Posted on 02/07/2014 7:17:37 PM PST by FlJoePa
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By Rob Copeland connect Feb. 6, 2014 10:30 p.m. ET
The hottest attraction in Las Vegas is an outdated three-reel slot machine that hasn't produced a jackpot in almost two decades. WSJ's Rob Copeland reports from the floor of the MGM Grand.
LAS VEGASForget Britney Spears and Cirque du Soleil. For many gamblers, the hottest attraction in Sin City is an outdated three-reel slot machine that hasn't produced a jackpot in nearly two decades.
It is called the Lion's Share, and in this city with no shortage of losing bets, the 20-year-old slot has attracted a legion of ever-hopeful devotees on the floor of the MGM Grand, the Strip's second-biggest casino.
The machine's miserly track record may, paradoxically, make it the rarest of all Vegas treats: A decent bet. A generation of players has already lost money on it, helping more than double the progressive jackpot to an improbable $2.3 million.
"You see the sharks swimming around, scoping you out," said Washington state resident Lief Anderson. The 64-year-old is a second-generation Lion's Share player: He took over the family quest from his late father 10 years ago.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Oh, so it’s “due”, then, right?
Gambler’s Fallacy 101
Ha! True that! Hell, I haven’t hit a jackpot in 20 years, does this mean I’m due?
I’m not a gambler but machines do talk to me. I made a living servicing increasingly more complex machines for 30 years. They often told me what was wrong with them. Intuitive diagnosis is in my tool box. How? I don’t know but I wandered through three casinos in Mississippi and went home with $500 after buying dinner and a room. Cost me $50 in gas and I haven’t been back for over a year. I do not want to explore a probable “basketball jones.”
Has Bill Bennett weighed in on this question?
The issue is that the jackpot only pays out with three coins bet. It has hit with one coin bet.
Granted, I’m one of those people who makes a trek down to try and hit it.
A slot machine that doesn’t pay out is probably not broken.
How do they say? It’s a feature, not a bug.
If I haven’t had my period in 9 months does it mean I am due?
If it’s truly random, there is no reason why it must eventually pay off. One throw of the dice doesn’t influence the next throw.
There is no way to predict future outcomes and they are not planned.
The machines can be audited to confirm the randomness of past results and percentage of past payouts but that’s it.
Basically when you pull the lever, the machine instantly generates a random number (or combinations of numbers). Jackpots are calculated based on the chance of certain jackpot numbers appearing at random.
A combination of numbers than has a 1:1000 chance of appearing might pay out 1:900 for example. The difference between the statistical chance and payout ratio is the house take. In this case the house gets 10%
The mob ran anything with a slot in it. Pinball machines, jukeboxes, washeterias...
You can click credits and launder the "quarters". That's why such machines are regulated by the State.
Additionally, theaters showing Deep Throat didn't sell tickets in the box office (for that film). A guy stood there with a clicker. Who knows how much money may have been laundered clicking "dollars" in the till.
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