Appendix 3E
Relationship between Coinage and Return for Las Vegas Slot
Machines
Many readers have read my Las Vegas
nickel slot machine survey and asked about higher coinages.
Until May 2002 I have resisted publishing my results because of an
insufficient sample size. However I have been asked so many times
that I'll give you what I've got. First let me say that my emphasis
is still nickel slots. The vast majority of video display slots that
I test are nickel games. Remember, you can play roughly 100 coins at
a time, or up to $5 per spin. So there isn't much need to bet more
than that unless the player has a very large bankroll. As of this
writing I have only seen quarter video display slots in 16 Las Vegas
casinos and dollar slots in 8. Even those that had them did not have
a large selection.
The following table lists all casinos in which I found at least
one quarter or dollar video display slot machine. The table shows
the nickel, quarter, and dollar returns, sorted by nickel return.
You will notice some casinos actually go down slightly from nickels
to quarters. This is due to sampling variation. Some types of
machines tend to pay better than others, and those at the quarter
level tend to be the stingier varieties. The nickel returns listed
here may not agree with those in slot
machine appendix 3a. That is because appendix 3a reflects some
updated results and this appendix does not.
| Return by Coinage for Las Vegas
Slots |
| Casino |
Nickel |
Quarter |
Dollar |
| Palms |
93.42% |
94.97% |
|
| Rampart Casino in Summerlin |
93.13% |
94.96% |
|
| Circus Circus |
92.56% |
94.01% |
|
| Arizona Charlie's |
92.49% |
|
92.76% |
| Riviera |
92.23% |
92.76% |
|
| Excalibur |
91.84% |
|
92.17% |
| Texas Station |
91.71% |
92.53% |
|
| Casino Royale |
91.67% |
94.49% |
94.97% |
| Aladdin |
91.50% |
92.64% |
94.97% |
| Santa Fe Station |
90.87% |
94.47% |
96.23% |
| Flamingo |
90.86% |
92.50% |
94.96% |
| Tropicana |
90.71% |
90.12% |
|
| New York New York |
90.57% |
89.78% |
|
| Main Street Station |
90.56% |
90.05% |
|
| Caesars Palace |
89.57% |
90.44% |
92.53% |
| Harrahs |
89.32% |
92.76% |
|
| Treasure Island |
89.32% |
90.04% |
|
| Mirage |
89.07% |
88.29% |
92.17% |
The following chart shows the return for each coinage at each
casino. This chart seem to support a general correlation between
nickel and quarter return, although it is not a strong correlation.
There is also a rough correlation between quarters and dollars, with
Arizona Charlie's and the Excalibur as exceptions.
Casino name abbreviations:
RCS = Rampart Casino in
Summerlin
CC = Circus Circus
AC = Arizona Charlie's
Excal =
Excalibur
TS = Texas Station
CR = Casino Royale
SFS = Santa
Fe Station
Trop = Tropicana
NYNY = New York New York
MSS =
Main Street Station
CP = Caesars Palace
TI = Treasure Island
Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Par Sheet Pete
(not his real name) for providing the par sheets, without which this
project would not have been possible. I would also like to thank Rob
Feldheim for helping to collect data for this survey.
Go to slot
machine appendix 3A (Las Vegas slot rankings).
Go to slot
machine appendix 3B (Jean/Primm slot rankings).
Go to slot
machine appendix 3C (Tunica slot rankings).
Go to slot
machine appendix 3D (Henderson slot rankings).
Go back to slot
machines.
