slot machines at the cash register

The Nevada Gaming Commission rejected a new game concept that would have enabled convenience store customers to use their change from a purchase as credits on a slot machine.

I have mixed feelings.

The libertarian in me says the Gaming Commission is being hypocritical: gambling is already legal and legitimate in non-casino environments in Nevada, (gas stations, supermarkets) so why the double standard? They're worried about children being exposed to this vice, but plenty of Nevada children have already been in gas stations with slot machines. Kids might not be allowed to loiter on the gaming floor of most casinos, but they're often accompanying their parents walking through the casino en route to the pool or hotel registration, etc.

The traditionalist in me is impressed that the Gaming Commission finally decided "Enough is enough!" We do not need slot machines in every nook and cranny of every Nevada building, we do not need every transaction at every store to involve a Get Rich Quick fantasy. Just as there is a context where consuming alcohol or erotica is appropriate, there are also contexts where consuming alcohol or erotica is inappropriate. Gambling is no different.

And the customer in me wants the convenience store line to move as quickly as possible, and adding a secondary transaction on top of the primary transaction is bound to slow things down. Especially if the customer in front of me is slow and indecisive, or worse yet: winning!

Thoughts?

For practical purposes, I agree with it, based on the concern about how transactions will be slowed down.

With all due respect to libertarians... we have laws that result in school crosswalks, and fire hydrant no-park-zones... those take away our freedoms and are inconvenient, but we made those laws to institute a little bit of common-sense. Gambling at a convenience store doesn't kill kids on their way to school, or prevent a house fire from being put out, but we need to use that same common-sense every now and again.

This rejected concept upholds (it does not create) a minor inconvenience for the gambler... and makes life a little more enjoyable for everybody else. If you want to gamble, go to the gas station down the road, instead of using your spare change from a convenience store.

And for the "smart gambler"... why would you want to risk your convenience store change on something that is sure to have terrible odds?

It isn't legal tender. If you can get change in slot tickets, then you should be able to pay with slot tickets, too.

Do the slots in supermarkets and the like get much action? Seems to me they only cater to the degenerate market.

People outside of Vegas / Nevada hear the stories that slot machines are everywhere. Heck, I've heard that they are even in some rest rooms! (I assume that if that rumor is true, they are talking about rest rooms in trendy casino nightclubs. But is it really true?)

So it comes as no surprise that there are slot machines in gas stations or convenience stores.

Hmmm.... It seems like you're suggesting that there currently AREN'T slots at convenience stores. If that's right, then there's really two questions here:

A) Should convenience stores have slots?

B) If so, should they be set up so change from purchases can be loaded in as spin credits?



No. Convenience stores, and other locations where minors are regular customers, should not have slots. Not to prevent kids from being 'exposed to the evil machines', but because convenience stores do not have a great track record of preventing minors from purchasing beer and cigarettes. The best way to prevent them from playing slots at convenience stores, is to not have them there.

Yes, have the option to turn change into credits. Transferring the credits should be quick and painless, taking no more time than the time it would have taken for the cash register to send the change signal to a change coin counter. Or keep it even simpler by optionally printing a slot credit ticket.

There are over 14,000 slot machines in roughly 2000 restricted locations in Clark county, and another 5500 machines located throughout the rest of the state of Nevada. A restricted location has only up to 15 slot machines, and no sports betting or table games.

A lot of them are bars, and convenience stores. Sometimes you see some of the supermarkets get a non-restricted license so they can get more than 15 machines. They make a decent profit or you wouldn't see so many of them. A lot of times they are managed by slot route operators who either give the store a fixed fee or a percentage of the take.

There are some specialty chains like Dotty's that usually has 15-30 machines in an environment that looks like your crazy aunt's apartment. They also specialize in inexpensive cigarettes, and snack food and sodas. Smokers seem to like these a lot. They have big comfortable chairs instead of crowded racks of slots.


The largest single type of operator is convenience stores, and then bars.


Convenience Store 657
Restaurant/Bar 417
Bar 130
Distributor 122
Manufacturer 108
Grocery Store 97
Hotel/Casino Resort 64
Operator 40
Casino W/Bar 38
Racebook/Sports Pool 33
Drug Stores 29
Hotel Casinos 28
Restaurant/Bar 20
Sports Pool 15
Liquor Store 14
Laundromats 13
Restaurant 12


The number of slot machines in restricted /unrestricted locations is 14,169 / 131,853 in Clark county.

I think I read about this somewhere, and one of the reasons it was turned down was due to the consideration of the legislation that prohibits children from lingering near slot machines.