When certain symbols appear in a winning combination a special feature of the particular game theme is activated, which is a Bonus. In the bonus, the player is presented with several items on a screen from which to choose. A number of credits is revealed and awarded to the player when items are chosen. A mechanical device, such as a spinning wheel is used by some bonuses. It works in conjunction with the bonus to display the amount won.
A light on top of the slot machine is Candle. It alerts the operator that change is needed, hand pay is requested or there is a potential problem with the machine.
A grouping of slot machines, usually in a circle or oval formation are called Carousel.
Coin hopper is a container where the coins that are immediately available for payouts are held. It rotates coins into the coin tray when a player collects credits. A coin diverter automatically redirects excess coins into a drop bucket, or drop box when a certain preset coin capacity is reached.
A visual display of the amount of money or credits on the machine is called Credit meter.
There is a container located in a slot machine's base that is used to divert excess coins. Typically low denomination slot machines use a drop bucket. As for high denomination slot machines they use a drop box. There is a hinged lid with one or more locks in a drop box and there ais no such lid in a drop bucket. There is a scheduled basis on which the contents of drop buckets and drop boxes are collected and counted.
EGM is used as a short-hand for Electronic Gaming Machine.
To denote a payout made by a slot attendant or cage, rather than the slot machine the term Hand pay is used. When the amount of the payout exceeds the maximum amount that was preset by the slot machine's operator a hand pay occurs. Usually, the maximum amount is set at the level where the operator must begin to deduct taxes. A short pay can also result in a and pay.
Hopper fill slip is a document used to record the replenishments of the coin in the coin hopper after it becomes depleted as a result of making payouts to players. There is the slip that indicates the amount of coins placed into the hoppers, the signatures of the employees involved in the transaction, the slot machine number and the location and the date.
Low Level or Slant Top slot machines are equipped with a stool for you to sit and play. You can only stand playing Stand Up or Upright slot machines.
Optimal play is a payback percentage based on a gambler using the optimal strategy in a skill-based slot machine game.
Payline is a straight or zigzagged line that crosses through one symbol on each reel, along which a winning combination is evaluated. There are up to nine pay lines in classic spinning reel machines while there can be one hundred pay lines in video slot machines.
Rollup is the process of dramatizing a win by playing sounds while the meters count up to the amount that has been won.
The term Short pay is used to mean a partial payout made by a slot machine, which is less than the amount due to the player is called Short pay. This occurs if the coin hopper has been depleted as a result of making earlier payouts to players. In this case the remaining amount will be paid as a hand pay or an attendant will come and re-fill the machine.
The manufacturer for all slot machines provide them with a document called Theoretical Hold Worksheet. The theoretical percentage that the slot machine should hold based on adequate levels of coin-in is idicated in it. The reel strip settings, number of coins that may be played, the payout schedule, the number of reels and other information is indicated in the worksheet.
Weight count is an American term, referring to the dollar amount of coins or tokens removed from a slot machine's drop bucket or drop box and counted by the casino's hard count team through the use of a weigh scale.

There are at least two types of slot players.
Persistent player.
This type of slots player is the one that believes the win is right around the corner. The machine can begin paying in any second.
The player has either seen a person playing a slots game for a while with no payouts or alternatively they have been depositing funds into a slots game and haven’t yet seen any payouts. They know the next big win, or any win is due to pay out. They can’t leave the machine because as soon as they do it will burst forth and pay out large sums. Maybe it can really work if you have already spent thousands of dollars and have got nothing back. The machine must pay.
In the old days when a payout occurred players would feel the coins to see if they were hot or cold. If the coins were hot they believed that the machine had not paid for a long period of time. In fact the coins could be hot only because of the numerous lights that heated the coins.
The chaser.
The player believes the slot machine is not one of those machines that never pay. Players feel more comfortable and confident because they have been reinforced with a win and gain trust in the machine. One can feel the atmosphere of comfort and trust between the machine and the player.

Slots Rules: Understanding the rules of the game is always important, no matter what game you are playing. With slots the rules are very simple: Read the payout chart, insert coins, push button, (or pull handle), insert more coins. If the bells ring and lights flash, open up your pocketbook because you are in the money! Enjoy, but never gamble with more money than you can afford to lose.
Rules for playing Slots
The rules for slots are one of the simplest set of rules for any casino game. In fact it is so because there are no rules at all. All the player has to do is drop coins in the slot and pull the handle or push the spin button. The main objective is to match certain symbols on the paylines. But the player can do nothing to affect this. Slot machines can be found in many denominations from 5 cents to being the most popular, although there are also machines that accept 0 tokens.
It is a popular game for beginners because it is just them against the machine. They don't have to worry about rules and regulations, or being laughed at by the other players for making a bad play, all they have to do is try to hit the jackpot by matching the highest paying symbols on one of the pay lines.

Slot machines are honest because state gaming commissions make sure they are. What you can really doubt is the honesty of some manufactures.
When the first slots only appeared cheating was impossible because they worked mechanically, with independent wheels spinning and then stopping randomly. Modern slots are much different. Now the integral part of any slot machine is a chip, which is programmed to select numbers randomly. The numbers the computer selects correspond to the symbols that appear on the slot machine’s screen. The computer code that generates the random numbers is responsible for whether the machine is “loose” or “tight,” so gaming inspectors look at the machine’s code to make sure that a slot machine doesn’t cheat. The machine has to pay out either to the legal rate or better. Of course the latter happens very seldom.
Because slot machines don’t pay off with every spin, it’s difficult for customers to tell whether a slot machine’s chip has been programmed to pay off less often than is legally required. Before the machines are installed in casinos they are examined by inspectors. But you must understand that inspectors can’t examine every machine. They examine the brands. Once inspectors approve a brand of machine, the manufacturers can make changes to individual machines as long as the changes fall within the legal bounds. Manufacturers can change chips to make a machine pay less as long as the inspectors have approved that particular chip.
There is an example when there was inserted an illegal tip which doesn’t allow royal flushes. Similarly, Universal Distributing Company was caught programming machines to show a “near miss” of a jackpot. The player would never hit a jackpot but keep on playing maximum bets. If you think you’re playing a machine that is not honest, you can complain. In the case if the complaint the inspectors will visir the casino and check whether the machines have a legal chip. Manufacturers that cheat are fined or they can lose their license.

Meet the man who beat the slots.
It is impossible to cheat the slot machine, but to improve the payout is possible. It was proved by a gambler whose name was Tommy Glenn Carmichael.
Carmichael, now 53, had a long history of inventing devices to cheat slot machines. His first invention worked, but not for a long period of time as he was sentenced to prison for using it. After the release Tommy began to invent new kinds of devices for cheating slot machines. For example, he invented a tool called a slider made from guitar wire that he used to insert into the machine and trip a switch, which released coins from the hopper.
Later the slot machines were not any longer mechanical, they were computerized and as a result there appeared a need for a new device. In some way he managed to fool the manufacture who showed him the inner construction of a slot machine. It was enough for Tommy. Carmichael invented what he called a “light wand. ” The wand, built with a camera battery and a bright miniature light, was used to shine into the slot machine and blind a sensor, causing the hopper to pay out coins. Other gamblers liked his invention and he had a lot of customers, which allowed him to earn up to ,000 a day. He drove expensive cars, took cruises, and bought two houses.
But good thing will end one day. While using his devise Tommy was caught by the police. While charges from that incident were later dropped, he was caught under similar circumstances in Laughlin and later Atlantic City. By this time, authorities had tapped his phone and recorded conversations with other cheats who used his device. He served three years’ probation and lost both homes. He has been banned from entering any casino.