A slot machine (American English), known variously as a fruit machine (British English), puggy (Scottish English), the slots (Canadian English and American English), poker machine/pokies (Australian English and New Zealand English), fruities (British English) or slots (American English), is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known.
Introduction to Taxable Jackpots
One of the most popular slot machine questions on Google searches is: How do slot machines pay out taxable jackpots? I’ve assumed this question is about the mechanics of the payout process. A different upcoming post deals with explaining when slot machines pay out.
Slot machines are special-purpose computers, like a lot of equipment found in our lives. Specifically, standard tools are televisions, electronic watches, gas station pumps, cash registers, bank ATMs, automobiles, baby monitors, and the list goes on and on.
Each of these devices has one or more computer microprocessors, visual display, audio speaker, and some may also have a way to accept and/or dispense money either physically or virtually online.
Beyond controlling the multiple interfaces to and from the player, the computer within a slot machine also manages the odds of a player winning.
At its core, a pseudo-random number generator (PRNG) is a calculation. This PRNG is an element of the computer programming algorithm used by slot machines.
PRNGs (or more commonly RNGs) determine the outcome of a player’s bet based on the pre-determined odds of winning as set by the casino operator within the limited options provided by the slot machine manufacturer.
As previously mentioned elsewhere, winning a jackpot involves using the PRNG twice:
- To determine if a jackpot is won
- To determine how much was won
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The Slot Machine Gambling Process
Once a player selects a specific slot machine, that machine operates to accept or reject the inserted cash, ticket voucher, and reward card.
Next, it accepts the player’s selection for denomination amount and amount of credits to be bet, although it will merely reject one or both settings if insufficient funds are available to make such a bet.
When the bet is placed, the machine immediately selects the latest random number generated by its RNG to determine the outcome of the bet and well as updating the players club card with the points earned for placing the bet.
At the end of this process, the machine turns the reels to show the outcome of the bet. See below for this player-machine sequence of events.
During slot machine gambling, a sequence of actions and reactions take place between the player and machine. The player:
- selects a specific machine, inserts money in the form of cash or ticket voucher
- chooses from the denominations available
- chooses the number of credits to bet
- places a bet
- observes the results of the bet including any bonus round
- receives winnings from the bet (if any)
- then, either:
- leaves the machine empty handed
- cashes out any remaining funds and leaves with a ticket voucher
- continues playing the machine.
The player may choose to insert a player card at any time before or during play, then later remove it before leaving the machine.
Jackpot!
Between determining the outcome of the bet and turning the reels, the machine executes programming code that sets the reels.
The reels turn in a way the machine’s game designers consider most entertaining to the player – such as stopping on reel symbols for non-wins which are next to the symbols for sizable jackpots.
As mentioned, the bet’s outcome is determined when the bet is placed, not when the reels stop moving, despite the entertainment value derived by the player when observing the “action” of the slot machine.
In the event of a win, the machine executes further programming to activate sequences of lights and sounds while updating the information display for the player, which is referred to as a roll-up.
Now What? – The Jackpot Pay Out Process
What Slot Machines Have Jackpots Cash
If a jackpot less than the taxable limit is won, slot players can simply proceed with continuing to play or cash out from that slot machine. The current taxable jackpot limit is $1,200 in the United States.
Meaning, if you have a win of $1,200.00 or more at a slot machine, there is an immediate tax bill resulting in an IRS Form W-2G. If you have a win of $1,199.99 or less, there is no immediate tax bill.
Jackpots that require immediate payment of taxes results in the slot machine locking up.
Many, many slot players have been surprised by their slot machine locking up when a taxable jackpot is won. It can only be unlocked by a casino employee, a slot attendant.
Whether a casino is old or new, a slot attendant will arrive shortly to administer a hand payout. During a hand payout, a slot attendant
- collects personal identification sufficient to both complete a tax form as well as any other state-required documentation
- performs the hand payout (if they have adequate cash on hand)
- unlocks the machine to allow the player to continue.
If the attendant is not carrying enough cash with them, or if the player wishes to have a cashier’s check instead of a cash payout, the slot attendant leaves the player with a receipt and returns a short while later with the check or cash.
If the attendant leaves, they typically unlock the slot machine beforehand to allow the player to continue betting while waiting for the slot attendant to return.
Summary of Taxable Jackpots
The most important thing to remember about winning a jackpot is to make sure you’ve brought your government-issued I.D. If you don’t have it, then you cannot receive a taxable jackpot.
Slot Machine Jackpot Videos 2019
And, no, your friend sitting next to you cannot claim the jackpot for you – the eye in the sky knows it’s your winnings and not someone else.
The second thing to be aware of is what is or is not a taxable jackpot, a single win of $1,200 or higher. Many people have never won a taxable jackpot, so it can be challenging to get useful information on this unless you’ve done it more than a few times. But I have.
If the machine locks up, it’s either had an error or you’ve won a taxable jackpot. Being out of paper is a machine error, for example. Either way, a slot attendant will show up shortly to help. For goodness sake, don’t walk away until you know which!
As a final note, as of this writing, a decade ago, casinos moved away from using coins. Nowadays, they use cash, checks, and vouchers redeemable at cash machines and cages.
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Related Articles from Professor Slots
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- Previous: Why Do Slot Machines Use Fruit Reel Symbols?
- Next: Who Builds Slot Machines Throughout the World?
Have fun, be safe, and make good choices!
By Jon H. Friedl, Jr. Ph.D., President
Jon Friedl, LLC
When you play the slots you want to do your part to increase your chances of winning the jackpot. If you want to find a loose slot machine then you will find these tips to be helpful to you. The first thing you want to realize is the slots games do win at random and this means you should never count on a slot machine to produce certain results, but this doesn’t mean there aren’t some things you can do that will help you to increase your chances of winning. Below are 5 tips that will help you with finding loose slot machines to hit a jackpot.
- The first tip that will help you to increase your chances of hitting a jackpot is to time the machines. If you are in a land based casino playing the slots then you can simply sit near the slot machine you are timing and watch the results. However, you do want to make sure you are playing while you are timing that machine otherwise you can look like you are up to something and this will make the other players uneasy. If you are watching a certain machine and you see that it is getting a lot of attention and has yet to pay out a bog win then this is an indication that it should be getting close to paying out some nice wins soon. If this is the case, then you want to be the next person to jump on that machine when the person playing it steps away from it. If you are playing at an online casino then you want to watch for the announcements which many of the casinos post to let you know about recent big wins. If a slot machine has just paid out a large jackpot then you should give it some time before playing it.
- Another thing you want to keep in mind is the slot machines will have their cycles. There is not a game out there that will remain tight forever and at some point that machine is going to pay out big and you want to be the player that is playing it when this happens. If a game has been tight for a good length of time then it will reach a point where it will payout some nice sized wins, generally pretty much in a row. So, if you get on a game and it pays out a nice win don’t assume that is it and leave that game, stick around for a while and see if it has more to give. Many times you will see that pattern happen which will lead to you seeing quite a few bigger wins in a row.
- You should stay away from playing the slot machines that aren’t popular with the players. You want to play a game that has been getting a lot of attention from players. It is the more popular games that have a better chance of becoming loose and offering you the results you are looking forward to. By getting on a stale and less popular slots game you can waste your money only to find that the machine has nothing good to offer you in the way of decent wins. Plus, these games tend not to be very entertaining and are generally the ones that lack those special features which add both more excitement and chances for you to win.
- Another tip you want to keep in mind is not to fall into a trap of playing a game for too long. If the game is just keeping you going and giving you enough wins along the way to give you a false sense of hope then you want to realize that the game may not be getting loose and should be one you should stop playing. The best way for you to approach a game that is doing this to you is to stop playing it for a while and return to it in a little while. The best way to think about this is it’s like you are letting other players loosen it up for you and then you are returning when it’s closer to hitting. You never want to sit at one slots game and watch it take your money all the way down.
- Another great tip you want to follow is to play the high limit slots games. These games may cost you more to play, but they also pay out more. Plus, they tend to pay out more often. However, you will really need to watch your bankroll when you are on the high limit slots. If you are a player who is used to playing the regular slots then you need to be extra cautious when you switch to the high limit games because your money will go much faster and if you don’t watch it closely you could be in for a big surprise. However, when you want to find looser slots games, these will be your best bet.
Conclusion
When you want to find the loose slot machines and hit a jackpot you should follow the tips listed above. Always make sure you start out with a good money management plan and follow it. You should also make sure you have a good time. This way, you will enjoy your time playing no matter what the results end up being. With so many different types of slots games for you to choose from you should find many of them that will meet your own individual slots gaming needs. Don’t be afraid to leave a game that isn’t winning and which you feel isn’t going to hit any time soon. A lot of players get trapped into thinking that it will be just their luck that they will stop playing the game and it will payout big as soon as they leave it and this can be a costly way of thinking.