How do they get machines to hit jackpots on commercials?

Have you ever watched a casino commercial where the jackpot for a slot comes up, 7-7-7? How do they fix that machine to do it? Just the fact that they can fix a machine to do it is a little bit disturbing. That means that they can control a machine, maybe any machine, to win or possibly to lose.

Thanks,
Mike

Gee, Mike, that's quite a leap to make from something you saw on a commercial. Have you ever seen the fine print on some car commercials? Something like "Performed by professional driver on a closed course." That's a tip-off that what you're seeing does not represent real-life conditions.

There's no fine print on the casino commercials, but that does not mean that what you're seeing represents real life. Slot manufacturers have special demo software they use to show off the features of the machine to potential customers. The software has hidden menus that can be used to force certain events, like a bonus round or a jackpot, on the next spin. The machine in the commercial probably had the demo software in it, and that's how they were able to get a jackpot to land on the payline.

Considering the software that's in the slot machines you find on a casino's slot floor, the casinos cannot manipulate the machines using that software. Casinos cannot control a machine and make it win or lose.

Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
John

Send your slot and video poker questions to John Robison, Slot Expert, at slotexpert@comcast.net. Because of the volume of mail I receive, I regret that I can't reply to every question.