April 3, 2011
Las Vegas Penny Slots A Ripoff? Have Your Gambling Habits Changed?
I agree with the reader who complained about the “tight” slots. First, the casinos need to change the name, but they will never do that. When you have to play a minimum of 50 coins in some of the penny machines just to get the reels to turn, it is no longer a penny slot machine. Many require anywhere from 50 to 360 coins to play. Do you see any of these type of machines in the high limit area? Never.
These “penny” slots are a ripoff. The payout is horrible. I think this is a way for the casinos to force people to play table games. It has worked with me. I used to love slots. Put in 3 quarters and you have a chance for a good win. BUT, put in 75 pennies and you can win 25 WHOLE DOLLARS! Wow! I have been visiting Vegas 1-3 times/year for 20 years. The only thing more annoying than these penny slots is the card snappers!
John Wilda from Vermont
Ted Responds:
I’m with you. You are preaching to the choir here! The amount visitors spend gambling when visiting Las Vegas has declined by roughly 1/3 over the past few years. Obviously, the recession plays a major part. BUT… I think that people are also sensing they are getting ripped off and just not wanting to play as much. When your money doesn’t seem to last as long, you decide to keep it in your pocket. Maybe get a drink, walk the strip, go see Bellagio Fountains, spend a couple extra bucks on dinner instead of gaming.
Penny slots are statistically the tightest slots out there. On top of it all, you can’t even tell what you are doing an now to win on half of them!
I consider myself a pretty bright guy. I successfully counted cards back in the day, and I know pretty much every bet at the craps table (including all the really complicated ones). But I can’t make heads-or-tails of what is going on at many penny slot machines. Add to that the “new” 6-5 payout blackjack (popular on The Strip, it short-changes you as your payout on a blackjack should give you back $7.50 for every $5 bet, not $6.00 for every $5 bet), and you are giving people one heck of an incentive to keep their gaming money in their pocket.
Side Note: The El Cortez (newly remodeled and a very comfortable place to play) downtown continues to offer $5 minimum, hand-held, full-pay blackjack. If that’s your game, the “El Co” is the place to be.
Readers, this is a great time to speak up. Are you playing the penny slots? Do you like them? How has your gambling changed over the years: Are you spending more or less, playing the same or different games than you used to? Comment in the comment box below.
Ted Newkirk
CEO, Managing Editor
AccessVegas.com
Comments(16)
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I always love the penny slots when I come to Vegas (from UK) while my other half sits at the bar watching the world go by. I’m not a big gambler but on my last visit I hardly bothered. The slots were so mean – to put a $20 bill in each time and to have it used up in minutes was not my idea of fun. I never minded losing after having an hour or so of play, but I do expect a bit of decent play for my money, not to walk away after minutes. On future visits I will not be wasting my $$$$ on these slots unless they once again become fair.
Not only are the pemmy slots in Vegas tight,they appear to be tight in all the casinos in Alberta Canada as well.The pay outs are a joke,and have become nothing more than a money grab for the casinos.I just walk by them now and head for the blackjack table.
Do not like the penny slots. Like the old traditional slots when you knew what was happening. I will not play the penny slots.
I generally play the penny slots and I’ve also noticed that they suck the money faster than they used to. I like to be able to play a while on my money then loose. But lately I’ve ended up loosing quicker.
Just wanted to throw in my 20 cents here since most of the machines I play are 20 line max machines. I’ve been playing penny slots in this town for over a decade and here is my advice: Play them for fun, but don’t play them for profit. Every once in a while you’ll hit for a modest win, but those are unfairly rare. And if the slots you’re playing keep sucking twenties like a baby on formula, LEAVE THE CASINO. Try another one. Don’t keep throwing good money after bad, hoping your luck will turn around. It won’t, so stop playing and move on.
Have to agree with the lack of payouts on the slots…many of my friends won’t go to Vegas anymore because of that. It used to be (like Adrienne said) you’d put in $20 and play for a while, having a fair shot at winning some coin, now, about 4 spins and it’s gone with nothing back. The penny slots are a ripoff, I never play them. The minimums on the table games are crazy anymore and it’s getting to be where people aren’t even coming to Vegas to gamble anymore…they’re coming for the atmosphere and weather. I’ve been going for the last 15 years straight and I find I am gambling less and less because the cost of everything keeps going up. Went on a cruise last year for 1/2 the cost of Vegas, saw 4 islands, shows, shopped, ate and drank well and even WON in the casino…I’m sure a lot of other people are sliding towards that avenue. If the powers that be want Vegas to really make a comeback, they need to loosen the slots a little, lower the minimums and offer less expensive food. Once word gets out that people are “Winning” again, you’ll see a resurgence and gambling revenues will rise. You’ve got to give a little to get some.
We are in Vegas sometimes 2-3 times per year and have been travelling there from Canada for the past 25 years. Only once – count’em once – have I won a decent amount of $$ since the penny slots came into play. Spending 3 quarters at a time on the old machines at least used to pay decent jackpots. We are getting ripped off but too stupid to quit coming there. We could care less about how many great restaurants there are in Vegas. We usually go out for a nice meal a couple of times in our 3-5 day trip, but are “stuck” to the machines and quick meals the rest of the time. That’s the whole reason for being there – for me anyway – I love the slots. Too bad the casinos have gotten so greedy! I liked the old days better!
I have gone to Las Vegas 32 out of the last 33 years but with the penny slots I spend about 3 times more money than I used to and have about 3 times LESS fun! With the price of gasoline and the new slots I really have trouble talking myself into going to Las Vegas any more.
I never understood why the casinos went to such high limits and cheapskate rules at their tables and such trickery at their slots. (and why the gaming Commission went along with it.) The average person doesn’t have that kind of fun money to spend. After all we know we probably won’t win, but it used to be fun to try. Now it’s just plane expensive. I can make four bets at the blackjack table or go see a good comedy show and dinner. Which would you chose? Unless of course you have a lot of disposable income and no common sense.
There still seems to be a lot of people around like that.
P.T. Barnum was right and the casinos know it. So don’t gamble or even go to those casinos. It might not change things, but it will make you feel better. Have fun and enjoy yourselves out there. There are still a few casinos that are fun to gamble in. You will know when your in one.
Good Luck!!
Thank you! I have been saying this for awhile now and have wondered if anyone else has noticed that all the latest “penny” machines are really not penny machines at all!! I have wondered how they get away with calling these penny machines. To be considered a penny machine, you should have the option of playing one penny and almost all the latest machines do not allow this anymore. I find this to be a pain in the a** when you’re down to say 23 cents on a machine but cannot play it down since the machine won’t allow you to play less than .30, .40, etc. With this logic, why not just call every slot machine in a casino a penny machine? The quarter machines? No, it’s a penny, you just have to play 25 cents minimum. A dollar machine? No, it’s a penny as well, you just have to play 100 cents minimum. I mean seriously, who regulates this stuff and why the heck are the game manufacturers, etc. getting away with this? Thanks for letting me rant…this has been a pet peeve of mine for some time now! Oh and yes, I agree with everyone else that you get almost NO play time on these machines anymore. Our trips to Vegas and other casinos have gone down drastically over the last few years. If it were up to me, they would be even less but my husband still really enjoys going. I just feel like it’s too much of a ripoff anymore and am definitely not getting the enjoyment/entertainment out of it that I once was!
Yeah i agree with the others, the penny slots are a joke, of course they always reel people to play them with bonus spins, my friend plays them a lot and 75% of the bonus spins he happens to get pay 0. I stick to downtown and play 99% video poker, will play some live keno i believe you have a better chance at keno than todays slots, todays slots from every denomination seem to just be super tight, no bang for your buck any more. If downtown would to ever close i would never go back to Las Vegas. I do not mind losing a few bucks but when 100 goes in 5 mins no fun. So i stick to video poker mostly Jacks or Better at the 4Queens and the Main Street Station always have done well. As for the strip its just a rip off, any one dumb enough to play there is just plain stupid. In downtown Las Vegas you at least get what you pay for at the strip you pay 3 times the price for everything, how can a prime rib dinner be between 6.50-8.00 downtown and at the strip no less than 15.00 does not make sense. Personally i wish Texas would go ahead and legalize all forms of gambling so Las Vegas could feel the heat.
My wife & I have been going to LAS for the past 40+ years &
owned a time share for many years, on the Strip. We recent-
ly sold the time share primarily because I quit playing BJ
on any of the Strip casinos – lousy payoffs (6:5, etc.) I’ve pretty much taken my “gaming” Downtown where there are
still reasonable table minimums, decent rules & 3:2 BJ pay=
offs. My wife quit playing the penny machines since it takes 25 cents & up to get a decent payoff.
Ham
Penny slots are fun to play but not profitable. We quit going to LV because all the fun went out of the slots. We used to win a pot of $1000 or more nearly every time we went to LV. The last couple of times were “drainos-ville”. We find if we want to play the slots, we go locally and don’t have to spend airfare and hotels to get in our game playing. Yes, the slots are tight here, in the eastern US, but cheaper in other expenses. A lot of states are competing with Nevada. But you can’t beat the ambiance of all the shows and entertainment there.
I agree with almost everything said above. Las Vegas slots have become tighter and tighter. When is the last time you got a royal? Just a few years ago, we enjoyed Vegas and the slots. We don’t expect to go home a winner, just give me a good bonus once in awhile. Whatever happened to the Gambling Commission (or whatever it is called in Nevada) that controlled the payouts? The casinos want us to believe we are spending our money on slots simply as entertainment, no good paybacks. We have reduced our visits to Vegas also. Let me know when times have changed.
Unfortunately, I have to agree with everyone who’s commented. It used to be fun to go to Vegas, even if I didn’t win. Not anymore. And I definitely resent it when I want to play a “penny” slot and the house tells me how much I have to play. This year when I went to Vegas, I spent a lot more time taking in shows, going on tours, and sightseeing than I ever have before.
Instead of taking 1 or 2 trips a year, we’re not planning on going until 2013 next….and that can change.
Bottom line… Vegas sucks…. Not like the old days.