There are a lot of people who have more than a healthy level of skepticism about what casinos can and can’t do to us players:
Can casinos manipulate slot machines with your players card?
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Casinos don’t have this sort of control – players card systems are separate from slot machine ones, with integrations mostly to read data and handle free play. Players card systems aren’t designed to have any interaction with the payback of a slot machine.
Casinos also have no control over what outcomes come out of a slot machine. Even though they can decide how much they want the machine to pay back, that’s over the long term – the random number generator, which is what governs what outcome you get the moment you hit spin, is out of reach of the casinos at all, so they can’t suppress bonuses (or give their favorite player a jackpot either, for that matter).
So even if the casino could change the payback percentage, it wouldn’t necessarily mean you lose. You could still get a jackpot on the worst payback setting, as those outcomes are still within the possibilities that can be achieved on any single spin. This is part of what can make slots fun – yes, over time, they’re designed to make the casino money, but any individual session can go all sorts of different directions.
Regulations limit what casinos can do, but the reality is casinos also don’t need to do much of anything. Slot machines have among the highest house advantages in the casino. They also tend to have among the fastest bets per hour in the casino – hundreds of spins can be completed in an hour, even removing the time needed for bonuses and so on.
But if you play without a players card, you’re giving up the comps you earn while playing, both in the form of comp dollars earned while you play, and casino offers that are sent to you for your next visit. Those comps often equate to between 20 and 40 percent of your expected loss for a casino visit – that’s a pretty healthy rebate just for ensuring that card is in place.
So ultimately, don’t be scared by the players card – if anything, it could be a very expensive mistake in the form of lost comps.
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