two cards and the dealer’s upcard constitute your three-card hand. The possible winning hands and the payout for each are as follows:

• Flush: 5 to 1
• Straight: 10 to 1
• Three of a kind: 20 to 1
• Straight flush: 30 to 1

In-Bet

This is a bet that the value of the dealer’s upcard falls in between the player’s first two cards. For example, if your two cards are 3 and 10 and the dealer’s upcard is a 5, the bet is a winner. These are the payouts:

• Any in-bet: 1-1
• Three-card spread: 4-1
• Two-card spread: 6-1
• One-card spread: 10-1
• Triple match: 30-1

A triple match occurs when your two cards and the dealer’s card are all the same value. It is the only exception to the rule that the dealer’s card must be in between the player’s first two cards.

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If your first two cards include an ace, you’re a winner. These are the payouts for different hands based on a $5 wager. Players receive only the highest payout possible:

• Any ace: 2 for 1 ($10)
• Any blackjack: 5 for 1 ($25)
• Suited blackjack 10 for 1 ($50)
• Both suited blackjack and dealer blackjack: 50 for 1 ($250)
• Both suited blackjack and dealer suited blackjack: 300 for 1 ($1,500)
• Player and dealer matching suited blackjack: 10% of Progressive Jackpot
• Player and dealer matching suit, ace-king blackjacks: 100% of Progressive Jackpot

Poker

The Meadows Poker Room, like the rest of the casino, is open 24/7. What it lacks in size (only 14 tables), it more than makes up for in action. Cash games include the usual limit and no-limit hold’em, along with Omaha and Omaha hi-lo. There are also morning and evening tournaments daily and occasional special tournaments. The buy-ins for the regular tournaments range from $31 to $126.

On the third Saturday of each month, a high hand promotion is in effect. Every half hour between 10 a.m. and 12 a.m., $200 is awarded for the high hand of the designated period. In addition, anyone who gets a Royal Flush wins a progressive jackpot.

The Meadows Players Club

Every time you use your player’s card to play slots or table games at The Meadows Casino, you earn points. Then, when you accumulate enough of them, you can redeem them for amenities at The Meadows or, if you prefer, for vouchers that you can use at various other retail establishments in town.

Every $1 wagered on slots or every $5 wagered on table games is worth one point. Every 1,000 points is exchangeable for one redemption dollar.

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Points can only be used for purchases and cannot be exchanged for cash back. Unredeemed points expire after seven months of inactivity.

Tier levels and benefits

Meadows Casino also offers a five-tiered loyalty program based on number of points earned during each rolling six month qualifying period. The five levels are:

• Club
• Silver (requiring 5,000 points or more)
• Gold (requiring 25,000 points or more)
• Platinum (requiring 100,000 points or more)
• Owners Club (requiring 500,000 points or more)

Casino players at all levels earn comps and special offers based on play. All players also receive free play and discounts by mail and email. Players at the Silver level and higher receive a discount at The Meadows Gift Shop. Players at the Gold level and higher also get a restaurant discount:

• • 10% for Gold players
  • 15% for Platinum players
  • 25% for Owners Club level players

Platinum and Owners Club level players receive priority seating at restaurants and also have access to:

• • Adios Lounge
  • The Clubhouse
  • VIP Parking Garage

The Adios Lounge, which is conveniently located next to the high limit slot Room, offers high definition TVs, fine cuisine, and personalized butler service.

Summary

The Meadows Racetrack and Casino has a lot going for it. For starters, it is a multi-activity facility offering not only all your favorite casino games, but also horse racing, bowling, dining, and evening entertainment. Additionally, there is an outstanding hotel adjacent to the property should you wish to spend the night.

The main criticisms that players have of The Meadows are:

• Hard to win at the slots
• Not enough low stakes blackjack tables
• Food and entertainment are just ordinary
• Ventilation could be better because the smell of smoke carries over to the nonsmoking areas

On the plus side, this is a casino that most players should enjoy, regardless of game and stakes preferences. High-end players can enjoy the sophisticated ambiance and personal service of the high limit slot and table games rooms and Adios Lounge. However, the opportunity to earn free play and comp dollars and the frequent special promotions make even low limit players feel like they are getting extra bang for the buck.

Lastly, The Meadows is only a half-hour drive from Pittsburgh and the many worthwhile attractions that city has to offer.

The Meadows Racetrack and Casino
210 Racetrack Road
Washington, PA 15301
1-724-503-1200

by John Robison
Do the slot machines on the ends of aisles pay better than the machines in the middle? How about the machines near the table games? They’retight, right? And are the machines near the coin redemption booths loose? Join us on our journey for finding loose slot machines.
The loose slot machine is the slot player’s Holy Grail. Much as King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table searched Britain for the Holy Grail of myth, slot players search casinos for loosemachines. Slot players have formulated many theories about where casinos place their loose machines to aid them in their quest.

Before we can figure out where the loose machines are, we have to figure out what they are. There is no U.S.D.A. system for grading the looseness of machines and no national orinternational standard that determines whether a machine is tight or loose.

So, what is a loose slot machine?

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Say we have two 94% payback machines. Are they loose? I bet some people say yes and some say no. Why isn’t there agreement? Let me add a little more information to thescenario to see if it gives you an idea of why one person calls a 94% payback machine loose and another calls it tight. What if I told you that one machine was a nickel machine and theother a dollar machine? For most people who play nickel machines, a 94% machine is among the best-paying machines in their area. For most people who play dollar machines, on theother hand, a 94% machine is among the worst-paying machines in their area. The person who called 94% loose probably plays lower-denomination machines, while the person who called 94%tight probably plays higher-denomination machines.
Let me add one more piece of information. The dollar machine is a video poker machine. Dollar video poker players would rather have root canals onall their teeth with no anesthesia while their fingernails and toenails are ripped off than play a 94% payback machine. They have many adjectives for a 94% payback machine, but loose isnot one of them.
You see, loose isn’t an absolute. Looseness depends on your frame of reference. Looseness is actually a comparison. We shouldn’t say “loose.” We should really say“looser”. We should really be asking where the looser machines are. But let’s bow to common usage and continue using the term loose machine.

So, what is a loose machine?

Quite simply, a loose machine is a machine that has a higher long-term payback percentage than another machine. The loose machines in acasino are those machines that have the highest paybacks. These are the machines that will take the smallest bites out of your bankroll in the long run. No wonder slot players areconstantly searching for them.
Over the years, players have developed a number of theories about finding loose slot machines. Casinos place loose machines near the entrances, for example, so passersby can see playerswinning and are enticed to enter the casino and try their luck. The loose machines are also at the ends of the aisles to draw players into the aisle, where the tight machinesare.
And, of course, a loose machine is always surrounded by tight machines. You never have two loose machines side by side. That’s done for players who like to play more than onemachine at a time. If they should happen to stumble upon one of the loose machines, they’ll be pumping their winnings from it into the tight machines around it.
More theories. The machines near the table games are tight because table games players don’t want to hear a lot of bells and buzzers going off and happy slot players whooping it up aftera big win. Another reason the machines near the table games are tight is because table games players will occasionally drop a few coins into a slot machine and they don’t expect to winanything, so why give them a high payback.
Similarly, the machines near the buffet and show lines are tight. People waiting in line are just killing time and getting rid of their spare change. They’re not going to play for along time or develop a relationship with those machines, so the machines can be like piggy banks – for the casino! Money goes in and rarely comes back out.
The machines near the coin redemption booths, on the other hand, are loose. Players waiting in line for coin redemption are slot players and the casino wants them to see other playerswinning. Seeing all those players winning will make them anxious to get back on the slot floor to try their luck again.
Finally, finding loose machines in highly visible locations is most likely. Again, casinos want players to see players winning and be enticed into trying to get a piece of the casino’sbankroll themselves.
These are the theories I can think of off the top of my head. Maybe you know of some others. Most of the theories have a basis in psychology. When we see others winning, we’llwant to play too because 1) we’re greedy, 2) we’re envious, or 3) we see that at least some machines really do pay off and if we keep trying we might find one too.
Based on my own discussions with slot directors, interviews with slot directors, and seminars I’ve attended, I don’t think these theories are relevant in today’s slot world. To see why,we have to look at how slot machines and slot floors have changed.
Picture a slot floor of 10-20 years ago. Even if you don’t go back that far, I’m sure you’ve seen pictures on TV or in books. The slot machines on a casino floor in that era arearranged in long rows, much like products out for sale in a supermarket aisle. There’s no imagination used in placing the machines on the floor. The machines are placed using cold,mechanical precision.
On page 193 in Slot Machines: A Pictorial History of the First 100 Years by Marshall Fey, there’s a great picture of Bally’s casino floor in Atlantic City that illustrates my point. Thepicture shows hundreds of slot machines all lined up in perfect rows like little soldiers. The caption reads, “Like a Nebraska cornfield, rows upon rows of Bally slots extend as far asthe eye can see.”

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Compare that image with the slot floor layout at a casino that was designed in the last five or so years. Studies have shown that players feel very uncomfortable playing in longaisles. They feel trapped when they’re playing in the middle of a long aisle, particularly if the casino is crowded. As a result, modern casinos have shorter aisles and when a long aislecan’t be avoided, it will be wider than others so players won’t feel like they can’t get out.
One of the finding loose machines theories has casinos placing loose machines at the ends of aisles to draw people into the aisles. Having shorter aisles means having more machinesat the ends of those aisles. Can all of these machines be loose?
In addition to being uncomfortable in long aisles, players are also uncomfortable being put out on display for the other players. Perhaps they feel like they might become a target iftheir good luck is too visible.
One slot director I heard speak said that he tried to create “comfortable niches” for his players. Instead of being in a fish bowl, visible to most of the slot floor, players in hisniches can be easily seen by only the other players in that niche.
Another theory about loose machine placement is that casinos place them in highly visible areas. Modern casinos still have highly visible areas, but the areas are visible to a smallernumber of players. A loose machine in this area will influence fewer players than before.
The last change in the slot floor that I want to mention is perhaps the biggest change of all. Casinos used to have hundreds of slot machines. Now they have thousands. Oneslot director in Las Vegas said in an interview a few years ago that with so many machines on his floor, he didn’t have time to micro-manage them. He and his management decided the holdpercentage they wanted for each denomination and he ordered payback programs close to that percentage for his machines. Furthermore, he said this was the common practice in LasVegas.
As much as the slot floor has changed, the changes on the floor are dwarfed by the changes in the slot machines themselves. One thing that struck me about that picture of Bally’s is howall the machines look alike. They really do look like soldiers being inspecting, all standing at attention and in identical uniforms, or like rows of indistinguishable corn plants. In fact, it looks like there are only three different games in the 10 machines in the first row in the picture. Granted, the majority of the machines in Bally’s casino were Ballymachines. Still I’m surprised by the lack of variety in the machines in the front row in the picture.
I heard that one theory why Americans have gotten heavier is that we have access to a wider variety of foods today than we had before. When meals consisted of the same thing time aftertime, it was easy to pass up second helpings of gruel and eat just enough to no longer be hungry. But now we have Chinese one night, Mexican the next, followed by Thai, burgers, pizza,and pasta -- it’s easy to overeat on our culinary trip around the world.
Just as variety in food creates desire, so does variety in slot machines. “Hey, I used to watch The Munsters all the time. I’ll try that machine.” “I never miss TheApprentice. I’ll give that machine a go.” “I played Monopoly all the time as a kid.” “I have a cat and a dog and a chainsaw and a toaster.”
Not only is there more variety in themes on machines, there’s also more variety in paytables. Back in the 1920s, a revolutionary change in slot machine design was paying an extra coin fora certain combination. Adding a hopper to the machine in the electro-mechanical era made it possible for the machine to pay larger jackpots itself instead of requiring a handpay from ajackpot girl. Adding a computer to the slot machine made it possible for today’s machines to pay modest jackpots of a few thousand coins all the way up to life-changing jackpots ofmillions of dollars.
The computer also makes it possible to add more gimmicks to machines. Gimmicks like “spin-til-you win,” symbols that nudge up or down to the payline, haywire repeat-pays, and double spinall add more variety and interest to the games.
Today’s machines are immeasurably more interesting and fun to play than those of even just a decade ago. Each new generation of machines has crisper graphics and better sound than theprior generation. Slot designers are working overtime to devise compelling bonus rounds that will keep players playing for just one more crack at the round. How many people playingWheel of Fortune are trying to win the jackpot? Not many. Most people keep playing to get one more spin of the wheel.
Slot directors today don’t need to pepper their slot floors with loose machines to stimulate play. Today’s machines themselves generate more desire to play than seeing a player doingwell.
Now I'll finish our discussion of where slot directors place loose machines with some additional thoughts, with a few anecdotes I've heard at slot seminars, and with what I think will be thefinal nail in the coffin of loose machine placement philosophies.
One of the placement theories says that tight machines should be placed near the table games because the table games players don’t like a lot of noise while they’re playing. Have the peopleputting forth this theory ever been near a craps table? A craps table with a shooter on a hot roll has to be one of the loudest places -- if not the loudest place -- in the casino. Crapsplayers can be a boisterous lot even when the table isn’t hot. Okay, I can see players needing peace and quiet at blackjack tables (It’s difficult to count cards even in a quiet casino.), butnot at craps, roulette, Let It Ride, and other tables. In any case, the casino can adjust the volume level on a machine. The slot director can put a very quiet, loose machine near the tablesand not disturb a single table games player.
Another problem with following a loose machine placement philosophy is that it limits the flexibility slot directors have in moving their machines around on the slot floor. If the directors aregoing to give up a little bit in payback on some machines, they certainly will want to get their money’s worth and ensure that these machines are in locations where they’ll be played, be seenbeing played, and entice other players to play. Slot floors have only a limited number of high visibility areas. Slot directors won’t want to waste any of their high-paying machines in the morenumerous less visible areas, where the machines won’t be encouraging other players.
Now I’d like to share some anecdotes I’ve heard at panel discussions during the big gaming show (first the World Gaming Congress, then the Global Gaming Expo) that’s held in Las Vegas eachyear.
First, one slot director described an experiment he conducted in his casino. He had a carousel of 5 Times Pay machines that all had the same long-term payback. He ordered new chips to lower thepayback percentages on a couple of the machines to see if anyone would notice. The machines with the lower long-term paybacks received just as much play as the higher-paying machines. Noplayer, furthermore, ever complained that some of the machines in the carousel were tighter than others.
In another seminar, a slot director shared the philosophy he used to place some machines that he had inherited from another property. These machines, he said, had lower long-term paybacks thanthe payback he usually ordered for machines on his slot floor. He said, 'I read the same books that the players read. I put these lower payback machines in the spots that the books said shouldhave the high payback machines.'
My last anecdote is about a decision made by the slot director at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas many years ago. He was ordering 10 Times Pay machines for his slot floor and he was concerned aboutthe low hit frequencies available for those machines. (Machines with multiplying symbols tend to have low hit frequencies, and usually the higher the multiplier, the lower the hit frequency.)The slot director was afraid that his players would think the machines were very tight because they hit so infrequently. He said that he ordered higher paybacks than he usually does for thosemachines in an attempt to offset the low hit frequency. The machines would still have a low hit frequency, but at least the average value of a hit would be a little higher than if he hadordered a payback percentage nearer the percentage he usually ordered. He hoped that would be enough to keep his players from thinking these were tighter than the other machines on his slotfloor.
Although I think these anecdotes are the exceptions that prove the rule that some casinos at least order the same long-term paybacks for machines of a particular denomination, there is evidencethat some casinos may not. In the first edition of Casino Operations Management, for example, Kilby and Fox list a number of “general philosophies that influence specific slot placement”including: “low hold (loose) machines should be placed in busy walkways to create an atmosphere of activity” and “loose machines are normally placed at the beginning and end of trafficpatterns.”
They then say that “high hit frequency machines located around the casino pit area will create an atmosphere of slot activity.” I’m not sure whether they’re saying high hit frequencyshould or shouldn’t be placed near the pit. In any case, note that one philosophy said that loose machines create an atmosphere of activity and another said that high hit frequency machinesalso create an atmosphere of activity. This is the perfect segue into what I think puts the final nail in the coffin about loose machine placement theories.
There is no correlation between long-term payback and hit frequency. A low hit frequency machine can have a high long-term payback. High hit frequency machines, in addition, can have lowlong-term paybacks. Larry Mak, author of Secrets of Modern Slot Playing, recently queried the Nevada Gaming Control Board to find out the payback reported on penny machines. The Board said itwas 90.167%. Most of the penny video slots have very high hit frequencies, yet the overall average long-term payback is very low.
The usual reasoning behind putting loose machines in highly visible areas is so slot players can see other players winning. Maybe we should be more precise here and say that players will seeother players hitting and assume that they are winning because they are playing loose machines. But because there’s no correlation between hit frequency and long-term payback, these players canactually be playing machines with low long-term paybacks.
I don’t put much stock in loose machine placement theories, but I do believe slot directors may follow a hit frequency placement philosophy. Slot directors may try to place high hit frequencymachines in visible areas to encourage play. This philosophy says and implies nothing about the long-term payback of the machines.

John Robison is the author of 'The Slot Expert's Guide
to Playing Slots.' His website iswww.slotexpert.com