It is absolutely AMAZING the differences between the payouts of the GOOD Cleopatra Machine and the STINGY one. It’s like the latter just wants you to keep losing money and then walk away. The GOOD Cleopatra machine gives FREQUENT payouts because they have confidence that the machine will pay off in the long run. Also the sound effects are a bit different too. All I know is that my wife lost only ONE time on the GOOD Cleopatra machine and that was only $16. All other times were either break even or wins. Of course, I forced her to split when we were decently ahead. Now we will do a change of tactics and put the winnings into the Chilli machine and the total number of spins will be the amount we won at Cleopatra divided by the 40 cent bet. For example if wife wins $40 at Cleopatra machine then I will count out EXACTLY 100 spins and then STOP right there and leave no matter what.
I actually studied this in grad school - the slots are set up to give you back 60 - 80% of your money, depending on how sleezy the joint is. They don’t want you to lose big, they want you to come back next payday.
The occasional big payout, for them, is just an advertising expense.
Brings in more folks willing to lose.