Anybody see that show sliced? (Electronics Related I Promise)

[corrado33]

I was watching that show sliced on History today, and I saw this show called sliced.  The guy basically slices things apart to see how they work (kinda dumb if you ask me) although he did discover something interesting.

He was slicing two slot machines apart, and on the old slots machine, made in the 1960s, there were actually "slots" that an arm slid into to determine which symbol you saw on that wheel (7, BAR, Cherries etc.).  Well, the interesting thing was that the "slot" for the 7, the highest paying symbol, was blocked off.  So wherever that machine was, their owners were cheating!  Then he goes on to say it'd be almost "impossible" to cheat on a newer, electronic machine that works simply by microchips.  I think anybody here would beg to differ.  I was just thinking though "Unless the machine makers didn't want you to win", then it'd be as simple as changing a number.  That's why I'll never play slots...

Anyway, I found it interesting. 

[Razor Concepts]

Years ago, on some newer electronic slots, some college kids discovered that strobing a light inside the machine causes instant jackpot 

[corrado33]

Years ago, on some newer electronic slots, some college kids discovered that strobing a light inside the machine causes instant jackpot 

And they let that information get out.... HOW???  I would have profited on that information for YEARS!  Hey, my philosophy is that if someone didn't plan for it, and you can exploit it, then why not?

Then again, I do remember as a kid seeing a vending machine guy forget to lock a machine when he left.  So I promptly followed him out the building and when I finally caught up with him, I told him that he forgot.  He was so surprised I actually told him rather than stealing lots of food.  I guess I'm too honest to cheat 

[vinito]

I've fed a fair enough amount of money into modern slot machines, enough to know that they are most certainly "fixed". It is obvious that things come up on the screen to try to get you to feed them more cash, i.e. a machine will stay "cold" until your credits approach empty, then small pays finally come up to try to make you think it's "warming up" so feed in another bill, the larger your bet amount the less wins you get, etc.
With the massive amounts of money casinos have available to throw at the issue, I'm sure they have done psychological studies to determine what to display on the screen to squeeze more money out of the gambler. This is simply coded into the chips to suit. For all we know, the machines are all tied in together to work the crowd.
They are as "fixed" today as bad as they ever were. But today they can be much more clever about it.
They have to pay out something once in a while or folks quit playing the machines. Back in the 60's machines, they just removed the block from the high pay slot. Then put it back in to insure no jackpot for a while. Today I think they could probably flip a switch from the security control room if they wanted to. Who knows.

[mcjeff]

I saw it and I was wondering if anyone from the Gaming Commission saw that episode!  I'd be interested in tracing the ownership to see where it came from and see who put it there!  I'm not a gaming official, but perhaps some charges and some fines might be in order!

[paulstreats]

I was just thinking though "Unless the machine makers didn't want you to win", then it'd be as simple as changing a number.  That's why I'll never play slots...

Here in the UK they are required to show the odds of the machine. So they have a label saying like "70 % payout". This is saying that if you put 10 pounds in then only 7 pounds should come back out as a payout.

 So yes they are limited, they even tell you on the machine. But it doesnt stop people playing them.

 The interesing thing is that you can find identical machines with different levels of payout. (some say 60% some say 70% etc..) so it wouldnt be surprising if the odds of winning could be altered easily enough to scam peopl out of more money

[Soeren]

Hi,

Here in the UK they are required to show the odds of the machine. So they have a label saying like "70 % payout".

Same here in DK

This is saying that if you put 10 pounds in then only 7 pounds should come back out as a payout.

They should be required to write something like "Loose 30%".

Although that would probably just appeal to anorectic blond girls 

But it would be more correct to claim a 7,000,000 payout if you put 10,000,000 in (if you don't trust me, go ahead and try for yourself  ).

So yes they are limited, they even tell you on the machine. But it doesnt stop people playing them.

People wanna be taken for a ride.
My SO buys a lotto ticket whenever there are several millions at stake - I, on the other hand, is trained in probability calc.

The interesing thing is that you can find identical machines with different levels of payout. (some say 60% some say 70% etc..) so it wouldnt be surprising if the odds of winning could be altered easily enough to scam peopl out of more money

Some machines have a set of dip switches for setting odds and I guess newer machines could be set with a remote or something like that.

I wouldn't call it a scam though, as long as they live up to the announced pay out. Like anything else, it's a business, so they need to make some money and for some people, they do provide a sort of entertainment.

What's more worrying, at least in DK is (as a TV program recently revealed). that most people tending those gambling "shops" at night were brought to Denmark as exchange students to stay here legal for some time (often under false promises of permanent residency) and are paid less than $10 an hour (I'm not quite sure, but IIRC minimum wages are around twice that).