Ask the Slot Expert: Where can I find slot payback info?

I'm a long-time subscriber to Casino Player Magazine. At the end of the magazine was a section that showed the percentage payout for all denominations of slot machines and casinos.

I've tried to contact the magazine to find out why they don't publish this information and have not gotten a response from anyone.

Where can I find this information?

I'm surprised you didn't get a reply. I've always found the folks at Casino Player to be responsive.

In any case, I'll take a stab at why they no longer publish the slot payback info in Casino Player. Almost 20 years ago now, they started Strictly Slots in order to be able to publish more slot machine articles. They still published a few slot articles in Casino Player and, I believe, they still published the slot payback info in Casino Player for many years after starting Strictly Slots. But you're right, the slot payback info is not in Casino Player now.

I suspect that with Casino Player being more table game-oriented and Strictly Slots being, well, strictly slots, it made economic sense to drop the slot info from Casino Player.

So, where can you find the information? You can find it in Strictly Slots. You can also check the American Casino Guide website. And you can also check the state's gaming commission website. Many states have payback info available online.

I frequent the Treasure Island casino in Welch, Minnesota. Do you know of or have access to a payback schedule for any casino in Minnesota?

No, I don't, but I did find this information on the American Casino Guide site:

"According to the terms of the compact between the state and the tribes, the minimum and maximum payouts are regulated as follows: video poker and video blackjack — 83% to 98%, slot machines — 80% to 95%, keno — 75% to 95%. Each tribe is free to set its machines to pay back anywhere within those limits and the tribes do not not release any information regarding their slot machine percentage paybacks."

I recently started playing the Life of Luxury game at a "corner store." On these "corner store games," are they able to control the pay out by remote or any other way?

No. The result of a spin is determined completely at random with no outside influence. The operator has to choose the payback percentage desired and install the proper software for that payback percentage. The corner store proprietor — or anyone else, for that matter — cannot control the outcomes.

The new Montreign Casino in New York is supposed to be opened in latter part of 2016. How do I find out what class of slot machines they will have?

I did a quick Google search to find out more information about the new upstate New York casinos that the New York government hopes will improve the area's economy. The Montreign casino will be run by Empire Resorts, which also runs the Monticello Raceway racino a few miles away. New York State runs the Video Lottery Terminals at the racino, but the Montreign casino will have Vegas-style Class III machines with internal RNGs.