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If It Looks The Same…

Are all identically-titled slot machines the same wherever you go? It’s not a question without merit. In the United States, the list of places that you can find one-armed bandits hanging out ranges from massive casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas to entrepreneur gas stations in small towns everywhere. Take, for example, Wheel of Fortune. This participation slot game is currently one of the biggest in America, both in terms of number of devices and player popularity. You can find Wheel of Fortune games in Indian tribal-owned casinos and in Las Vegas – sometimes many of them in one place! These games might look alike, but do they work the same way? Some players are finding that devices that look exactly the same have many different variations on playing style, pay, and programming.

They are not imagining things. Different casinos can order different permutations of the same slot machine, to be programmed with different payoff percentages and hit frequencies. These machines can differ right on down to the symbols on the reels: how many there are, and in what position. The only way to guarantee that two visibly identical machines will play the same, in fact, is if they happen to be on the same progressive jackpot network of devices.

Wheel of Fortune specifically is a bit different, however. The manufacturer that produces it, International Gaming Technology (IGT) keeps a pretty tight leash on who gets to have these machines, and does not sell them, except on the basis of strict revenue-sharing compacts. The Wheel of Fortune slot games at your favorite casino are only on lease from IGT, or else tithe a large percentage of their profits to the manufacturer.

Back to October 2008 Archive.