When is a Slot Machine not a Slot Machine?
What’s your image of a slot machine? Do you put a quarter in into the coin slot, pulls the handle and see a shower of coins come out of the machine? That’s a popular image but it’s becoming harder and harder to find every year. Not because newer slot machines don’t payout, but nowadays, most don’t pay in coins. Casinos are moving to coinless slot machines and cashout tickets.
A coinless slot machine is exactly what it sounds like. They’re slot machines that take no coins. Using technology similar to vending machines, the slot machine scans your bill and issues credits. At the penny slots, a five dollar bill gives 500 credits. That same amount gives 100 credits at the nickel slots. Bet one credit or ten credits per line or something in the middle. Just because it’s a nickel slot doesn’t mean each spin has to cost a nickel.
Old style coin slot machines are nostalgic and are fun in that “raining coins” way, but we prefer coinless slot machines. The simple fact is, most people don’t enjoy carrying around a bucket of coins in one hand and a drink in the other. Reaching up and inserting coin after coin gets tiring. Many would rather put in a ten dollar bill and be done with it. This brings us to cashout tickets.
A cashout ticket is a voucher that you can use to “Cash out” your winnings, or use as money for another slot machine. As stated – as much as we enjoy winning money, we don’t enjoy carrying around another bucket of coins. A small slip of paper allows us to walk the casino floor without worrying about bumping into someone and dropping a few hundred coins on the floor. That’s never fun.
Aren’t casinos nice for making it so easy to carry your winnings? Yeah, it’s nice but coinless slot machines and cashout tickets work in the casino’s favor as well. With a coinless slot machine you enter a few bills and that’s it.
You’re not reminded that you’re making multiple bets like you would with multiple coin insertions. There’s the tendency to finish your credits. Most people play until the credits are gone instead of going to the cashiers cage for change.
With a cashout ticket, you don’t have the money in hand. You have to walk to the cage to get your money all while passing many more slot machines. How many people stop and play just one more game? Many people do and that’s what makes cashout tickets so profitable!
Still, we like the convenience, so put us down in the “yay” column for coinless slot machines. And may your next payout ticket be a big one!
