Head for Nevada, slot players (and stay away from Iowa)

QUESTION: You've mentioned  all the casino destinations you've visited over the years. Do you find in your travels that slot machines look and play the same from state to state? — Ken K.

ANSWER: Slot machines are comparable from casino to casino and state to state. They all look and physically play the same: You press the credit button, hit spin, press credit, hit spin, keep repeating, and then reach for your wallet for more money.

But they're definitely not alike when it comes to return percentages to the player. Payouts on slot machines are set by casino operators and are not consistent between gaming jurisdictions. The best  bang for the buck when it comes to playing slots is in Nevada, where the house last year kept just 6.4%. The worst is in Iowa, where casinos keep 9.4% of every dollar played.

Because slot machines these days are keeping a tighter grip on the money you feed into them, your  hard-earned money isn't lasting as long as it used to. For example, based on the blended slot hold from a decade ago, if your bankroll were $100, you could gamble for 3.2 hours at 75 cents per spin. With higher holds across the board, that $100 now  will last approximately 2.6 hours, a 22% decrease. With these tighter slots, your time on device decreases, hence you lose you money faster. But few players play 75 cents per spin anymore. It’s more like $2 a pop, so your slot machine play with that same $100 is now reduced to just one hour. 

Casinos are  starting to feel the effects of their higher hold percentages. In the wake of the recession, the rising percentage has not translated into increased revenue for casino operators. In fact, many believe the higher hold percentage helps  explain the decline in slot revenue. I agree, but I would also contend that the lack of Gen X and millennial players is responsible.

Here are examples of current hold percentages in various states compared with the percentages of a decade ago.

• Louisiana 9.26%, was 8.65%
• Mississippi 7.49%, was 6.54%
• Missouri 9.33%, was 7.44%
• Nevada 6.4%, was 5.72%
• Iowa 9.4%, was 7.05%
• New Jersey 8.96%, was 8.19%.

On the other hand, Pennsylvania’s hold percentages decreased from 9.56% to 7.82% and its slot revenue increased by 11.8%. I'm wondering aloud here, but is management upstairs taking notes?

This is not to say that all slots pick your pocket. Some casinos offer liberal slot machines. By "liberal," I mean casinos that advertise a higher payback percentage on selected machines. It’s up to you to find a casino advertising those liberal paybacks; then you’ll need to ask someone in slot personnel which machines those are.

Mark Pilarski is a contributing editor for numerous gambling publications. E-mail questions to pilarski@markpilarski.com.