[hermanhermitage]

2) The employees are not gambling, so they are not exposed to the addictive product.

3) Incorrect. Standalone progressives and linked progressives adjust the payout based on the outcome of previous games. Either the jackpot is awarded and reset, or the increment is added and will be available as a future payout. Furthermore some markets have had a history of compensators (eg fruit machine markets / awp).

[DonHopkins]

>Furthermore some markets have had a history of compensators (eg fruit machine markets / awp).

What do you mean by "compensators" and "fruit machine markets / awp", please?

Another dumb question I was too embarrassed to ask in a real casino, but everybody in the gambling industry probably already knows:

I've never read a slot machine "instruction manual", and the instructions on the slot machines in Amsterdam are in Dutch. So my experience is just walking up to them and pressing the buttons to learn how they work.

Some times when you put money into a slot machine, it starts out in this mode where it's only blinking between a few numbered lights but doesn't spin the slots, and it seems stuck in that mode, since I can't reliably get it out of that mode by pressing all the buttons. But sometimes I can, and it's not clear what I did that I didn't do those other times.

Sometimes I'm able to press enough buttons to get it out of that dumb mode and back to spinning the slots as I expected, but some times I just have to eject my money and move on to another machine.

Sometimes a machine will start out in this mode, not spinning the slots, but not usually, and other nearby machines of the same type will act normally (spinning the slots the first time you use them).

What's going on? Is there a reset button around the back of the machine that I don't know about? It seems like a really boring game, and I can't imagine anyone would become addicted to that mode.

[hermanhermitage]

A 'Compensator' is an element that dynamically controls the payout typically based on the current 'hold'. The hold being the amount of money in the machine.

If I recall 'Barcrest' has a range of patents covering compensators. (For those interested).

AWP is Amusement with Prize(s) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusement_with_prize

Not sure about the Dutch market. I recall a game shipping to Netherlands called 'Golden Goals', so I believe they have class 3 gaming machines (at least in Casinos?).

Its possible the machine you are talking about has the BET (per line) set high, so that your current CREDIT amount is insuffient to activate all the available LINES. On most modern video slots there is a BET per line, a possible ANTEBET a number of LINES to wager on. The total STAKE = BET * LINE + ANTEBET. The LINE lights (or BET lights in USA) will illuminate based on which valid bets.

My advice is press the collect button, take your money and buy yourself a drink :) Gaming machines work on 'Negative Compound Interest' - thats all you need to know. If you keep re-'investing' you will only end up with a $0 balance.

Finally every Jurisdiction typically operates on different rules. These rules are normally publically available.

For instance NSW Australia has their rules outlined at: http://www.liquorandgaming.nsw.gov.au/Pages/gaming/gaming-ma...

This covers the national standards that are generally applicable to machines in Australia and New Zealand, and then variations and specializations for the particular market of NSW - management protocols, jackpot behaviour, prohibited features etc.