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Gaming Guru
Slot machine malfunctions6 December 2010
I don't like the implications of your calling the disclaimer "the weasel clause." It gives the impression that casinos routinely deny players jackpots by invoking the disclaimer. The media does not help to dispel this notion. I've been interviewed for a number of denied jackpot stories, and they all end with a statement similar to: "Gambler beware. You never know when a jackpot will display on your machine and the casino will refuse to pay you." Never mind the thousands upon thousands of jackpots the casino pays each year. The denied jackpot incidents I'm familiar with all involved an obvious malfunction on the machine. Two examples:
I hope you agree with me that the players did not earn jackpots in either of these incidents. If the casino pays them a PR (public relations) jackpot because a machine malfunctioned, it does so to try to make a bad situation a little better. Not because they now believe that the jackpot was legitimate. Turning to your question, I've never heard that the situation happened. If the RNG selected a winning combination, regardless of what is displayed on the screen or reels, the machine would add the value of the combination to the player's credit meter. The machine should detect (at least on a reel-spinning machine) that the reels are not in the right places and go into a tilt mode. If the amount requires IRS paperwork, the machine will lock and the floorperson will see the discrepancy between the reels or screen and the RNG during the normal jackpot checks. The casino could return the bet and not pay the jackpot because the machine malfunctioned, but because the RNG record says a jackpot was legitimately won, I think it's likely that the casino will pay the jackpot -- and then put the machine out of order to be inspected and repaired. Do you see the difference? In the last example, the jackpot was won legitimately. It's part of the math of the game. In my denied jackpot examples, the jackpots were not won as the result of a game on the machine, so they're not part of the math. Best of luck in and out of the casinos, 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. This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network. Melissa A. Kaplan is the network's managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press, the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network. To contact Frank, please e-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net. Recent Articles
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