Introduction to New York Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2020
- Slot Machine Takeout Percentages 2020
- Slot Machine Takeout Percentages Chart
- Slot Machine Takeout Percentages Calculator
The Ugga Bugga slot machine game has the highest payout percentage, at 99.07%. The second highest is Mega Joker by NetEnt, with a 99% RTP. Jackpot 6000 by NetEnt and Uncharted Seas by Thunderkick come in second and third, with RTPs of 98.8% and 98.6%, respectively. Image: pixabay Progressive jackpots are not restricted to online slots, though. The largest ever payout on a slot machine came back on March 21, 2003, when a 25-year-old engineer from Los Angeles. 1¢ Slot Machines The Strip - 88.33% Downtown - 88.96% Boulder Strip - 90.53% N. Las Vegas - 90.79%. 5¢ Slot Machines The Strip - 91.96% Downtown - 93.32% Boulder Strip - 96.30% N. Las Vegas - 95.24% 25¢ Slot Machines The Strip - 89.34% Downtown - 93.91% Boulder Strip - 95.77% N. Las Vegas - 96.27%. $1 Slot Machines The Strip - 92.34% Downtown - 94.12%.
New York slot machine casino gambling consists of eleven tribal casinos, eight pari-mutuel racetracks with slot machines, four casino resorts, and two nearby Canadian casinos.
A theoretical payout limit exists for the seven Class III tribal casinos. Return statistics are publicly available for the eight racinos and four casino resorts.
This post continues my weekly State-By-State Slot Machine Casino Gambling Series, an online resource dedicated to guiding slot machine casino gambler to success. Now in its third year, each weekly post reviews slots gambling in a single U.S. state, territory, or federal district.
Keep Reading … or Watch Instead!
Or … Listen Instead!
Subscribe to my Professor Slots podcast at Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Amazon Audible | Gaana | Stitcher | Pandora | iHeart Radio | Tune-In | SoundCloud | RadioPublic | Deezer | RSS and everywhere else you find your podcasts!
Relevant Legal Statutes on Gambling in New York*
The minimum legal gambling age in New York depends upon the gambling activity:
- Land-Based Casinos: 21/19/18
- Poker Rooms: 21
- Bingo: 18
- Lottery: 18
- Pari-Mutuel Wagering: 18
The legal gambling age is 21 for casinos owned by the Seneca Nation of Indians, but 18 for other casinos in New York. At Canadian casinos in the province of Ontario, the minimum legal gambling age is 19. For the province of Quebec, it’s 18.
Until 1993, tribal casinos in the state of New York had only Class II bingo halls. That year, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe negotiated a state-tribal compact for Class III Vegas-style slot machines.
As a result, all Class III tribal casinos have video lottery terminals (VLTs) controlled by the New York State Lottery. While these electronic games appear to be typical video slot machines, the results of a bet are instead determined off-site by a central lottery system.
*The purpose of this section is to inform the public of state gambling laws and how the laws might apply to various forms of gaming. It is not legal advice.
Slot Machine Private Ownership in New York
It is legal to own a slot machine privately in the state of New York if it is 30 years old or older.
Gaming Control Board in New York
Created in 2012, the New York State Gaming Commission has merged from the New York State Division of Lottery and the New York State Racing and Wagering Board.
Currently, this Commission regulates all aspects of gaming activity in the state of New York including charitable gaming.
Casinos in New York
There are eleven tribal casinos, eight pari-mutuel racetracks with slot machines, and four casino resorts in the state of New York.
The largest casino in New York is Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway with 5,300 gaming machines.
The second-largest casino is Resorts World Casino New York City with 4,995 gaming machines.
The State of New York has an extraordinary gaming industry because of the many types of casinos available to its residents. New York has tribal casinos with and without tribal compacts, casino resorts, racinos, cruise ships, and even readily accessible international casinos just across the border to Canada.
Commercial Casinos in New York
The eight racetracks with slot machines (racinos) in New York are:
- Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel located in Batavia found 44 miles east of Buffalo.
- Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway found 22 miles North-northeast of New York City.
- Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack located in Farmington found 64 miles west of Syracuse.
- Hamburg Gaming at The Fairgrounds found 13 miles south of Buffalo.
- Jake’s 58 Hotel & Casino located in Islandia found 50 miles east of New York City.
- Nassau Downs at Resorts World Casino New York City located in Jamaica, Queens found 17 miles east of New York City.
- Saratoga Casino Hotel located in Saratoga Springs found 139 miles east of Syracuse.
- Vernon Downs Casino Hotel located in Vernon found 39 miles east of Syracuse.
The four casinos resorts in New York are:
- del Lago Resort Casino located in Waterloo found 47 miles west of Syracuse.
- Resorts World Catskills located in Kiamesha Lake found 96 miles northwest of New York City.
- Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady found 128 miles east of Syracuse.
- Tioga Downs Casino Resort located in Nichols found 102 miles south of Syracuse.
Tribal Casinos in New York
The seven tribal casinos with Class III Vegas-style slot machines in New York are:
- Akwesasne Mohawk Casino Resort located in Hogansburg found 176 miles northeast of Syracuse on the Canadian border.
- Point Place Casino located in Bridgeport found 15 miles northeast of Syracuse.
- Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel located in Salamanca found 63 miles south of Buffalo.
- Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino located in Buffalo.
- Seneca Niagara Casino located in Niagara Falls found 19 miles northwest of Buffalo on the Canadian border to Quebec.
- Turning Stone Casino Resort located in Verona found 35 miles east of Syracuse.
- Yellow Brick Road Casino located in Chittenango found 16 miles west of Syracuse.
The four tribal casinos with Class II bingo-style gaming machines in New York are:
- Lakeside Entertainment located in Union Springs found 41 miles southwest of Syracuse.
- Seneca Gaming – Irving located in Irving found 29 miles southwest of Buffalo.
- Seneca Gaming – Oil Spring located in Cuba found 69 miles southeast of Buffalo.
- Seneca Gaming – Salamanca located in Salamanca found 63 miles south of Buffalo.
Other Gambling Establishments
As an alternative to enjoying New York slot machine casino gambling, consider exploring casino options in a nearby state. Bordering New York is:
- North: The Canadian Provinces of Ontario and Quebec
- East: Connecticut Slots, Massachusetts Slots, and Vermont Slots
- South and West: Pennsylvania Slots and New Jersey Slots
Each of the links above will take you to my blog for that neighboring U.S. state to New York.
Canadian casinos are across the international border from the State of New York in the Niagara Falls region near Buffalo as well as in Montreal near upstate New York.
Otherwise, cruise ships with onboard casinos depart from the New York Manhattan Cruise Terminal for international destinations.
Our New York Slots Facebook Group
Are you interested in sharing and learning with other slots enthusiasts in New York? If so, join our new New York slots community on Facebook. All you’ll need is a Facebook profile to join this closed Facebook Group freely.
There, you’ll be able to privately share your slots experiences as well as chat with players about slots gambling in New York. Join us!
Payout Returns in New York
Each casino type in New York has its own gaming regulations, so theoretical payout limits and return statistics have several varieties. I’ll review them.
- Class II competition-style gaming machines at tribal casinos are subject to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, a federal law, which does not set payout limits nor require public reporting of return statistics.
- Class III Vegas-style slot machines at tribal casinos are subject to tribal-state gaming compacts stating VLTs are controlled off-site by the New York State Lottery. These VLTs have a minimum theoretical payout limit of 92%. No return statistics are publicly available.
- Commercial casino resorts do not have theoretical payout limits. Return statistics are publicly available as weekly and monthly reports. See the Commercial Gaming Reports tab at the NY State Gaming Commission.
- Commercial racetracks with their video slot machines do not have theoretical payout limits. Return statistics are publicly available as weekly and monthly reports. See the Video Gaming Reports tab at the NY State Gaming Commission.
Regarding monthly return statistics for the commercial sites, player win percentage is available only after performing a simple calculation. Specifically, divide Credits Won by Credits Played and then multiply the result by 100% to get Player Win%.
The monthly Player Win% for February 2020 at each casino resort was:
- del Lago: 90.4%
- Resorts World Catskills: 90.7%
- Rivers: 90.8%
- Tioga Downs: 91.6%
In February 2020, the highest return for a casino resort was at Tioga Downs with 91.6% while the lowest return was at del Lago with 90.4%.
The monthly Player Win% for February 2020 at each commercial racetrack with video slot machines was:
- Batavia Downs: 91.6%
- Empire City: 93.4%
- Finger Lakes: 92.1%
- Hamburg Gaming: 91.5%
- Jake’s 58: 93.8%
- Nassau Downs: 97.4%
- Saratoga: 92.2%
- Vernon Downs: 91.8%
In February 2020, the highest return for a pari-mutuel racino was at Nassau Downs at Resorts World New York City with 97.4% while the lowest return was at Hamburg Gaming with 91.5%. For the same month, the overall state total was 94.1%.
Summary of New York Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2020
New York slot machine casino gambling consists of eleven tribal casinos, eight racinos, four casino resorts, multiple cruise ships sailing out of New York City to international destinations, and two nearby casinos across the border to Canada.
VLTs at Class III tribal casinos have a minimum theoretical payout limit of 92%. None of the tribal casinos offer return statistics, but casino resorts and racinos have weekly and monthly reports available online.
Annual Progress in New York Slot Machine Casino Gambling
Over the last year, there has been little change in the slots gaming industry in the state of New York.
Related Articles from Professor Slots
Other State-By-State Articles from Professor Slots
- Previous: New Mexico Slot Machine Casino Gambling
- Next: North Carolina Slot Machine Casino Gambling
Have fun, be safe, and make good choices!
By Jon H. Friedl, Jr. Ph.D., President
Jon Friedl, LLC
No, the odds are the same regardless of the time of day.
Most slot machines usually offer an incentive to play the maximum coins. For example two coins may pay 2,000 on the jackpot but three coins will pay 5,000. So if there an economy of scale incentive, then the return is higher with a max-coin bet. However, I should mention that most casinos tend to increase the theoretical return on their slots as they go up in denomination. So, you may be better off betting one coin on a $1 machine than four coins on a quarter machine.
My advice on slot selection is to play a simple smaller game. Nothing with fancy signage or a huge screen. Ultimately, it is the players that pay for that in the form of a lower return.
Interesting question. I'm sure that didn't refer to the payback percentage, 37% would be way too low. The 'hit frequency' is the probability that the player wins anything.
I'm pretty sure that the odds on Megabucks are the same everywhere. It is a 'proprietary game,' meaning the casino and slot maker (IGT) share in the profits. As I understand it, such propriety games are generally set to a return of about 88% by the slot maker, and the casinos do not have the option for a looser or tighter version.
The Wheel of Fortune game, with the big jackpot, I believe is also a proprietary game. Video poker odds are dictated by the pay table. For example, a 9-6 Jacks or Better game will pay 99.54%, assuming optimal strategy and an infinite amount of play, regardless of where the machine is or number of number of hands the player gets on the draw.
You're right, it is impossible for me to know without Microgaming giving me the details on how their reels are weighted. I have asked some of the major software companies for such information, but thus far nobody has volunteered anything. However, I can tell you that the average payback for all slots at the Golden Palace for the month of March 2000 was 95.67%. This information is available at the Golden Palace web site, click on the Price Waterhouse Coopers monthly payout review.
I would assume that the odds are the same at all Microgaming casinos. All casinos probably contribute money to the same account from which the jackpot is paid. This way, the individual casino from which the jackpot was hit does not have to reach into their own pocket when somebody wins. Mid-level payouts are probably paid by the casino itself.
The minimum applies to every machine. Someone with the Gaming Control Board in Carson City, Nevada, told me that every machine in the state must meet minimum payback percentages. The only exception, he said, are on some antique machines in Virginia City.
Unlike most slots, this game has different types of wins according to the number of coins bet. The first coin enables the player to win the small frequent 'bar' wins, from 2 to 60. The second coin enables larger 'seven' wins from 100 to 500. The third coin doubles the wins for sevens, except it also qualified the player for the progressive jackpot for three sizzling sevens.
The ways these games are programmed is to give the player a slightly higher return on each additional coin bet. For example, the first coin might have a return of 92%, the second 93%, and the third 94%. You seem to think the return for one coin would be very low, due to the small wins, but those wins happen more often than the wins for sevens.
In Nevada, regulations require slots to theoretically pay at least 75%. Even the games at the airport, which are very tight, still pay at least 85% or so. I'm quite sure that the return for any number of coins bet in Blazing Sevens conforms to industry norms.
When walking into one of these 'Indian' casinos, I can stand for five minutes, listen to the bells and tunes, and know if it will be a good day. Take 300 slot machines with fixed payouts and listen, given the same number of players should produce the same frequency of sounds. It doesn't. I think all of the new machines are networked and changed based on overall psychological factors of the players.
Slot Machine Takeout Percentages 2020
In general Indian casinos are self-regulated. There is generally a tribal commission that will hear disputes, but ultimately the members of the commission know which side of their bread gets buttered.
Don't assume any kind of minimum return on the slot machines. However, ultimately economics would dictate that a return too low would be sensed by players, who would be unlikely to return if they consistently lost too much money too quickly. It would also be bad business, and time consuming, to loosen and tighten the slots like a yo-yo.
Your sound level hypothesis sounds interesting, I never thought of that.
The casinos don't actually program the casinos to pay a certain percentage, but determine the weighting of the reels so that the theoretical return is whatever they wish. In the short run, the actual return can be either much higher or lower than the theoretical return. However, the laws of mathematics dictate that the actual return will get closer to the theoretical return the greater the number of trials.
Each frame in these video slots is weighted equally. Any given line is equally likely to produce any given combination. Thus, the return is the same regardless of the number of coins played.
I looked over your expected payouts for the various deuces wild pay schedules, but I did not find the particular schedule I was looking for. Could you tell me the expected payout for a deuces wild with the following schedule: Royal flush - 840
Four deuces - 200
Wild Royal - 20
Five of a kind - 12
Straight flush - 9
Four of a kind - 5
Full house - 3
Flush - 2
Straight - 2
Three of a kind - 1
I would do this myself, but I am unable to use the necessary software, as I am not a windows user.
Physically all you have to do to change the return of the slot machine is change the EPROM chip inside. Assuming the casino manager had all the EPROM chips, which I think they sometimes do, they could make the change themselves. However in a major jurisdiction the change would have to be reported to the gaming authorities, not to mention internal paperwork. The random number generator is constant, it is what the program does with the random numbers that determines the return.
In general the higher the coinage the better the rate of return is. However in my own research I have seen plenty of exceptions, notably dollar machines that paid less than quarters.
I don’t know whether the chances of winning were better or not. They worked the same way as they do now except each stop on each reel had an equal chance. The very early ones didn’t pay money but chewing gum, which explains the bar symbols (sticks of gum) and fruits (flavors) on some modern slot machines.
I’ve been asked about these North Carolina slot machines so many times I’m tempted to fly there just to see them for myself. Yes, if they did give the probability of each symbol for each reel then an optimal strategy and a return could be fairly easily calculated. However I have never actually seen such a table and have never worked out the odds.
To begin, I am not a mathematician but I am a casino player. I have followed some of your articles in Casino Player magazine and I subscribe to your on-line newsletter. By the way, I hope you had a wonderful time with your family and friends in Seattle.I just had an eye-opening experience at Casino Windsor. No where do they publish their percent payback on slots. However, that aside, I was going to play quarter (my comfort level) video poker. I was really taken aback when I put up the paytable. They were 5/4 machines. I am talking Jacks or better was only 5 coins on a full house and 4 coins on a flush. I looked at about 20 machines and only found one that paid any better and that was a 6/4 machine.
As I stated, I am not a mathematician but I think that payback percentage must be in the very low 70s. Needless to say I didn’t play video poker there because I know that the longer I would have played the greater the loss I could have expected with the house taking approximately $30.00 from every $100.00 put through the machine. That is not a gamble with some expectation of winning, it is a sure loss for players. On the Detroit side of the river, MGM Grand has their machines at 7/5. Not really great but a whole lot better than 5/4.
Could you please tell me the exact percentage payback on the 5/4 and 7/5 machines. Since none of the area casinos post their average payback on slots I am (and this is dangerous) assuming that their reel slots payback the same percentages. Best regards.
Actually with perfect play the 5/4 pay table return 92.78%. Still one of the worst pay tables I have ever heard of. Have you tried the Greektown casino in Detroit? I don't know what games they have but I do know they have had security remove several winning video poker players from the building, including a old lady who hit a royal on a machine with a 97% pay table. They must have something good enough to warrant throwing winners out for.
First lets clear up what the term 'hold' means. For purposes of electronic games it is the theoretical return the game is set to. In both video poker and slots each play is random and independent of all past plays. The laws of mathematics dictate that even with independent trials the as the sample size gets larger the actual return will tend to get closer to the theoretical mean, or the hold. So contrary to popular belief a machine never goes hot or cold to get back in balance. Never mind the term 'cycle.' It is a poorly named industry term for the number of possible outcomes of the random number generators inside the machine. Unfortunately the term has trickled down only to confuse low level employees and players alike. Contrary to popular myth there are no cycles and again each play is equally random and independent of all other plays.
Not often. Contrary to popular myth the casinos don’t tighten the machines on weekends or whenever it is busy. Here in Las Vegas the casinos have to fill out a form every time they change the percentage on each game. Most slot managers I have spoken with have a policy on what coinage is set to what return. I tend to think the most likely reason to change the percentage would a change in ownership and/or management, which do not happen often.
The 96.7% applies to total money bet and transaction fees generally only apply to deposits and/or withdrawals. Players generally circulate through the same money and thus bet much more than they deposit. As I discussed in the September 18, 2005, column a player could bet through about 1.5 million dollars with a $10,000 bankroll and betting $5 at a time in blackjack. In this case the casino would make their profit based on 1.5 million in bets but pay expenses based only on $10,000.
From what I hear anything you can configure at the machine you can configure remotely through the server. This would include the theoretical return percentage. However most casinos report that changing the theoretical return of a slot machine necessitates a lot of paperwork.
Even if it were effortless to move the slot machine return up and down, it strikes me as a conspiracy theory to think the casinos would do that on a player by player basis. Living here in Vegas, I hear all kinds of theories about the lengths the casinos go to in order to win, like pumping in oxygen and playing a subsonic mantra that says 'lose lose lose.' These are just urban legends. Most casinos correctly believe that if you give the player a good experience and a fair gamble then he will keep coming back. As they say, you can only slaughter a sheep only once, but you can shear it many times. (My webmaster, Michael Bluejay, who is a vegetarian, tried to get me to use this analogy instead: 'You can seize all of a sheep’s money only once, but you can force it to take you bowling many times.')
Slot Machine Takeout Percentages Chart
According to the Nevada Gaming Control Boards that means that every slot machine in that bank must be set to a theoretical return of at least 97.4%. Popular opinion has it that only one machine must be set to 97.4%, or that the overall average must be 97.4%. However, I am taking a firm stand that both notions are wrong, at least here in Nevada.
It depends. If the slot play may be used in any machine in the casino, including video poker, then it can be worth 99 cents on the dollar or more, depending on the video poker offerings. For example, the MGM Mirage casinos award $1 in free slot play for every one point earned. It can be used in any machine in any casino connected to the MGM Mirage player card. Most MGM Mirage properties offer 9/6 Jacks or better, so the value of $1 in free slot play is worth 99.54 cents, with correct strategy.
However, sometimes free slot play must be done on particular promotional machines that don’t accept money. The value of this kind of free play is hard to estimate closely, but generally very little. For example, the Las Vegas World used to sell “$1000” vacation packages for $400. Of the alleged $1000 value $600 was in promotional slot machine play. In his book “Million Dollar Video Poker,” Bob Dancer writes that he did this deal numerous times over, and estimates the value of the free slot play to be about ten cents on the dollar.
It will show the specific return of the game you played.
Let’s assume 10.8 for the standard deviation, which I get from the Red, White, and Blue game described in my slot machine page. The standard deviation of the mean over n spins is standard deviation per bet divided by the square root of n. In this case, 10.8/10,0000.5 = 0.108. The difference between 93% and 91% over 10,000 spins is just 18.5% of one standard deviation. To get the standard deviation of the mean to just 2% you would need a sample size of 291,600 spins. The standard deviation in slots will vary substantially, so take these figures with a grain of salt.
No, there isn’t. I don’t like it any more than you do. I think the player should be allowed to know the rules and/or the odds about what he is gambling on. Others have asked me if invoking the state Freedom of Information Act. I tend to doubt it would help or apply. As far as I know, the only place with such a right to know might be Holland. I’m told in Amsterdam information about the virtual reel stripping is indicated in little cards on the machines. You could in theory calculate the odds with that information and the pay table.
How does the total amount paid out or won correlate to how loose the slots are? In other words, should I prefer to play at the Circus Circus and Reno airport because their slots allegedly pay out so much?
'Anonymous' .
Slot Machine Takeout Percentages Calculator
No. To get an estimate of how loose a casino's slots are you would want to know the ratio of money returned to money bet. This ratio would typically be about 92%. Telling you only the amount paid out is not useful at all. Consider the Circus Circus claim of paying out $26 million a month. They don't disclose how much players bet to get that $26 million. What if they bet $35 million? That would be a return of 71.43%, which would be awful.
In conclusion, I don't know whether to be angry over what I consider to be deceptive advertising or depressed that people fall for it.