Introduction to Where to Play
Casinos have so many slot machines to choose from, making where to play a difficult decision. But we can use that choice at most casinos when they try to manipulate us.
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Random Distributions – Plural!
Almost all casinos have marketing plans which include how they group and lay out their slot machines. Because these casino floor plans are carefully designed, we can take advantage of them. This method is my Highly Visible Locations strategy.
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Let’s go in-depth about finding these slot machines in your casino. But first, let’s back up for a minute to help those slots enthusiasts new to my content. Don’t worry; I’ll go through this briefing quickly.
Slot machine manufacturers provide several sets of odds along with each slot machine they provide to casinos. And the casino can choose any of these probability distributions to be activated on that slot machine.
Before central servers, casinos had an army of slot mechanics who would punch in a code to choose which probability distribution was active on each slot machine. Nowadays, central servers do this in all but the few remaining riverboat casinos and convenient store-sized gasinos.
And in case you have any legal or RNG concerns, compacts and state gaming regulations don’t set the odds of winning on slot machines. Some provide a minimum theoretical limit well below what a casino would use.
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For instance, Nevada’s lower theoretical limit is 75%, but their state average monthly return statistic is usually 93%. Another point is that most state gaming regs with a minimum theoretical limit don’t also have a maximum theoretical limit. And the few with an upper limit have made it “over the lifetime of the machine” rather than “per wager.”
What all this means is that casinos have a lot of flexibility with regards to what odds each slot machine can have.
There’s a general opinion that casinos would never set the theoretical payout over 100%. They certainly wouldn’t do that on all their slot machines. Otherwise, the casino won’t make a profit.
But casinos gain a financial advantage by raising the theoretical payout setting on a few machines while, at the same time, lowering it on nearly slot machines.
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If you’re curious about if your state or tribal-state compact gaming regs have a theoretical payout limit or limits, freely visit my articles on your state’s gaming industry. You’ll find theoretical payout limits and return statistics in the second-to-last section of these fifty-six articles on the U.S. states, territories, and the federal district. I happily spent years creating this free resource for slots enthusiasts.
![The Odds of Winning [Where to Play]](https://professorslots.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/1-Where-to-Play.jpg)
Where to Look
Okay, so now you’re grounded for what’s coming next. Let’s find the “winning” slot machines set up that way by your casino. First off, how many might you find at your local casino?
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I’ve been to casinos where there were only three, as described in my MGM Grand Detroit Casino Trip Review. Or perhaps your local casino is more like Delta Downs in Louisiana before they remodeled in 2022. Maybe you’ll be lucky and find many, as my family does at Soaring Eagle in Michigan.
There might be as many as three such winning machines if your casino chooses to do this. Or, given how successful it is for them, it might be every end-of-row machine. It’s the casino’s choice what they do, not ours, no matter how hard we wish for it.
I go for a long walk when first entering a new-to-me casino. It takes a little practice, but highly visible slot machines aren’t hard to find. These potential winning machines are the opposite of hidden away.
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These casino landmarks are where you should look:
- At major intersections
- Along grand aisles
- Facing bars and cafés
- Near big displays
- Entrances into the high-limit room
![Go ahead and see for yourself [Where to Play]](https://professorslots.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2-Where-to-Play.jpg)
Potential Winning Slot Machines
A medium-sized casino in Indiana might have as many as 1,700 slot machines or as few as 600. If a casino has chosen this manipulation marketing approach, it might have one hundred potential winning slot machines. Of those, perhaps as many as three machines are winners.
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If you walk into a casino, spin in a circle with your eyes closed, then stop and point at a machine to play before opening your eyes, the likelihood of you pointing at a potential winning slot machine is less than one percent, between 0.2% and 0.5%. That’s not good odds.
But the odds of selecting a winner from one hundred potential winning slot machines found at most visible locations is between 6% and 17%. Using this highly visible strategy has over thirty times better odds than not using it.
Yes, it’s still gambling. My strategies don’t take the fun out of gambling by turning slot machines into ATMs. I’ve successfully done it and can tell you it’s boring!
But you can improve your odds by turning yourself into an expert at this strategy by taking the next step. Make minimum bets on a well-placed, highly visible row of slot machines at a casino’s major walkway intersection. Figure out which highly visible machine isn’t potentially a winner but an actual winning machine.
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For this crucial step, evaluate these machines using my Tough Love Approach.
![Loose Slots [Where to Play]](https://professorslots.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/3-Where-to-Play.jpg)
Strategy Hiccups
When standing near the main entrance to the casino, look for a slot machine on which players are winning. Find machines in the path of both those entering and leaving. Why? Because local slots enthusiasts have figured out which slot machines are winners.
Want proof? Watch them for a few minutes. Did you see that hand pay they just got?
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So, you found a winning machine. But someone is playing it. What do you do?
Come back later when the seat is open. That’s the “white hat” approach. There are also “black hat” approaches, but those aren’t my style or brand.
It’s rare, but some casinos have chosen not to offer highly visible machines as winners to entice players to attempt to win on nearby machines. How can you tell if your local casino has chosen not to do this? Easy – no machines are highly visible.
I saw this at Delta Downs before their extensive remodel. Seeing the difference from every other casino I’ve ever been in was startling. A large indoor tree was blocking the view into the high-limit room!
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There’s nothing quite like NOT seeing something you’ve always seen before that makes it obvious. Take a walk at your local casino. Look around, and you’ll see what I mean.
![It’s a chess game [Where to Play]](https://professorslots.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/4-Where-to-Play.jpg)
Casino Examples
I won seventy-seven hand pays in nine months at the downtown Cincinnati casino two owners ago when it was Horseshoe Cincinnati. Every one of these machines was in highly visible locations. Most had a direct view from the table games area through the wide entrance to where I was sitting on the back wall of the high-limit room.
Harrah’s North Kansas City had two Dragon Link machines facing the walkway to hotel registration. The left machine had a player constantly winning, including hand pays and bonus rounds. The woman on the machine to the right stopped playing to watch the excitement.
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Also, at this casino, there was a Wheel of Fortune slot machine having win after win. That machine was in a round carousel of identical machines facing those leaving the casino. Harrah’s North Kansas City had set up these two machines to catch players coming and going.
As discussed in my MGM Grand Detroit Casino Trip Review, I found a couple of machines facing the entrance to the parking structure on the corner of the gaming floor combined with a clear view of the slots smoking parlor.
In my Belterra Park Cincinnati Casino Trip Review, I describe highly visible machines at the guard entrance to the parking lot and up the central aisle from there to the major intersection with another winner.
In Indiana, for my Hollywood Lawrenceburg Casino Trip Review, I cover how a winning slot machine was one Dragon Emblem machine in a carousel facing the Sunset Bar.
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The list where I’ve seen casinos use highly visible machines to manipulate players continues. And I think it’s great they do this because we can take advantage of them instead. I explain how to make the most of this strategy and a lot more in my online course, 30 Days to Play Slots Smarter and Win.
![This way to the casino [Where to Play]](https://professorslots.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/5-Where-to-Play.jpg)
Summary of Where to Play
Highly visible locations are where to play, turning a complex decision into a far easier choice. Please take advantage of your casino by winning on slot machines they’ve chosen to set as winners as their plan to manipulate us.
