A common theory that some players believe in is that casinos are apt to make it easier to win on newer slots:
Do casinos have better paybacks on new games and then reduce the paybacks when the game becomes really popular?
Jennifer
Generally speaking, casinos don’t have an incentive to do this. New slots tend to get the attention of players, and as such they get played more just by nature of being new on a casino floor.
But some players will have beginner’s luck on a slot, and they’ll sometimes attribute that to the idea of a honeymoon period, that casinos will opt for a higher payback up front to get players hooked, and then lower them.
The challenge with that is that a higher payback percentage doesn’t guarantee that players will win anything. A jackpot can be won on the lowest payback setting, and bad runs can occur on the highest one, because of how the random number generator works and the influence of randomness on slot outcomes.
As we’ve shared, casinos will generally set a slot up at a level that will help them accomplish their revenue potential, and leave it be with the occasional update as needed – company priorities, learnings that the sweet spot for payback may be a bit higher or lower based on data collected, etc.
Sometimes, paybacks that are too low actually underperform because players move on faster than if they have more action on a machine that is designed to pay back a higher percentage.
Brian Christopher has said that he tends to give new slots a couple of tries, in part because one bad session doesn’t mean the slot’s bad – luck and timing have an impact on a single session. But if after a few sessions he’s still not feeling it, he’ll likely avoid it, at least for awhile. And games that grow on him might get seen more.
Many other players might be quicker to pass judgement, and take a good session or two upfront, and subsequent bad ones, as “evidence” casinos turned down paybacks. But we see these sorts of reports on older games too, and then the casino reporting for slots shows no real changes.
Ultimately, it’s one of those times where players are reaching for an explanation that is not is what’s happening in reality. If you had a good run upfront, and now aren’t seeing it, it’s the positive and negative variance of a slot at work, and not anything a casino is specifically doing to your casino play.
Have a question? Submit yours here!
Where do you find the RTP on a machine?
Casinos in the United States are not require to display the RTP on a specific machine. Casinos may opt to display it on signage on occasion, but that’s their choice vs. a requirement. Some states report payback data, and that’s the best information we’ve got.