When it comes to inventions that influenced Memphis and Mississippi, the slot machine is up there with the cotton gin and the electric guitar.
A new report from the American Gaming Association claims to “demystify” slots and their impact in the United States.
“Slot manufacturers need to build devices for a society with a decreasing attention span” and an increasing appetite for electronic entertainment, the report says. In recent years, “customers have gravitated towards low-denomination machines that offer multiple small bets on a single play” and to nickel and penny slots.
Independently produced reports from the Mississippi Gaming Commission confirm the popularity of so-called “low-volatility games” with low bets and more opportunities for the customer to win, even though the payouts are smaller. “High-volatility games” including slots that take $5 to $100 per play have bigger jackpots but fewer winning combinations, fewer bells and whistles, and take less time to exhaust the customer’s cash.
