Slot placement and type/RTP values.

Hey there,

I didn't find anything on this subject so I thought I'd start a new thread.

Can folks (possibly those in the know) describe the logic that goes into selecting a) the type of slots ( whether by volatility or leased vs sold through ) and b) the relative RTP of slots in a bank for particular spaces on casino floors? I'd love to have some insight on this.

Thanks!

As far as I know and have seen there is no correlation between return and where the machine is placed. What does occur at the casinos audit is placement is determined on amount of game play. If we get a new machine and it doesn't get much play then the machine will be moved to different areas to see if the placement is the issue. Not saying that is true for all casinos but it is what occurs where I work. Some will also be placed next to others with similar themes such as the OMG Kittens and Puppies machines. The machines are not segregated by return on the floor. The floor is pretty much a random mish mash when it comes to return rates. Not saying this is a smart business decision but it does get people to wander the floor more to see what we are offering. I will say there are two out of the way spots where I am pretty sure machines placed just so we don't have an empty space. A piece of art would probably be more appealing to the eye but operations believes in more machines generate more revenue even though those machines get no play time. At least they aren't leased.


When it come to decisions of buying or leasing, it really depends on what kind of deal the manufacturer wants to give us. In general though the recent trend where I work have been to move away from the leased machines. Again I am not sure if that is a good idea or not. The leased machines do offer more flexibility in returning doggy machines that under perform but that weekly/monthly rent does get old after awhile. Pretty much every slot game offered has multiple pay tables to choose from so the theme is probably the most important item the slot manager looks at when determining what games to order.

"Pretty much every slot game offered has multiple pay tables to choose from so the theme is probably the most important item the slot manager looks at when determining what games to order."

Just last weekend I was invited to a slot preview party at The Rivers and they had over 40 new machines demos that were all penny machines with different themes and some different types of payout layouts. They had reps from the manufactures there promoting their games and The Rivers gave us review card to rate the games we like. They claim that they will use this data to help make their decision on what games to order. If only in real life could you turn the slot key and pick which jackpot you want from the listed menu.

If only!

Thanks for the info. So on a bank of slots where the theme is the same, say Buffalo or another core/high volatility game, do they tend to set the pay table/RTP the same on the whole bank, or mix it up?

JC

I think that varies from property to property. I have seen comments on various boards that in some establishments machines of the same theme will be right next to each other and yet both will be on different pay tables. The property were I work at though will have the same pay tables for the same themes that are next to each other. There are some that may have different pay tables but they are in different sections of the floor. Don't really like the idea of having two machines with the same theme having two different pay tables right next to each other, just doesn't feel right.