Slot Terms

Action - describes either the amount of money bet by a player or the total amount of money bet by a group of players over a specific time interval.

Arm - refers to the handle or lever located on the right-hand side of a slot machine which is pulled by the player in order to activate the reels.

Bank - a row of video slot machines.

Bankroll - the total amount of money used by a player for betting.

Carousel - a bank of slot machines which are of the same type, and are usually linked to a progressive slot machine jackpot.

Certified - describes a slot machine that has been examined by casino regulators and clearly marked to guarantee a certain payout percentage to the player.

Coin-In - a term used to describe the total amount of money played by a player in a slot machine. This amount of money is factored in when giving out comps.

Cold - a slot machine which is recognized by slot machine players as not paying out frequently. Also known as a "tight" slot machine.

Comps - means "complimentary" and refers to free rewards given out by casinos for gambling a certain amount at their casino. Comps may include free buffets, tickets to shows, discount hotel rooms, cash rebates for gambling and store purchases.

Countdown - a number displayed on an electronic card reader on a slot machine, which shows the number of coins, needed to earn 1 slot club point.

Edge - defined as the mathematical advantage of either the casino or player when playing a gambling game. Most of the time it refers to the casino advantage or house advantage, as opposed to the player advantage.

FlatTop - a slot machine that pays out a fixed and non-progressive jackpot as its top prize. It is also a description of the slot machine itself, having a flattop so players can sit down in a chair and lean over it for greater convenience when playing.

Fruit Machine - the name for a slot machine in England.

Ghost - a blank stop on a slot machine reel, containing no symbol.

Hit Frequency - the rate at which a slot machine will produce a payout, expressed as a percentage of time.

Hold - the amount of money expressed as a percentage that is kept by the slot as casino profit. For instance, if the "hold" is 10%, a bet of one dollar will result in the casino holding or retaining 10% or 10 cents of that dollar, as profit.

Hopper - the container under the slot machine which holds the dropped coins. Players insert their coins into the slot machine, and they fall into the hopper.

Hot Slot - a slot machine that pays out frequently. Also known as a "loose" slot machine.

House - another name for the casino. "Casino" is the Italian word for "house".

Jackpot - a top prize or the highest pay out made by a slot machine.

Loose - a slot machine that pays out fairly frequently.

Money Management - describes strategies or methods a player uses to avoid losing their bankroll.

Multiple Coin - a slot machine that requires at least 2 or more coins to be inserted in order to win a jackpot.

Odds - the probability of an event happening, which is expressed as a ratio of the favorable chance to the unfavorable chance of that event occurring.

One-Armed Bandit - a nickname for a slot machine.

PAR - Paytable and Reelstrip listing, technical information used by those repairing slot machines. It is widely referred to as the pay out percentage.

Pay Line - the line in the slot machine window where a combination of symbols must line up in order to win something.

Payout - the amount of coins or credits paid out by a slot machine to the slot player, expressed as a percentage.

Progressive Jackpot - a type of jackpot where the jackpot increases by keeping a percentage of each bet made. There are individual progressive jackpots, and multiple progressive jackpots.

An individual progressive jackpot is a jackpot that increases on a single slot machine. A multiple progressive jackpot are several slot machines that are connected together either in one casino or over several casinos. Any one of the connected slots can win the jackpot.

PSR - program summary report, technical information used by those repairing slot machines.

Reels - the metal strips that contain the symbols displayed in the slot machine window.

RNG - "Random Number Generator". The software program contained in a slot machine that generates a random number. This number corresponds to either a winning or non-winning combination of symbols appearing on the payline.

Slot Club - a program offered by a casino whereby slot machine players receive comps. Upon joining, a player receives a slot club card which when inserted, accumulates redeemable points based on the amount of money and time played.

Slot Tournament - a type of casino promotion that is either a free or fee-based competition offered by slot clubs where slot machine players compete against each other for slot club credits. There are no loose or tight slot machines in a "slot tournament", and one doesn't have to insert coins into a slot machine.

Prizes are offered for the most slot club credits, with the size of the prizes depending on the size of the casino or hotel offering them. Often, prizes can be in the hundreds or even thousands of dollars. A slot tournament also offers freebies just for participating in the slot tournament that may be worth more than the price for admission into the slot tournament.

Stop - the painted symbol on a slot machine reel strip. A blank symbol is also a stop, it is just not visible.

Tight - a slot that does not pay that often.

Token - an alternate form of money, represents the amount that a coin would otherwise represent.

VLT - Video Lottery Terminal, the type of slot machine used by state operated casinos.

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