13 Jun
2006
13 Jun
'06
10:12 p.m.
Bob Bradlee wrote:
On Tue, 13 Jun 2006 13:05:34 -0700, Don Y wrote:
$30K? Where did that come from? I said *3* K (5 coins per pull,
though many are set to bet 3, 6 second cycle is $50/minute. Last
time I checked, there are 60 -- not 600 - minutes in an hour! :>)
It's only 10 pulls per minute and a pull is just a press
of the "BET MAX" button.
The 24/7 point is that slots differ from typical manufacturing
environments in that there is no "scheduled downtime".
A slot machine loses ~$3000 of business* for each
hour it is out of
service. Note that most slots are run in 24/7 environments -- you
can't have scheduled maintenance (e.g., for a firmware upgrade)
"on the weekend".
I have been amused by this treread for some time, and this red hot lead in
drew me right in to the story, untill I did the math ....
$30K per hour is a three coin dollar machine that never stops 24/5.
Even my dear old mother can not keep up a 17 bet a minute rate for 24/7 for very long.
Slots useage is way down around dawn, and yes I have
seen video slots
on the floor, shut down, download an update and reboot just in time for the weekend.
This last trip $20 lasted about 1/2 hour at the Garfield 2 cent video slot, the Bonus
games
are well worth it in entertainment. Mom got almost 2 hours out of a nickel mechanical
slot for a $20
2 cents? :>
Now if it is my $20 than 5 minutes max, I'm broke
again, I am but the spectator in that enviroment.
Note that there are slots that take larger wagers.
And, slots with smaller wagers (penny slots) tend to have
worse payouts (the floorspace has to pay for itself)
There is little question that slots rake in the money,
but they give a large percentage of bets placed back or people would not last long or
return.
Of course! In most venues, the house take is only 2-5%.
But, those are the "regulated" venues.
And when one dies the player just moves on to the next
one.
*If* there is a free slot available! There are times when it
is standing room only and The Management limits players to
a single slot per player (for fear of turning away customers!)
It sounds like a nice job,
Mom would love to move somewhere with slots :)
Buy her one! :> You can usually pick them up for a few
hundred bucks... It is probably one of the best ways to
cure folks of that novelty (I have one in the garage
from a previous design project -- multigame, not just a
plain slot). Personally, I fail to see the attraction
as most casinos are noisey, smelly, crowded, etc.
[if you opt to purchase one, best look for something you
can maintain yourself since many vendors won't sell you
parts -- legally -- if you reside someplace where gaming
is illegal]
My wife might take some convincing to change jobs,
then again if she could be semi-retired in ther new life :)
Take a look at IGT (a nice stock to have purchased a few years back) to see the
direction slots have ans are all moving to.
IGT is the "glitz" in that industry. But, their are still
LOTS of old EM and "stepper motor" slots in use. Some games
just don't go over well as "virtual representations". I
am not sure if it is a suspicion about the "honesty" of the
machine (e.g., a video roulette wheel vs. a real roulette
wheel) or some other aspect (nostalgia?).
In some cases, this is not without cause! For example, video
poker in some jurisdictions must behave LIKE a real deck of
playing cards. I.e. the odds of getting a pair of 2's are
the same as getting a pair of A's. But, in other jurisdictions
they are simply slot machines in disguise (and the odds of
getting a pair of A's can be infinitesmally small!!)
And, grey-area machines operate under an entirely different
set of rules and expectations.
If it was legal everywhere, a great investment (spend a few $K
on a slot, nothing consumable but electricity, and pay off
your investment in no time! :>). Of course, if anyone
could do that, then EVERYONE would -- in which case, you
would get very little play! :-(