Never underestimate the value of pennies -- or at least of nickels, dimes, and quarters. For casino operators, fortunes are built on pocket change. From 2001 to 2002, enough people wandered into Mohegan Sun and started pouring nickels, quarters, and dollars into the video games and slot machines that it added up to an astonishing $8 billion, according to figures from the Connecticut Division of Special Revenue. (This does not take into account the money spent at table games, such as craps and baccarat.) That year at Foxwoods, the tally was closer to $10 billion. After subtracting expenses, including the amount returned to players who hit, the two Connecticut casinos were left with a little more than $1 billion in change, according to the state.
Play by the rules and the one-armed bandits will still win
In other words, the casinos are doing pretty well, and the machines are the main reason. A survey commissioned by the giant casino operator Harrah's in 2003 showed that video poker and slot machines make up nearly three-quarters of all casino games played in the United States. But while casino gambling in general, and the slots in particular, offer players a negative return on their ''investment," there are better and worse machines to play.
When it comes to machines, the name of the game, so to speak, is in what are called ''return percentages." Return percentage (called the ''theoretical payout" in Connecticut) refers to the maximum amount per dollar that a casino pays out when measured over the long term. In other words, a return percentage of 95 means that, over a period of time, the casino pays out 95 cents per dollar played and keeps the other five cents.
While gambling is highly regulated, there is no national gaming board. The 11 states that give out commercial gaming licenses regulate the industry themselves, taking a share of revenues. States set the legal minimum return percentages for their casinos. In Nevada, for example, it's 75 percent; in Connecticut, it's 80 percent. Since few people would play if the returns were really that abysmal, casinos have mastered the art of offering the minimum return possible while still attracting those billions of dollars. In fiscal year 2002-03, Foxwoods had an average return of 91.80 percent; during the same year, Mohegan Sun had an average of 92.02 percent, according to the Connecticut Division of Special Revenue.
These numbers vary not only month to month but also place to place. In Las Vegas, for example, the smaller casinos, off the beaten path and away from the big-time resorts, offer the best return percentages. According to statistics supplied by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, returns on 25-cent slot machines on the strip in Las Vegas average 92.59 percent return; those on the northern side of town, which is not a tourist destination, average 96.63 percent.