LAS VEGAS, 11:50 a.m. EDT June 25, 2001 -- Every week I answer questions from readers just like you. If you'd like to submit a question for the Vegas Q&A, look for the form below.
If you've submitted a question and it didn't appear here, check on Vegas4Visitors on Tuesday for more questions and answers.-- Gary in Brunswick, Ohio, and Doug in Prince Albert, Canada Answer: Hey, guys -- you both had questions that related to double diamond slot machines, so I decided to combine them.
Question: Gary asks: Are your chances harder to get a winning combination on a 10x or 5x machine than on a double diamond or triple diamond slot machine? Doug asks: Which slot machine game has been around the longest? I suspect double diamonds is one of the oldest games.
Gary -- the odds of hitting a winning combination on any slot machine have nothing to do with the type of machine, but rather what the "payout percentage" is set at on a particular machine. By law, the machine must be set at no less than 75 percent payback -- meaning that for every $100 the machine takes in, it will spit back no less than $75 over the play cycle.
Most Strip casinos operate the bulk of their machines in the 85 to 90 percent payback range and it is possible for one machine to be at 95 percent while the one sitting right next to it is at 85 percent. It's also possible for two identical machines (two double-diamond machines for instance) in different parts of the casino to have different payout regularity.
So, it ultimately doesn't matter what type of machine you play; you're at the mercy of the casino. Which is probably why they call it gambling.
Doug -- the double-diamond machines have been around for a while but they are by no means the oldest ones you'll find in the Vegas casinos. Very recently I played on a 1970s-era four-reel machine at the Tropicana (there's a similar machine at Circus-Circus) with cherries, bars and sevens. You'll usually find these older machines at the older hotels (Sahara, Stardust, etc.) and they are easily identifiable by the fact they do not have bill-acceptors built in (or have ones that were added on to the side or bottom).
Of course, these machines are quickly going the way of everything else historical in Vegas, which is to say extinct. Slot players these days seem to demand a lot more from the slots, hence the bonus games, video screens and other interactivity that the newer breed of machines have.
Thanks for your questions, guys.
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