There are a lot of players who look back with fondness at older slots, and think things have changed. They have, but not necessarily in the ways that players necessarily think.
Playing old school slot machines pays more than newer slot machines?
Jason C.
The age of the machine in and of itself doesn’t determine whether it pays better, since casinos have for decades had the ability to decide what they want on their casino floors and pick a payback percentage from the available options. So that factors into things from the get go.
It is true that some older slot machines had a minimum payback that are higher than newer machines, particularly lower denomination ones that would have floors closer to 90 percent vs. today’s 85 percent. So sometimes if you see an old school low denomination slot machine, it might be set over the long term to pay better.
One thing that is true is many of the older slot machines are lower volatility than games today. They’d offer line hits and bonuses more frequently, but the average bonus wouldn’t be as high as the potential of those on casino floors today.
The balance of line hits and bonuses was tilted more 50/50 as well, where line hits were more frequent and available (with bigger pay potential) on older slots than newer ones is also true. Some players confuse that with better paying, but that’s just where they put the money.
Newer slots put more of their potential in the bonuses, where a 100x bonus is much more likely now than it was 10 or 20 years ago. To make up for it, the line hits have been whittled away, and the volatility on slots has grown aggressively.
While some players say they don’t like it, slots continue to be a growing business, so the challenge is the money says otherwise. Whether that proves to be less people gambling more is something to be seen in the coming years; Vegas has shown signs of strain, particularly for lower budgeted players, so that may be beginning to play out.
