Slot Tips and Slot Secrets on how to Beat the Slots - Part 3

One of the most devastating experiences that slot and video player's can encounter in a casino or racino (racetracks with slots) is being told they didn't win the jackpot or high paying combination they though they won because the machine they were playing malfunctioned (wasn't working properly).

While it's a heartbreaking experience, by gaming laws, it is perfectly legal for a casino to refuse to pay someone if something in a machine wasn't working properly -- even if winning symbols are showing on the payline, or a text message indicated that you won X number of dollars. When you consider the hundreds of thousands of machines in operation 24/7, it's bound to happen, and does, more often than many realize.

While everything humanly possible is done to prevent malfunctions from happening, being in operation 24/7, parts wear out, computer chips and switches burn out, software programs don't always work the way they were designed too.

When something goes wrong in a machine that causes it to malfunction, it goes into a "tilt" mode, and for alignment purposes, machines stopped in a jackpot position causing players to believe they won the jackpot. After numerous complaints from players about this happening, gaming boards asked slot manufactures to chance the "stop" position to eliminate the false hopes that led player's into believing they won a jackpot.

If you're playing a machine and feel it isn't operating properly, stop playing it and ask a slot attendant to check it out. Some things are simple to fix. If they can't fix it right away, the machine will be put out of service and you won't risk not being paid for a jackpot.

DO NOT play a machine if the reels are spinning slower than usual, they continue to spin without stopping, or you're receiving improper credits. It is malfunctioning, call a slot attendant.

Like your car and home computer, they don't always work the way they were designed too. When you press the play button or pull the handle on a alot machine, a device called a "random number generator" automatically chooses a winning or losing combination for you and instructs a device called a "stepper motor" to stop the spinning reels on the combination the RNG picked for you. If the stepper motor isn't working properly (malfunctioning), the reels might continue to spin, spin slower than usual, stop on a combination it wasn't suppose too, including the jackpot symbols, Like car car brakes, parts wear out.

If you're a loyal customer and the amount of the jackpot is small, the casino may pay you for it to reward you for your loyalty to them. If you feel that the casino is being unfair with you, and the amount in dispute is for $500 or more, inform the casino that you want the Gaming Control Board to investigate the incident.

While gaming rules and regulations vary from state to state, the majority of Gaming Control Board's require casinos to put machines in dispute out of service until they can check them out themselves, the records on how the machine was operating, and they may even review surveillance tapes to see if the machine was tampered with.

If the amount in dispute runs into thousands or millions of dollars and you decide to hire an attorney to take the case to court, keep in mind that the majority of court rulings have favored casinos in malfunction suites. While the odds of winning a malfunction suite are minimal, individuals have won, so make sure you hire an attorney that is adverse in gaming laws. In some cases, casinos have settled disputes out of court to avoid publicity and the expense of going to court. If your dispute is with an American Indian casino, you cannot sue them using the U.S. court system, you will have to present your case before their tribal court system.

In case you're wondering how casinos and gaming control boards can determine whether or not you should be paid for a jackpot or another combination, every slot and video machine has a memory chip that stores information on everything the machine did since it was put into service. From how many spins were made to every winning and losing combination the RNG picked. All a slot supervisor has to do is insert a credit size card into the reader, and he or she can tell you exactly what combination was picked by the RNG and should have appeared on the pay line.

Good luck on your casino ventures. Play to enjoy yourself, not to try to break the bank -- it rarely happens!