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• How Much Does A Slot Machine Tech Make In Illinois Lottery
• How Much Does A Slot Machine Tech Make In Illinois Right Now

Machines pay out by way of a 'hold percentage'. In Colorado it is law that it be set between 80%-100% payback percentage. In saying that, it doesn't really matter, there aren't really 'hot or cold' slot machines. Whatever you decide to play you should bet at least $1 or something close, anything less and you're just giving it away. In 2009, Illinois introduced the Illinois Gaming Act, which allowed a licensed establishment to own and operate up to five slot machines per location. Following the act, the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) was established, and this is the governing body that oversees all licensing, regulations, and tax collection from the industry. Video gambling terminals, including ones in the City Limits Saloon & Grill, 4514 9th St., Rock Island, have exploded in numbers in Illinois. Revenues from the machines more than doubled from 2013.

Slot machines are one of the most popular parts of a casino. Whether you’re a professional or a gambling newbie, slots are the perfect opportunity to try your luck, promising fast-paced thrills with no skill involved. But have you ever wondered how these well-loved machines work?

The roaring success of online slots is a testament to how much we enjoy the slot machines in our bars and casinos. The technology may have finally made the shift into the digital world, however, this is simply the latest development in the long history of slot machines.

If you want to find out more, read on. In this article, we’ll be explaining how slot machines actually work – and why these games of chance are even harder than you thought!

How many parts does a slot machine have?

In general, traditional slot machines are made up of six parts. When you insert your money, these parts work together to activate the mechanism:

1. The coin slot. Modern slot machines also usually have an in-built card machine.
2. The lever. On early machines, pulling the lever would physically trigger the reels to spin, but this is now motorized.
3. The reels. Slot machines contain three reels, each one notched so that it can spin around a metal shaft (and eventually stop at the desired position).
4. The brakes. The braking mechanism causes the reels to stop one at a time.
5. Payout trigger. These are a series of metal pins that can ‘read’ the depth of the notches on the reels in order to work out the required payout amount.
6. Winning line. This is the combination of symbols that you’ll need to get to win the jackpot.

What happens when you pull the lever?

When you insert your money, the lever is unlocked so you can start to play. Once you pull the lever, a motor automatically causes the reels to spin (on some old-fashioned machines, the lever itself spins the reels).

A braking system brings each reel to a stop, one at a time. At this point, the metal payout trigger pins are used to detect the depth of the notches on each reel. This means the machine is able to identify the reels which the player has spun, triggering the correct payout. (The notch that signifies the jackpot is often a lot deeper than the other notches).

What are computerized slot machines?

Today, most new slot machines use a computerized system, rather than the motorized mechanism which drove more traditional machines.

These computerized slots rely on a random number generator, which means that each spin has a truly equal chance of hitting the jackpot. As soon as the machine is switched on, this generator is constantly cycling through a wide range of numbers. When you pull the lever, it stops suddenly and ‘remembers’ the last three numbers it cycled through.

These numbers will determine the position of the reels, with each number divided by a set amount in order to reach a value which corresponds to one of the notches on the reel.

This technology means your chance of hitting the jackpot is staggeringly small – but if games of chance are how you get your thrills, this should only add to the fun!

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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A new Chicago casino feasibility study projects that installing 500 slot machines at O’Hare and Midway airports could rake in $37 million annually. That is more than the amount generated at Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport, which has almost triple the number of slots.

Union Gaming Analytics, a boutique investment bank and advisory firm that carried out the study, worked on the assumption that each Chicago terminal slot could bring in $200 per day. This would bring the annual gross revenue from the suggested 500 machines to about $36.5 million.

The study says that given the Chicago metro area is already well penetrated, in terms of gaming positions, a casino within the City of Chicago is unlikely to need all 4,000 slot machines to achieve optimal revenues.

How Much Does A Slot Machine Tech Make In Illinois Lottery

“As such, greater total revenues and taxes would be achieved by [allocating] a few hundred slot machines to Midway and O’Hare airports,” the study says.

Outperforming Las Vegas Airports

In drawing up revenue assumptions, Union Gaming Analytics studied airports in Nevada, the only comparable market with slot machines within the airport. Nevada’s two largest airports, McCarran in Las Vegas and Reno Tahoe, currently operate 1,475 and 240 slots, respectively, or approximately one slot machine per 15,700 arriving passengers, Union Gaming Analytics’ study says.

The researchers said Nevada provided a proxy for the potential performance of slot machines at Midway and O’Hare. The study then says it is expected that slot machines at airports in Chicago would be used similarly to those in Nevada, namely as an option for some travelers to pass time.

Ultimately, the study concluded, slot machines at Chicago airports should perform notably better than those in Nevada’s airports.

Union Gaming Analytics said they expected slot machines to perform better in Chicago than in Nevada because in the latter, there was low utilization of slot machines which led to low revenues. This was because visitors to Las Vegas would rather play at a full-fledged casino with more attractive gaming options than at the airport.

The report further postulates that departing passengers from Las Vegas would typically have already exhausted their gaming budgets, and local residents using the airport have more convenient gaming options available to them.

To buttress the above points, the study found that revenue from slot machines at the Nevada airports generated revenue well below the state’s average of $151 taken from gamblers daily at each machine.

“With respect to Chicago, slot machines at airports should hold greater appeal to these same three categories, especially when contemplating departing and/or connecting passengers – both domestic and international – as they are a captive audience,” the study said.

O’Hare was ranked as the nation’s busiest airport in 2018. The Chicago Sun Times reported that nearly 40 million commercial travelers passed through O’Hare in 2018, compared to 23.7 million at McCarran and 2 million at Reno-Tahoe. Nearly 10.7 million people flew to or from Midway.

Having slot machines at the airports is quite a tantalizing prospect, with Michael Wenz, an economics professor at Northeastern Illinois University, being quoted by Casino.org saying “airport slot machines seem like a very well-targeted way to raise gambling tax revenue.”

Wenz added that many of the punters will be non-residents, “and relative to a casino or the small slot machine parlors, it isn’t likely that the airport will increase the incidence of problem gaming. There is a possibility that this will cannibalize some of the other revenues from the airport, but the net effect on tax revenues should be very positive in any case.”

Casino could be onerous from tax perspective

Although this may be good news for punters in Chicago, the Union Gaming Analytics report also has some bad news. The report says a casino in Chicago may not be as financially feasible as initially estimated.

The gaming expansion legislation that allows for a casino in the City of Chicago is “very onerous

from a tax and fee perspective”, the report said.

The study further says Illinois law, which allows for massive gambling expansion, features the highest effective gaming tax and fee structure in the country. The legislation, therefore, makes it difficult to finance a Chicago casino and generate profits.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has since said they would re-examine the 72 percent effective tax rate.

Lightfoot said the study confirmed concerns about the tax structure passed by the legislature, but was optimistic this could be addressed.

“We look forward to working with the governor and legislative leaders to revise the legislation and ensure a new casino will be beneficial for Chicago’s communities and the entire state,” Lightfoot said in a statement following the release of the feasibility study.
The City of Chicago hopes a casino will help generate revenue to pay for the underfunded police and firefighter pension systems. The City of Chicago also forecasts that a Chicago casino will create thousands of jobs as well as contracting opportunities for the community.

Gaming capital of the Midwest

Earlier this year, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker approved a new law that increased the number of state-sponsored gambling “positions” — seats to place a bet inside a casino, bar or racetrack — from almost 44,000 to nearly 80,000. It is projected that within two years, Illinois could have more than 7,000 video gambling establishments, 5,000 lottery-like sports betting kiosk locations, 16 casinos, five racinos and online sports gambling accessible on millions of mobile phones.

The new law allows for video slot and poker machines at Chicago’s airports, O’Hare and Midway.

With the law expanding gambling in Illinois, the state is on its way to being the gambling capital of the Midwest.

The state has set aside $6.8 billion in this year’s budget to help residents cope with gambling addiction. This is a 750 percent jump from the $800,000 that Illinois had regularly set aside to help people with gambling addictions, Healthcare Weekly reported.

Previously, Illinois faced criticism that it was not doing enough to help people with gambling addictions.

How Much Does A Slot Machine Tech Make In Illinois Right Now