Casino players in recent years have been regularly raising frustrations about how “greedy” casinos are getting (at least in their view), that the slots are just too tight, they can’t make their money last anymore.
The recent reporting about the latest edition of a UNLV report seems to be one of those items that gives them reassurance of their frustrations, especially when you have headlines like “Nevada Slot Machine Payouts Tighten as Casino Margins Rise” and “Nevada slot machines are getting tighter, says UNLV report.”
Regular readers may have caught that I had found that report and cited it in an article I had queued up just before these news items dropped, and used it to explain why recent years haven’t seen much of a change at all. There was definitely a period where slot machine holds were growing, which the shift in popularity to lower denomination slots certainly helped drive.
This is part of the reason why regular readers have seen posts recently about the difference between a “tight” (set to a low payback) slot and a “tough” (the payback is there, but in harder to reach places) slot, and how players think the slots are tighter, but it’s really in the last decade they’ve simply become tougher.
There’s all sorts of FUD around this topic that I cover regularly – casinos tightened the slots after COVID, they’re manipulating the machines when they detect a players card… I’m sure you’ve heard these too but it seems to have built in volume in recent years as games have gotten more difficult (although to be fair the number of outlets to share grievances on social media has only increased as well).
The complaints players often report now – I put $100 in and get nothing, my budget lasts an hour tops – speaks to something larger than a 50% lift in hold over 20 years (certainly significant, but not to the degree I see the complaints around) and more to other changes – bet inflation (particularly minimum bets, which are quickly approaching $1 per spin), speed per spin, volatility of the machine – all things that can make a machine feel tighter because a player’s money is going faster, even when the overall hold has been pretty steady.
Another angle to the narrative – which coincides with the one about Las Vegas over the past year – is budget players are getting priced out. It’s not just the cost of things in the resorts, or the reduction of flights into Las Vegas by Spirit Airlines, but the fact that you can’t put $20 into a slot and expect much anymore when minimum bets are approaching $1 a spin and the average bonus frequency is dipping to accommodate these bigger bonus opportunities.
This could also explain the drop in hold on the strip in 2025 shown in the UNLV report – any sort of shift in mix to larger budget players would imply more higher denomination play, with a lower hold percentage, which would bring down the average.
Of course, as this article goes live, there’s all sorts of economic pressures right now, so there’s surely a mix of factors going on, but the evolution of casino games is contributing to an environment where even budget players need more runway just to make it to less frequent, more volatile bonuses.
My latest casino trip was a great example. I got two 100x bonuses in quick succession, followed by burning through a budget 100x my bet without a single bonus or significant line hit. The roller coaster of slots, like roller coasters in general, are often more extreme, with bigger highes and lower lows, than ever before. (It also makes the emotional angle more challenging – I left up, but could have left more up if I was willing to call it sooner.)
For some, the ride is too bumpy to be fun anymore. Players can’t just put $20 into most slots and have fun anymore. And that’s likely to have an eventual impact on the number of players and the frequency of their visits.
your articles are always the same each time this comes up … players don’t know what they are talking about and it’s all in their mind. gaslighting much. casino corps are money making entities and will do all they can to squeeze everywhere. why would they not tilt the table a bit farther their way in slots.
Telling the truth isn’t gaslighting. If you believe the casinos are purposefully turning the screws, we hope you’ve stopped supporting them with your gambling dollar. But when slots already have a house edge of 8%, higher than most games in the casino, they don’t need to turn the screws – your choice of game is more than enough. If casinos wanted to squeeze everywhere, penny slots would have an even worse payback than is being reported across the country.
Casinos have learned with the support of third party data analysts that a race to the bottom isn’t always the way to make the most money. There is a sweet spot where the payouts are good enough that players choose to play more, and that balance of play and house edge is the magic formula. And – surprise – it isn’t often lowering the payouts.
The answer to your question about why they wouldn’t tilt the odds in their favor is simple: they believe they make more money at the current hold levels. In Nevada, they’re allowed to hold up to 25% on slots, yet nobody actually has a hold that large, and no slot maker makes a machine with a hold that large. Because they’ve tested it, and found if the hold goes much above about 8-10%, players notice, and go play at another casino. The casinos are constantly adjusting the hold to what they believe to be the profit-maximizing level. If you think they’ve increased the hold, you’d need to articulate why they suddenly think they’ll make more money at a higher hold, when they’ve clearly decided they can make the most money with the current holds.
Casinos on cruise ships often have higher holds, largely because the players are stuck in the middle of the ocean, so there’s no competition for their gambling dollars. But even then, they don’t really go higher than 15%, because players will just not play if the hold is too high.
I appreciate this analysis, Josh. I have changed my pattern of slot play over the years, to be sure. In the ‘good ole days’ I could play for hours for the sheer enjoyment (penny slots) and if I hit a jackpot which gave me more than I arrived with, I was very happy. The newer slots have altered my previous immersion experience into much shorter sessions with a somewhat higher bet level. I think the sessions with no ‘big hit’ hurt more due to the lack of enjoyment of longer sessions with a wider variety of slots to enjoy. I watch BCSlots daily, but do not visit local casinos (about 90 minutes away) very often at all anymore. The entertainment value level has dropped for me. BCSlots is highly entertaining though and is a wonderful virtual casino visit!
Thanks in turn for your comment! We have definitely heard from some players that casino time has changed with how these games have evolved, and have been reducing visitation because it’s not the same. So we certainly understand why you’re not going often.