We’ve all seen them, whether in person or on YouTube (psst: Hi Brian Christopher!). Bigger bettors are the smaller percentage of players, but they have outsized wagers and wins. So what happens to us if those big players get a good run on the machine.
When big betters win big rewards does it leave less for the common players over the life of the machine? Should we play machines that big betters stay away from?
Terry G.
Because future slot outcomes are not impacted by what has previously happened, you can sleep easy knowing that your machine selection doesn’t need to factor in if there’s big bettors.
The day before we wrote this answer, a member of our team was at a casino where they were touting a $35,000 slot machine win… by a player making a $250 bet. Those big wins are accompanied by big bets, and the house edge that comes with those bets.
While a 140x win is certainly a good win, it’s not anything particularly excessive either, so it’s a good bet the player wager at least part of that amount, if not more, on the way to that win.
A big win like the one described in our example might have a short term impact on the totals flowing in and out of the machine, but it tends to average out over time. Casinos wouldn’t offer the games if there was a chance they wouldn’t make enough money, but they also don’t have to do anything special other than let the game be played to reach that target over the long term.
Similarly, the inverse is also not true – Brian’s shared examples of times players have hovered behind him, hoping to jump on a slot after he lost a bunch of money, thinking that means the slot is ready to pay out. There, too, it doesn’t matter, as future outcomes are not impacted by those losses, either.
So pick the slot that calls to you, play what is fun, and relax knowing this is one of those things that won’t impact you in any good or bad way.
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