Coinless Slot Machines

The Coinless slot machine operates in the same way as a traditional slot machine except that instead of hand feeding in coins you put in a bill which then converts to credit. When you want to cash out, rather than pressing the button and hearing the jingle of the coins, you will be issued a voucher to the amount of your winnings. That voucher is then either redeemable for cash at the cashiers, or in some cases can be entered straight into another machine as credit.

Advantages for the Customer

Coins were a pain. They were dirty; you never had enough of them; you had to hand feed them into the machine; they were heavy; as the years progressed they became less and less valuable; they run out of money, requiring you to go through the rigmarole of a hand payout. With a coinless machine none of these irritations occur, bills are entered and credit is given; this credit is transferable to a game of any denomination. You don’t have to wait in queues to refill buckets, and you don’t then have to schlep them around with you. Whilst a little of the charm of the one armed bandit may have disappeared, most slot machine enthusiasts are happy to swap the rattle of the coins for the convenience of the paper.

Advantages for the Casino

The advantages for the casino, as one may expect, with coinless slot machines are numerous. For the casino, coin operated machines require man power and time. Floor assistants are needed for fixing inevitable jams; it takes time for coins to be spat out, that’s time that the machine isn’t taking money in; the coins need to be counted; the machines need to be emptied. These are just some of the practical advantages of coinless slot machines for the casino. However there is also the psychological effect that the coinless machines have on the player, and the player should be aware of these.

First of all, you are able to play quicker if you are playing off of credit rather than hand feeding a machine, you are therefore likely to get through credit faster and then put in more. Furthermore you are more likely to play your credit rather than cash it out, after all $5 in your hand you can go by a beer with, a $5 voucher that you need to then go cash in…well, you might as well spin it!

Here to Stay

Coinless slot machines can already be seen in around 10% of America’s casinos: they are here, and they are here to stay. The advantages for the most part benefit both the player and the casino in terms of comfortable play, prompt payout and ease of transactions, and it is unlikely that the coinless slot machine will be anything but the next step in casino slot machine gaming.

Marissa Patterson