- What Denomination Slot Machine Pays Best
- Which Slot Machine Pays The Most
- Higher Denomination Slot Machines
- What Is The Best Paying Slot Machine
- What Is The Highest Denomination Slot Machine
The maximum bet on these machines is $5 and the maximum payout is capped at $1,500. According to Montana's Gambling Control Division, there are no minimum payback percentages required for gaming machines on Indian reservations. NEBRASKA SLOT MACHINE PAYBACK STATISTICS. Originally Answered: what is the highest limit slot machine? You can bet up to $500 in some Casino ’s in Vegas.
You don’t need any special skills to play a slot machine. All you do is select the spin button and wait for results.
But this isn’t to say that you can’t do certain things to improve your chances of winning in slots. One of the easiest ways to boost your odds is by playing slot machines with high payback percentages.
Much like any other casino game, winning back more money gives you better odds of beating the casino.
Find out as I cover different methods of finding payback for popular slot machines in both land-based and online casinos. But first, I’m going to discuss exactly what payback is for those who know little about this concept.
What Is Payback Percentage and Return to Player?
Two terms that you’ll often see in the slots world include payback percentages and return to player.
Payback percentages and return to player (RTP) are the same thing, and they refer to how much money a slot machine pays over the long term.
Here’s an example.
- A slot machine has 94% RTP
- You bet $100 on this game
- 100 x 0.94 = $94
- This slot machine will theoretically pay you $94 for every $100 wagered
I stress the word “theoretically,” because slot machines don’t hit their intended payback percentage in the short run. Instead, these are volatile games that only realize their RTP after hundreds of thousands or even millions of spins.
You might think that this diminishes the value of finding RTP. But if you continually play slot machines with high payback, then you’ll have the best chance to win money.
Finding Payback for Popular Land-Based Slot Machines
The land-based casino industry features plenty of famous slot machines, including IGT’s Ellen, Aristocrat’s Game of Thrones, Bally’s Hot Shot, IGT’s Megabucks, and IGT’s Wheel of Fortune.
Given how these machines take millions of dollars in collective bets every day, you’d think that it would be easy to find RTP for each one. But the truth is that it’s really hard to get info on land-based slot machines.
Note:One problem is that casinos can order different payback for the same game. If IGT offers 10 different RTP options for their Ellen slot machine, then many casinos will to choose differently from each other.
Another problem is that there’s just not much information out there on land-based slot machine payback. You can google different terms again and again and still not find RTP for the most popular slots.
But as impossible as finding brick-and-mortar slots payback may seem, there are a few different avenues you can take.
Look at State Gaming Reports
One of the most reliable ways to find RTP data on slot machines is by looking at reports from gaming jurisdictions.
These records contain general information on what payback you can expect from different casinos. You may even get lucky and find payback percentages on the popular games.
This 2017 report from the Nevada Gaming Control Board shows the state’s average win from various coin denominations, as well as Megabucks.
- Penny Slots = 90.17% payback (9.83% house take)
- Nickel Slots = 94.54% payback (5.46% house take)
- Quarter Slots = 93.06% payback (6.94% house take)
- Dollar Slots = 93.94% payback (6.06% house take)
- $5 Slots = 94.16% payback (5.82% house take)
- $25 Slots = 95.03% payback (4.97% house take)
- $100 Slots = 93.21% payback (6.79% house take)
- Megabucks = 87.93% payback (12.07% house take)
Megabucks is arguably the world’s most famous slot machine. This game has paid out many of the biggest slots jackpots in history, including the largest one at $39.7 million.
This is why the Megabucks slot machine is the only one that regularly appears on the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s monthly/annual reports.
The data above shows that Megabucks only paid back 87.93% throughout 2017. This game doesn’t even match payback from Vegas penny slot machines (90.17%), which are notorious for being tight.
But it’s worth adding that the 87.93% payback refers to what Megabucks starts at after IGT seeds the initial jackpot.
Given that this is a progressive game, the jackpot grows with every bet. And Megabucks’ payback can be much higher than the 87.93% listed value.
Many famous slot machines with big progressive jackpots start around 88% payback, including Wheel of Fortune. You can then use the jackpot size to make an educated guess on how high the RTP has grown.
Be sure to look at your state’s gaming report to see what you can dig up on slot machine payback.
Odds are that you won’t find data on specific games, like with Megabucks in Nevada’s report. But you’ll at least get an idea of the casinos and coin denominations that are paying well.
Make General RTP Assumptions About Coin Denominations
Generally speaking, slot machines with higher coin denominations pay more money.
Of course, the statistics don’t always show this. A good example can be seen in the 2017 Nevada report discussed above, where everything from nickel to $100 slots are relatively even.
But also keep in mind that the $25 slot machines had the highest payback (95.03%). As for the $100 slots only paying 93.21%, this can be chalked up to a smaller sample size.
Only a small percentage of gamblers can actually afford to bet $100 per spin. This means that the $100 slot machines’ statistics will be more volatile than other denominations.
We can look at payback for coin denominations at Connecticut’s Foxwoods for evidence of this.
- Penny Slots = 89.88% payback (10.12% house take)
- Nickel Slots = 90.58% payback (9.42% house take)
- Quarter Slots = 91.95% payback (8.05% house take)
- Dollar Slots = 93.45% payback (6.55% house take)
- $5 Slots = 94.08% payback (5.92% house take)
- $25 Slots = 96.16% payback (4.84% house take)
- $100 Slots = 96.76% payback (3.24% house take)
You can see here that payback progressively increases when moving from penny to $100 slots. The biggest separation is seen when moving from the $5 slots (94.08% RTP) to $100 games (96.76%).
Making generalizations about slots payback percentages based on games’ coin size isn’t a guaranteed plan. But it’s a solid method to use when you don’t have any other information.
Be careful when seeking out higher-denomination slots just for the payback, though. You’re still going to lose more money on high-denomination slots overall, even with the increased RTP.
Here’s a comparison using the Foxwoods’ data to illustrate this point.
- I play a penny slot machine with 89.88% payback
- I make 100 spins on this game, which has a $0.50 minimum bet
- 0.50 x 100 x 0.1012 house edge = $5.06 in losses
- I play a $5 slot machine with 94.08% payback
- I play 100 spins on this game, which has a $5 minimum bet
- 5 x 100 x 0.0592 house edge = $29.60 in losses
If you really want to play the higher-denomination games, then by all means, do so. But don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you’ll win more money this way.
Look at Overall Slots Payback for Casinos
You won’t have much luck finding RTP for individual slot machines, but you can at least develop a composite average by looking at overall payback among casinos.
State gaming reports, like the ones discussed before, are good for doing this. Here’s an example from Ohio that shows the average 2017 slots RTP for their casinos.
- JACK Cleveland = 92.34% payback (7.66% house take)
- Hollywood Columbus = 92.17% payback (7.83% house take)
- JACK Cincinnati = 91.56% payback (8.44% house take)
- Miami Valley = 91.24% payback (8.76% house take)
- Hollywood Toledo = 90.95% payback (8.95% house take)
- Belterra Park = 91.08% payback (9.92% house take)
- Hard Rock Rocksino = 91.06% payback (8.94% house take)
- Scioto Downs = 90.96% payback (9.04% house take)
- JACK Thistledown = 90.87% payback (9.13% house take)
- Dayton Raceway = 90.47% payback (9.53% house take)
- Hollywood Mahoning Valley = 90.09% payback (9.91% house take)
These figures show what you can expect in terms of all slot machines at these casinos.
The best deal was offered at JACK Cleveland, where players earned an average of 92.34% payback. The lowest overall RTP is seen at Hollywood Mahoning Valley, where players faced 90.09% payback on average.
Of course, there are no guarantees when you go off of composite averages. You can sit down to a random slot machine at JACK Cleveland that pays less than games at Hollywood Mahoning.
But the key is that you at least have a better chance by choosing casinos with superior payback.
Google Different Slots Payback/RTP Terms
One final way that you can look for land-based payback percentages is simply by googling terms. You can choose specific terms such as “Ellen slot RTP” or “IGT Wheel of Fortune RTP.”
I’ve spent a good deal of time searching for various terms regarding land-based slot machine payback. Unfortunately, most of these efforts have turned up little-to-no information.
If your initial searches don’t produce anything worthwhile, you can always switch things up. For example, google “Hot Shot slot payback” instead of “Hot Shot slot RTP.”
But again, information is scarce on payback for individual slots. The best you’ll normally do is finding general info like state gaming reports and articles.
Finding Payback for Popular Online Slot Machines
Looking for online slots RTP is a much easier task compared to doing the same for land-based machines. The main reason why is due to the nature of how the internet slots industry works.
Online gaming providers produce games and normally offer a uniform payback percentage across all casinos. This differs from the land-based industry, where the casinos have options in terms of RTP.
The end result is that the same slot machine you find at one online casino has identical payback in another casino.
On another note, you can expect higher RTP from online slots. The reason why is because internet casinos can run these games cheaper due to less overhead costs.
They don’t have to pay for big slot machine cabinets or people to maintain the games. Instead, everything runs through internet software.
Now I’m going to look at a few different ways that you can find RTP for online slot machines.
Search for Individual Games and Their Payback Percentage
If you already have a specific online slot in mind, then you can quickly find payback by searching for it. Here’s an example:
- You want to know payback for NetEnt’s Blood Suckers
- You google “Blood Suckers slot RTP”
- A number of available results show that it offers 98.0% payback
The good news is that you don’t even need to select one of the search results in most cases. You can instead read the description snippets under each link to spot the payback percentage.
In the case of my search for Blood Suckers’ RTP, I only had to scroll down to the second result’s description to find the answer. Of course, you should start clicking website links if you don’t find what you’re looking for in the descriptions.
Looking at the individual games works great if you already have favorite slots and want to know their RTP.
Look at an Online Slot Machine’s Help Screen
Much like land-based slot machines, older online slots fail to list their RTP. But most of the new online slot machines do offer this information.
All you need to do is visit an internet slot machine’s help screen to check for the payback. Here’s an example.
- I’m playing Thunderkick’s Esqueleto Explosivo
- I select the help screen
- I scroll down and quickly see that this game offers 96.0% RTP
Sometimes you’ll play games that have multiple pages on the help screen. In this case, all you need to do is keep scrolling until you find the payback percentage.
You’ll notice that certain online slots makers always put the RTP in the help screens of their newer games. Examples include NetEnt, Quickspin, and Thunderkick.
Google Individual Online Slots Makers
What I’ve discussed so far works well for finding payback percentages on popular online slot machines. But if you like a certain slots maker’s style, then you can look for RTP on all of their games.
This is nice because it gives you a complete list of a specific provider’s slot machines. You can then use this info to choose the highest-paying games.
Here’s an example on finding RTP for RealTime Gaming (RTP) slots.
- I google “RTG slots payback”
- I select multiple websites
- These sites collectively offer RTP on many RealTime slots
Sometimes the info you need will be dispersed throughout several search results. Other times you’ll find a neat list that covers every slot machine.
Don’t Forget About Slots Volatility
I covered the importance of payback percentages earlier. But it’s also important to consider how volatility affects your returns.
Volatility refers to how much your short-term results will fluctuate when playing slot machines. This means that you might not win much money in the short term even if a game has good RTP.
High-volatility slot machines have more unpredictable results than low-volatility games. If you’re trying to stretch out a small bankroll, then you want to avoid games with high volatility.
Some online slots developers actually give a volatility rating for their slot machines. Pragmatic Play is one example, and they use between one and five lightning bolts to indicate volatility.
But the vast majority of internet slot machines still don’t offer this information. That means you need to look at the jackpot size and the pay table to make a rough guess on a game’s volatility.
Generally speaking, volatile slot machines have big jackpots and few small payouts. Therefore, you want to look for the opposite of this to make your bankroll last longer.
How Progressive Jackpots Affect Payback
Several of the most popular online slot machines are linked to huge progressive jackpots. These include Microgaming’s Mega Moolah, NetEnt’s Mega Fortune, Playtech’s Jackpot Giant, and Random Logic’s Millionaire Genie.
These games are just like Megabucks and Wheel of Fortune in how they start with low payback. But the RTP steadily grows as more players pour money into these games.
For ExampleMega Moolah starts off with 88.12% payback. This figure quickly grows as the Mega Moolah jackpot adds millions of dollars in value.
Unfortunately, calculating exactly how much a progressive jackpot affects RTP is next to impossible. The reason why is because slots games don’t list the exact odds behind every payout.
This is different from video poker, where we can always figure out payback percentages based on the odds of getting certain hands.
Nevertheless, you can make educated guesses based on where a jackpot value begins up to its current point. If Mega Fortune is seeded at $500,000 and grows to $5 million, you know that RTP has also increased by a significant amount.
What Denomination Slot Machine Pays Best
Of course, the odds are very slim that you’ll win the progressive jackpot. This means that you’ll be dealing with the base payback figures.
If you’re not comfortable dealing with between 88% and 90% payback, then I suggest choosing popular online slots that don’t have big progressive jackpots. These games will pay back money on a more consistent basis.
But if you like to dream big, then, by all means, play the bigger progressive slot machines. Just wait until the jackpot grows, though, so that you theoretically get higher expected value from your wagers.
Always Read the Help Screen to Ensure You Earn Max Payback
One more point I’d like to stress is how you should always check out the help screen to learn all the rules.
I already discussed how this is a good way to figure out a game’s RTP. But the help screen also explains the different stipulations behind earning max payback.
For ExampleYou may have to use all of the pay lines or bet a certain coin size to qualify for the highest RTP. Furthermore, the progressive jackpot and/or bonus features may only be available for max bettors.
The aforementioned Game of Thrones slot machine requires a 100-credit wager to trigger the Fire & Blood bonus. If you don’t have a chance to unlock this bonus, then you’re not playing for the highest payback.
The last thing you want to do is play a slot machine under the guise that you’re earning a certain payback percentage, only to find out that you’re not. Check out a game’s help screen and learn the rules before you start betting real money.
Conclusion
Finding payback percentages is far easier with online slots thanks to all of the available information.
You can find this info either by googling popular games or even the slots providers themselves. The latter is great for when you like a certain slots maker and want to know which of their games offer the best RTP.
Which Slot Machine Pays The Most
In contrast, land-based slot machines offer very little payback info. Megabucks is one of the few popular slots with an actual payback figure listed online.
This leaves you having to sift through state gaming reports and making guesses based on coin denominations and progressive jackpot sizes. It’s not an exact science, but this at least gives you some clue.
In summary, use the methods that I’ve covered here to find payback percentages for popular slot machines. Consistently doing so ensures that you’ll win more money back as you continue playing slots.
Home > Casino Game Odds > Slot Machines
Learn about the odds and probabilities of slot machines, including how slots payouts work at land casinos and also at online casinos.
Article Highlights:
Introduction Slot Payouts at Land Casinos Slot Payouts at Online Casinos
Casino: Greektown Basic three-reel slots are a common type of slot machine found at modern casinos, although multi-payline video slots are also very popular amongst players. |
Introduction
Attempting to pinpoint the odds for slot machines is a daunting task. With such a variety of machines and games available, the odds can vary a great deal. Generally slots odds are expressed in the form of a payback percentage. The closer to 100%, the better for players. Some machines even pay back at percentages greater than 100%, giving the lucky players who find them a positive expectation for winning. These 'loose slots' are frequently mixed into the sea of machines on a casino gaming floor. For a while, casino operators placed the highest paying machines in high traffic areas like entrances, bars, and near lines for buffets or shows - basically any place a crowd of people was likely to be. The strategy behind the prominent placement of higher paying machines was that since they produced winners more frequently, they would also generate more interest from passers-by, making other players more likely to play at average or low paying machines.
It didn't take long for slots players to figure out this simple strategy, so casino managers shuffled things up a bit. Reverse methods were employed, putting low-paying machines in high traffic areas, and vice versa. These days, there really is no standard procedure for distributing the different pay level machines on a casino floor. Machines are mostly placed at random or in a secret arrangement that only the casino management and staff are privy to. The machines, themselves, still offer a mix of payout percentages with some high and the majority being low to average.
One popular guideline that is easy to follow is to try multiple machines until you find one that pays. Start with a nominal amount of money - such as 20 credits for a .25 or .50 credit machine - and see how it pays. If you are getting more back than you put in, you may have found a hot slot - or one set for higher payouts. Keep playing until it proves itself otherwise, and then try another machine. If the slot you picked is paying out next to nothing from the start, that could either be a cold machine or one set for lower payouts, which also means it's time to move on. There are many strategies slots players utilise, but a few rules of thumb will hold true regardless of where you play.
Average Slots Payout At Land Based Casinos
Denomination | Average Payout |
92.5% | |
94.1% | |
95.9% | |
98.4% |
When playing slots games at land casinos, you will likely have machines that offer .01, .05, .25, 1, 5, and 100 credit betting denominations. How do you know which ones offer the best return rates? The highest denomination ones of course. Casinos generate more revenue by getting a large monetary turnover. Operators know that less overall money will go in and out of a .05 credit slot machine during the course of a day than will in a 1 credit machine. Because more money turns over in the higher-denomination machines, casinos can afford to offer higher return rates for players. Your bankroll may not be able to support playing a five-credit machine for several hours a day, but with a 98.4% payout, it offers significantly better odds than a .25 credit slot. To take it a step further, although you would have to be a high roller, the one hundred credit slots usually offer a near-100% return rate. Even though the machines don't see nearly as much action as the .25 and 1 credit slots, so much is at stake on a single spin that allows the casino to offer a near even money return.
So how much bankroll do you need to play different denominations of slot machines? Based on a three-coin maximum bet averaging ten spins per minute, and matched against the according payout rates, to play for an hour you would need:
- 6.75 credits to play the .05 credit slots
- 26.75 credits to play the .25 credit slots
- 74 credits to play the 1 credit slots
- 145 credits to play the 5 credit slots
Keep in mind that these bankroll figures are only estimates, based on the average payout across all slots. While playing, your actual return may vary a good bit from these numbers. To be conservative, you might try doubling the amounts listed above to ensure one hour's worth of play, if the length of your session is a concern. Lots of players have won giant jackpots with small bankrolls. In 2001, an Arizona businessman on holiday at Harrah's Las Vegas won the multi-million dollar Megabucks jackpot after investing only 22 dollars. The simplicity of the games, and the high win potential is a big part of what fuels the popularity of slot machines.
Average Slots Payout At Online Casinos
casino: Intertops God Of Wealth is an example of a video slot machine, which usually features five reels, anywhere from five to more than 200 paylines, various symbols, and is popular at both land-based and online casinos. |
Like their land-based counterparts, online casinos are capable of producing large slots wins. Not only have the number of online slots choices matched - and sometimes even exceeded - the variety found in land casinos, but their payout rates tend to be even higher. Depending on the frequency and size of jackpots, online casinos may occasionally even top the 100% mark for overall slots payouts in a given month. While it holds true that players benefit from higher return rates, playing slots online also offers some conveniences over land based play. Gone are the expenses and travel requirements of playing at a brick and mortar casino. Playing slots at home can also be much more informal. For example, a player can play in his or her pajamas, if they choose. For an idea of how well average online casino slot machines pay, the table below shows a recent ranking of top paying internet casinos for slots games:
Top 5 Casinos | Slots Payout |
1. | Splendido | ||
2. | Platinum Play | 97.81% | |
3. | Euro Palace | 96.93% | |
4. | Quatro | 96.84% | |
5. | Virtual City | 96.76% | |
view a ranking of all online casino payouts online casinos for US players |
Higher Denomination Slot Machines
The numbers on the chart above represent the top five online casinos in terms of slots payouts based upon an unbiased monthly audit by one of the largest international accounting firms for the most recent audit period. All of these casinos' slots games are tested using rigorous accounting standards to ensure fairness for players, and that the casinos are providing a consistently high rate of return.
If you'd like to try your luck playing slots online, browse our list of approved online casinos, which features a number of reputable establishments offering a large variety of slots.
What Is The Best Paying Slot Machine
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What Is The Highest Denomination Slot Machine
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