The slot percentage payout is the percentage of all monies taken by a machine that are paid out to the players using it. The percentage is worked out over the lifetime of a machine, so there will be variations depending on whether lots of prizes are awarded in a short time or the machine goes through a ‘dry’ period.
The minimum slot percentage payout in Vegas must be 75% by law. However, most games will pay out plenty more than this. You can virtually guarantee you will find games paying out at least in the low 80% range, but many machines go way into the 90% range.
This is important to note, because it makes sense to play the machines that offer the best possible payout percentage. If you had to choose between an 83% payout machine and a 97% payout machine, you’d choose the latter. However, with that said, it is vital to remember that each spin of the reels on any slot machine is randomized. That means you could get any combination of symbols appearing there. If you bet $100 on a machine, it doesn’t mean you’ll get back $98 if the payout percentage is 98%. It works over the life of the machine, so you could get more or less than that, no matter which Vegas casino you visit.
