Gimmicky Machines

Slot machines that pay out often, but not at very high amounts. The gimmick is that players perceive lots of wins and keep playing, though the game actually isn't paying out.

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Slots players will often talk about casinos which place gimmicky machines in prominent places of the casino. Players see these machines paying out on a lot of spins and decide to play the machine themselves. Alternately, the player begins playing on the machine and decides to keep playing because the high frequency of winning spins.

In both cases, the unsuspecting player is tricked into playing longer at the machine. Since the gimmicky slot machine still has a house edge, the slots director is happy to have players playing at the gimmicky machine.

The problem from the player's point of view is the gimmicky slots game doesn't offer high payouts. The player is more or less wasting time, because the chances of hitting any jackpot are low, and the jackpot hit probably isn't worth the time it will take to win it. The gimmicky slot machine is a low risk for the casino and a low reward for the player.