When does the RNG lock in the result?

Hi, John,

I used to play the Ripley's Believe It Or Not slot machines in downtown Las Vegas a few years ago, and then they were removed from the casinos because they did not have the TITO format.

Do you know of any casinos in Las Vegas that still have them? Is Mikohn making new ones? If so, which casinos have them?

Thanks,
Analu

Dear Analu,

I really liked playing the Mikohn games that required some skill in the bonus rounds.

As far as I know, the skill games never did well on the slot floor and Mikohn had shifted towards random bonus games. The second version of Battleship, if I remember correctly, had a completely random bonus game.

A few years ago, Mikohn bought (or was bought by, depending on which article you read) Progressive Gaming. The Progressive site does not list any of the old Mikohn games in their current offerings and I think you'll be hard-pressed to find them in casinos today.

Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
John

John, does the RNG winning or losing combination get "set" when you push the bet one button, insert the first coin, or when you hit the spin or max bet button?

JAB

Dear JAB,

Some slots used to lock in the results when you inserted a coin or pressed the Bet One button, but now they wait until you press the Spin or Max Bet button and actually begin the spin.

Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
John

My friend and I go to Delaware Racetrack and Slots every Saturday. I usually come home with what I go with but not always.

We usually play 9 lines and 1 coin per line in the nickel and quarter machines. The party machine I seem to like the best and also the Wheel of Gold.

I believe you mention that 9 lines are the best. Is this correct?

I usually stop when I am a winner. I cash out and then start again. Is this what you advise?

Some people take their hands and rub them across the screen. I don't believe this makes any difference. What do you think? Does it make any difference in how fast you push the button? My friend says I need to let the machine cool down.

Thanks.

I have never said that 9-line machines are best. Having 9 lines as opposed to 1, 5, or some other number of lines does not necessarily make a machine better.

There is no reason to cash out and start over when you're a winner. That will have no affect on your chances of hitting something. Some players have said that it makes the machine "think" that a new player has started playing it, but the programs running the machines don't know or care who is playing them.

The only things rubbing your hands across the screens does is smudge the screen and get your hands dirty.

It doesn't make any difference how quickly or slowly you hit the buttons. Your chances are the same on every spin no matter how you hit the buttons.

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.