Programmed jackpots

For your information, there are slot machines today that allow operators to program them in such a way that the jackpot will be certain to be hit, say, before or on xth number of games, but the operators of course would not reveal this information to the customers of which of the slot machines that are programmed in such a way. The probability of striking will gradually increase to 1 as it reaches the x. Even if customers know of this through their own play, they would still play immediately after the strike in spite of lower strike probability because there is still a probability.

OK, I'll bite. Please tell me which machines operate this way and who makes them and I will verify your information.

There are bonusing systems that work the way you describe. These are the ones that are advertised as hitting between two dollar amounts. When the bonus system is initialized, it chooses a dollar amount in the specified range at random. It then tracks the play on the machines that participate in the bonus link. Once the running total hits the trigger amount, the player playing the machine that pushed the total to or above the trigger amount wins the bonus. Be aware that this procedure applies to the bonus only, not to the jackpots on any of the machines in the bonus link.

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.