How To Play Slot Machines In Las Vegas
Slot machines are a staple in Las Vegas casinos (you probably already knew that) – but you might not necessarily know how to play them.
Let’s be real, slot machines are known for their flashing lights, spinning reels, and the thrill they bring to millions of players each year. Slot machines are designed to offer an easy-to-play, chance-based experience where players can potentially win big with just a single spin.
So whether this is your first time in Vegas and you’re looking for information to help you feel a little less intimidated, you’ve just turned of legal age, or you’re just curious to learn more this is the article for you.
Before we get started, let’s go over what slot machines actually are first.
What Are Slot Machines?
Slot machines are found all over casinos, bars and other entertainment venues in Vegas. These machines feature spinning reels with various symbols. Users exchange money for a chance to spin the reels, and the goal is to get matching symbols to appear to win a prize
Slot machines have seen a dramatic rise in popularity over the years – this is a graph from Google Trends, it shows a 118% rise in searches for “slots” in Las Vegas for the period of January 1st 2010 to August 1st 2024.
A report from the American Gaming Association highlights that slot machines account for 65% of a casino’s gaming revenue in the USA. Stats from MGM’s Annual Report shows that they alone account for a total of 9,398 slot machines across their Strip resorts
So – slots are big business – but, how do they work?
How Do Slot Machines Work?
There’s a technical and non-technical answer to this.
The non-technical answer is luck, or by chance.
The technical answer is that modern slot machines make sure each spin is independent of the last, making the outcome unpredictable. They use a Random Number Generator (RNG) to achieve this.
The payout the user receives is based on the combination of symbols that land on the paylines – and you already know that the different combinations offer different payouts.
Now that leads us to the next point – how do you actually play slots?
How To Play Slot Machine Games?
The main advantage of slot machines and why so many people play them is because they’re a lot easier than the table games at casinos – they’re really simple – plus you also don’t have a crowd of people watching you so there is a lot less pressure to hit the jackpot.
Here’s the ultimate, 5 step process to playing slot machine games in Vegas (or anywhere in the world)
- Get to know your paylines.
- Insert your money into the machine.
- Select your wager (the bet amount).
- Spin the reels (and hope for the best)
- Check your results.
- Play again or cash out.
It’s really that simple, modern machines like the ones in Vegas automatically check the paylines for winning combinations – if you’ve won the machine will credit your account, if you didn’t then you can adjust your bet and spin again.
Here’s an example of what a couple of paylines look like.
It’s really important for you to check paylines before you start playing – the last thing you want to do is celebrate like you scored a winning goal at the World Cup… when in reality you won nothing.
You’ll save yourself the embarrassment by knowing what symbols need to match up for you to win.
So the whole point of slot machine games is to match up symbols – but what do they actually mean?
We’ll explain.
Symbols On A Slot Machine
Bars, fruits, bells, numbers – they all have specific meanings. Even if your slot machine has a theme, the characters will have a meaning behind it. From Wheel of Fortune to the Simpsons (which used to be in the Cosmopolitan).
To celebrate the Super Bowl heading to Vegas, NFL-themed slots were a big hit, they were featured at Harry Reid International Airport and 20 different casinos, including the Venetian, Wynn, Palms, and The Mirage.
So with that, here’s what you need to know about symbols.
| Symbol Type | What Does the Symbol Mean? |
|---|---|
| Wild Symbols | Acts as a joker, substituting for any other symbol in a winning combination, greatly improving odds of winning. |
| Scatter Symbols | Often triggers bonus spins. Rare but valuable, with conditions that must be met before benefiting. Considered a gambler’s best friend. |
| Multiplier Symbols | Multiplies winnings by 2x, 4x, or 6x. Rare and highly sought after, though not available on all machines. |
| Sticky Symbols | Keeps the reel in place for multiple spins, making it easier to form winning combinations. Typically placed at the end of reels, making them harder to land. |
| Bonus Symbols | Triggers a bonus game related to the machine’s theme, offering additional chances to win. Bonus games rely on luck rather than strategy. |
| Stacked Symbols | Allows symbols to occupy more than one space on a reel, increasing the likelihood of forming winning combinations. Stacked wilds further enhance winning opportunities. |
Everything Else You Need To Know About Slot Machines
The most important thing you need to know is that slot machines are completely random.
Remember that it’s not the machine’s fault, the casino staff isn’t playing a trick on you, and the other guests are not laughing at you if things don’t go your way.
As soon as you’re not feeling “it”, or the fun disappears you should stop playing. It’s almost impossible to predict the odds of slot machines – however, some players do try to strategize.
We’ll explain more in our guide to slot machine strategies, but these can be summed up as:
- The Progressive
- The buy-a-pay
- The multiplier
The Progressive
In progressive slots, a portion of each wager contributes to a growing jackpot, which can only be won when it reaches its maximum value. Players can choose to either ignore the jackpot and focus on smaller wins, which are more frequent due to better payout percentages, or strategically time their play when the jackpot is near its maximum. However, exact timing is difficult to gauge, and players often rely on cues like the number of others playing the machine.
The Buy-a-Pay
Buy-a-pay slots require players to unlock additional paylines or symbols by wagering more coins. For example, betting one coin might activate only the center payline, while betting the maximum amount unlocks all paylines and symbols. The strategy here is simple: always bet the maximum to unlock the full potential of the machine. Otherwise, you risk missing out on significant winnings, even if you hit a winning combination.
The Multiplier
Multiplier slots offer the chance to multiply your winnings by a specific factor, ranging from 2x to 1000x or more. These multipliers can appear randomly on reels or in bonus rounds. Some variations, like wild multipliers, substitute for other symbols and multiply winnings simultaneously. The key strategy is to research and identify machines that offer multipliers, as they are not present on all machines and can greatly enhance your payouts when they appear.
Now that you know a little more about strategies, it’s still important to understand that you cannot convince yourself that you’re good at slots if you have a lucky game.
Remember, the chances of winning are random – so accept you’ll never win at slots.
Lastly, the most important thing to remember is that you should be having fun. The whole point of Vegas is to have fun – and once again when the fun stops, you should stop.
Good Luck Playing Slots in Vegas
There you have it – a guide to playing slot machines in Vegas.
Let us know in the comments what your favorite slot machines are – and when you’re done playing slots why not check out a show or attraction? We’ve got discounted tickets to the best shows and attractions like the Sphere or the Strat Skypod – and you can also find discounts for your next stay in Vegas.
