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Ask the Slot Expert: Broken bet buttons: maintenance issue or meant to be24 April 2024
Answer: As I said last week, this was one of the questions where I wished the writer had given more details. Here is the entire letter, to refresh our memories.
Last week I wished for more details about where the machines were located (state, casino or bar). This week I wish that the writer had been clearer about how many machines were affected. The first sentence says "machines" and then the question says "machine". I can hear my editor saying, "Which is it? One machine or multiple machines?" I had the same thought as you when I first read the message. Probably just a maintenance issue. A spritz of contact cleaner or a quick replacement is all that is needed. But the first sentence says that they have multiple machine where only two buttons work. One machine, maintenance. Multiple, deliberate. Why don't I ask write back and ask for more details? I've done that and I've rarely received an answer. Even when someone asks for my help with a problem, they don't reply. Also, I think some people use burner email addresses that never check. I agree with you almost 100% that the casino should be told if there is a problem on a machine. There may be no other way for them to know that there is a problem. The only time I think twice about telling the casino about a problem is when the problem is on an old machine that I like to play and I can work around it. Let's say one of the Hold buttons is a little flaky on an older video poker machine with a good paytable. Rather than reporting it, I'll just be extra careful. I used to like to play some old 3-coin max $5 machines. Normally, $5 video poker is not in my budget, but I would frequently play these machines when I hit deuces playing dollar NSU. After a couple of years of playing these machines, one of the Hold buttons on one of them was not always registering when I pressed it. I told one of my friends who worked the slot floor. He told me that they couldn't get replacement buttons for those machines anymore. It seemed strange that replacement buttons would no longer be available. The buttons looked just like the buttons on newer machines. The machines were gone not long after I made my report. I know my report and their disappearance are not related. My friend said the machines had been on the replacement list for some time. Nevertheless, I don't want to give the casino a reason to remove or hasten the removal of a machine I want to play. Let's take a moment to thank the buttons on our machines. Today I hit the Deal button on a video poker machine 1999 times (1000 hands; twice per hand; minus the first hand, on which I het to hit Bet Max). Worked perfectly every time. How many times have players tapped, hit, or smashed these buttons and still they almost always work exactly as expected? We only notice them when they don't work. Three cheers for the overlooked heroes of the slot machine! If you would like to see more non-smoking areas on slot floors in Las Vegas, please sign my petition on change.org. Send your slot and video poker questions to John Robison, Slot Expert™, at slotexpert@slotexpert.com.
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