Are Slot Machines a Good Bet?
We'll give away the answer to this article's title up front: the short answer is yes! But of course there's much more to it.
From a strictly empirical approach, you might be surprised to learn that the Las Vegas State Gaming Control Board reported the state's casino win percentage for slots at 6 percent in 2010 vs. 11 percent for Black Jack and Craps! This means that casinos do better against people playing table games. However, when you factor in the popularity of slots and the sheer number of people who play them, it's also not surprising that the greatest percentage of overall revenues for every casino comes from slots. Again, this is not because slot players have worse odds. In fact the odds of winning at slots compares favorably to table games in general, but even so, the odds are always against you in any casino game.
It's no secret that slots are by far the most common games played by the majority of casino-goers and this is why casinos offer the best comps to slots players. Table game players seldom get rated as well as slot players and they often can't figure out why, but it's simple. Rating slot players well helps draw more players and helps keep them at the slots machines longer, which is important for every casino's No. 1 source of revenue.
From aesthetic standpoint, slots appeal to our senses like no other games. The lights and sounds and graphics titillate the mind. You can play much longer for your money and you have hundreds of gaming options. What's more-win or lose-playing slots can actually be a great stress reliever, assuming you are playing for fun and not for huge amounts of money (unless you have huge amounts of disposable income) and not betting above your means.
Some casino players who criticize slots often point to the lack of strategy in slots. And yet, the lack of strategy can often be one of the greatest appeals of slots. Sure some table games employ more strategy, but it's all still luck when you boil it down, and so many slot players enjoy the simple, mindless nature of slots. Slot machines are a relaxing escape for them.
And finally, with the rise in online casino gambling, slot machines are the most common partly because of the relaxing lie-on-your-couch and push a button nature of them, but mainly they boast the greatest payouts on the internet. From jackpots to regular win percentages and payouts even on non-progressives, no other games come close. And nowadays there are so many intriguing 3D games and beautiful and fun interfaces and bonuses and games within games that slots are actually surpassing table games in terms of fun and overall thrill and rush-the things that were previously the primary areas where table games supposedly had the upper hand.
Also worth mentioning is that online casinos offer tremendous bonus incentives for new players such as 100 percent matching in free players dollars and often even more! This goes for all casino games but your bonus will go farther on the slots.
For those wishing to explore online slot machines, it can be a bit tricky because countries have different laws about online casinos. In the U.S., online casinos are not allowed to accept U.S. players currently (although this will change soon-once the U.S. can figure out how to tax this and make money), yet different casinos will still accept U.S. players or players from other countries facing these temporary restrictions. Once you find a place to play, you want to be sure it is a trustworthy casino with good deposit/withdrawal options and customer service.