How a slot machine work is both more complicated and interesting than you would think. The machine features a payout table, reels, winning paylines, a credit meter, and arm or spin button. The payout table shows the player what each of the combinations is worth when three, four or five identical symbols appear on a single payline. How do slot machines work many online casinos listed on this website support payouts and deposits through this safe and secure payment service, more advanced than was what previously available on mobile devices features live-action sounds. Using typically the projects from watchdog groups, impressive graphics and flawless that help provide a. Modern slot machines use a computer to generate random numbers, and these determine the outcomes of the game. The important thing to remember is that the results are truly random. The game doesn’t work on any kind of cyclical basis, and slot machine jackpots don’t become due. Slots don’t get hot or cold, either.
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Introduction to Kentucky Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2020
Kentucky slot machine casino gambling does not include games of chance, which are strictly illegal. Instead, Kentucky has competition-based electronic gaming machines at four out of its five pari-mutuel wagering racetracks.
Theoretical payout limits are not available but monthly return statistics are available for electronic gaming machines.
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.
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Relevant Legal Statutes on Gambling in Kentucky*
The minimum legal gambling age in Kentucky depends upon the gambling activity:
- Land-Based Casinos: Not available
- Poker Rooms: Not available
- Bingo: 18
- Lottery: 18
- Pari-Mutuel Wagering: 18
Kentucky’s interpretation of legal gambling requires the competitor’s level of skill “must sufficiently govern the results.”
Therefore, competition-based games are legal as well as pari-mutuel wagering. Traditional slots are illegal, including those referred to as Class III, Vegas-style, and games-of-chance slot machines.
Kentucky has competition-based electronic games available in a few of their pari-mutuel facilities. These skill-based games are anonymously-based historical race results.
Historically, Kentucky has had a fascinating relationship with gambling. While casino gambling was never legal, gambling dens were prevalent before the Great Depression of 1929. To this day, the open display of illegal gambling from that time in American history continues to negatively affect the perception of gaming in Kentucky.
If you’re ever in Newport, directly across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, consider walking the Newport Gangster Tour.
*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 Kentucky
In Kentucky, it is legal to own a slot machine privately.
Gaming Control Board in Kentucky
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) regulates skill-based games at pari-mutual racetracks in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
These devices are Historic Horse Racing (HHR) electronic gaming machines. The KHRC reports Kentucky offers 2,981 HHR machines.
Casinos in Kentucky
There are five pari-mutuel racetracks in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Of these, only four sites offer skill-based HHR electronic gaming machines.
The largest casino in Kentucky is Derby City Gaming with 1,000 HHR gaming machines.
The second-largest casino is Red Mile Gaming & Racing, an HHR parlor in partnership with Keeneland Race Course, with 938 gaming machines.
Commercial Casinos in Kentucky
The four out of five of Kentucky’s pari-mutuel racetracks with skill-based HHR electronic gaming machines are:
- Derby City Gaming in Louisville located 74 miles west of Lexington on the Indiana border.
- Ellis Park Racing and Gaming in Henderson located 105 miles northwest of Bowling Green.
- Kentucky Downs Gaming in Franklin located 29 miles south of Bowling Green.
- Red Mile Gaming & Racing in Lexington.
Tribal Casinos in Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky has no federally-recognized American Indian tribes and, therefore, no tribal casinos.
Other Gambling Establishments
As an alternative to enjoying Kentucky slot machine casino gambling, consider exploring casino options in a nearby state. Bordering Kentucky is:
- North: Indiana and Ohio Slots
- East: West Virginia Slots
- Southeast: Virginia Slots
- South: Tennessee Slots
- West: Missouri Slots
Each link above will take you to my blog for that neighboring U.S. state to Kentucky.
Our Kentucky Slots Facebook Group
Are you interested in sharing and learning with other slots enthusiasts in Kentucky? If so, join our new Kentucky 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 Kentucky. Join us!
Payout Returns in Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky does not offer any theoretical payout limits for their competition-based HHR gaming machines.
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission offers statistics for HHR gaming under Quick Links entitled Wagering on Historical Horse Races. Its December 2019 report indirectly offers actual return statistics including comparisons to past actuals.
To calculate a player’s win percentage from the report, divide Less: Return to Public by Total Handle. For December 2019, the monthly Player’s Win% for HHR machines were:
- State-wide: 91.5%
- Derby City: 90.9%
- Ellis Park: 93.9%
- Keeneland/Red Mile: 91.3%
- Kentucky Downs: 92.0%
From this December 2019 report, Ellis Park had the highest player win% at nearly 94% while Derby City had the lowest at nearly 91%.
Summary of Kentucky Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2020
Kentucky slot machine casino gambling exists as competition-based, games-of-skill Historical Horse Racing (HHR) electronic gaming machines instead of games-of-chance slot machines.
No minimum or maximum theoretical payout limits have been set. Monthly return statistics are publicly available for each pari-mutuel racetrack with HHR games.
Annual Progress in Kentucky Slot Machine Casino Gambling
In the last year, Kentucky increased its HHR machines by 9% to 2,981 devices. However, the average daily handle for HHRs increased by 46%. For 2020 so far, it’s an amazing 59% increase compared to 2019.
Other State-By-State Articles from Professor Slots
- Previous: Kansas Slot Machine Casino Gambling
- Next: Louisiana Slot Machine Casino Gambling
How Do Digital Slot Machines Work
Have fun, be safe, and make good choices!
By Jon H. Friedl, Jr. Ph.D., President
Jon Friedl, LLC
Slots are among the most popular ways to gamble. It’s easy to sit down, put your money in, and watch the reels spin. But there’s more going on than you might expect. Let’s take a look inside to understand what’s happening when you pull the lever.
Slot machines generally have three or more “reels,” each of which has a number of symbols. While physical slot machines may have 20 or more symbols per reel, digital technology allows them to have many more—some have 256 virtual symbols—with millions of possible combinations. The combinations of symbols that pay out if you bet on them are called “paylines.”
Slot machines contain random number generators that can generate thousands of numbers per second, each of which is associated with a different combination of symbols. Whether you win or lose is determined by the random number generated in the exact instant you activate each play—if it matches a payline, you win. Since each spin is independent, random and unrelated to previous or future spins, it’s impossible to predict what will happen on each play.
There are many different kinds of slot machines. Some allow you to choose how many paylines to bet on per play, and how much you want to bet. Before you put your money in, figure out the cost per play, the odds, the paylines, the return to player, and anything else that will help you make the right decisions for you. Look for pay tables on or near the machine that explain everything you need to know.
The possible payouts and the odds of winning depend on the machine you’re playing, the paylines you choose to play, and how many credits you wager.
Machines that cost pennies to play might pay out small prizes relatively often. Others cost several dollars per play, but offer bigger jackpots and higher odds. For instance, for the I Heart Triple Diamond penny machine, the odds of winning a prize are 1 in 12, but the odds of winning the top prize are only 1 in 649,400.
No matter what machine you decide to play, the odds always favour the house. This means that over time, it’s more likely than not that you will walk away with less money than when you started.
While machines can be programmed to pay out at higher or lower odds, a typical average house advantage for slot machines is 8%, meaning the average return the player is 92 percent. That makes slot machines less favourable than tables games such as fortune pai gow poker, blackjack and roulette, in terms of return to player.
| Game | House advantage, with optimal play |
|---|---|
| Baccarat | 1.06% |
| Blackjack | 0.5% |
| Craps | 0.8% |
| Fortune pai gow poker | 0.5 to 2.5% |
| Poker | 2 to 3.5% |
| Lottery | 50% |
| Roulette | 5.3% |
| Slot machines | 8% (average) |
Playing longer doesn’t improve your odds of walking away a winner.
Persistence doesn’t pay off. Each play on a slot machine is independent, unpredictable and unrelated to what happened on the previous play. A machine is never “due for a win” and they don’t “go cold” after a win either.
Soon after you leave a machine it wins a jackpot—that doesn’t mean you would have won if you had kept playing.
Future wins on a machine are completely unrelated to what happened when you were playing. Because random number generators determine the outcome of each play, the results of each play are totally independent from what happened before. Outcomes depend on what random number is generated in the exact instant a player presses play or pulls the lever.
How Digital Slot Machines Work Without
Machines that are furthest from the aisle do not pay out more because they’re played less often.
How often a machine is played has nothing to do with how likely it is to pay out on the next play. Payouts are determined by the pre-set odds of the machine and the unpredictable results of the random number generator inside.
You cannot improve your chances of winning at most slot machines.
Most slots are games of chance, based on the random number generator. For some machines, bonus games offer you a chance to influence the outcome by interacting with an arcade-style video game. While skill may be a factor, the random number generator usually determines whether you even get to play the bonus game and the amounts available to be won—so chance is still a major part of the deal.
Understand how skill and chance work and how they affect the games you play.
Read thisHow Digital Slot Machines Work From Home
Take this quiz to get a better understanding of your gambling habits.
Read thisUnderstand the role randomness plays in games of skill and how it affects the outcome of the game.
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