Bonus is a special feature of the particular game theme, which is activated when certain symbols appear in a winning combination. In the bonus, the player is presented with several items on a screen from which to choose. As the player chooses items, a number of credits is revealed and awarded. Some bonuses use a mechanical device, such as a spinning wheel. It is used in conjunction with the bonus for displaying the amount won.
There is a light on top of the slot machine called 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. When a player collects credits this mechanical device rotates coins into the coin tray. There is a coin diverter used for redirecting excess coins into a drop bucket, or drop box when a certain preset coin capacity is reached.
To display the amount of money or credits on the machine Credit meter is used.
Drop bucket or Drop box is a container located in a slot machine's base where excess coins are diverted from the hopper. Typically, a drop bucket is used for low denomination slot machines. A drop box can be found in high denomination slot machines. A drop bucket doesn't contain a lid while a drop box contains a hinged lid with one or more locks. The contents of drop buckets and drop boxes are collected and counted by the casino on a scheduled basis.
EGM is used as a short-hand for Electronic Gaming Machine.
Hand pay refers to a payout made by a slot attendant or cage, rather than the slot machine. A hand pay occurs when the amount of the payout exceeds the maximum amount that was preset by the slot machine's operator. At the level where the operator must begin to deduct taxes the maximum amount is set. A hand pay can also be a result of a short pay.
Hopper fill is a document used for recording 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 will have to stand while playing Stand Up or Upright slot machines.
The term Optimal play is used to denote a payback percentage based on a gambler using the optimal strategy in a skill-based slot machine game.
The term Payline is used to denote a straight or zigzagged line that crosses through one symbol on each reel, along which a winning combination is evaluated. Classic spinning reel machines usually have up to nine pay lines, while video slot machines may have as many as one hundred.
The term Rollup is used to mean the process of dramatizing a win by playing sounds while the meters count up to the amount that has been won.
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. Then the remaining amount is paid as a hand pay or the machine is re-filled by an attendant.
Theoretical Hold Worksheet is a document provided by the manufacturer for all slot machines. Basing on adequate levels of coin-in it indicates the theoretical percentage that the slot machine should hold. The worksheet also indicates the reel strip settings, number of coins that may be played, the payout schedule, the number of reels and other information.
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 is called Weight count.

I tis important to now what you are playing.
Always make sure that you insert the correct amount of coins into a machine. Cash your credits and only the leave the machine.
Slots shouldn't be a stress for you, just enjoy. You can increase your bets only when you are winning, and decrease your bets when you are losing.

Slots are one of the oldest casino entertainments. Throughout the years, designs and implementation of slot machines went from mechanical to electronic, and from electronic to digital, then from digital to purely software, but the principles are still the same: the slot machine has reels which spin and, if the pre-defined winning combination plays out, you win. The player inserts coins in the machine and then wins or loses according to the outcome of the game.
Basically, slot machines are all the same. They have different odds (and of course payouts), different payoffs, different symbols and different exterior arrangement, but there's little difference under the hood. There are so many variatisn of slot machines that everybody can find something to his liking.
Two most distinct types of slot machines are single line and multiline slots. As it can be understood from its name single line slots have only one line with 4 or 5 wheels. But multi line slots can have up to 25 lines. Multi line slots are a little bit more complicated because winning combinations may play out across a number of lines; when you win, the machine will draw you how the symbols combine together and calculate the win automatically. It can happen that you win nothing during the game or that you win big in a short while. Paylines can be different. They can be vertical, diagonal, zigzags and what not.
Jackpot is also a feature peculiar not for all slots. If the slot machine has a jackpot it means that a certain amount of each additional bet is added to the jackpot. So the jackpot becomes bigger and bigger with every bet. Jackpots can reach several hundreds of thousands dollars. There is only one winning combination that can bring the gambler the jackpot.
Slot machines are historically played with coins. Online casino slot machines are no exception to that rule, even though bets might differ slightly. Indeed, as well as with all small wager games, there are top bets - they're known as table limits in table games. Unlike the table games, slot machines don't involve any decision on the player's part and so aren't threatened by game management systems because of their fixed odds; the bet limits are more of a traditional thing than anything else.
Software slot machines (as well as the digital ones) are equipped with a random number generator which is what actually plays the game. This methodic allows very fair and precise balancing without actually hurting neither the players' interests nor the casino revenue.

It is true that slots are designed to be honest and not to deceive a player. What you can really doubt is the honesty of some manufactures.
In the old days, slot machines worked mechanically, with independent wheels spinning until they each stopped randomly. Today’s slot machines are light years away from those lumbering machines of old. These machines contain computer chips that are programmed to select numbers randomly. The numbers the computer selects correspond to the symbols that appear on the slot machine’s screen. There is a computer code. It generates the random numbers and determines whether the slot machine is loose or tight. The gaming inspector will examine the machine to make sure it will not deceive the player. The machine has to pay out either to the legal rate or better. Of course the latter happens very seldom.
It is next to impossible to say whether the chip is programmed not in a right way because the machine is not supposed to pay out with every spin. The machines have to be examined before people begin to play them. Of course it is very difficult to examine every single machine, that’s why inspectors examine only 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. Using their right to produce slot machines they insert different chips, which makes the machine pay less.
There is an example when there was inserted an illegal tip which doesn’t allow royal flushes. Or a chip that shows near misses of a jackpot. One the one hand the machine would never have a jackpot and the player would keep on playing. Don’t keep silent if you come across such slot machine. 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 not a secret that it is next to impossible to cheat a slot machine. But do you know that Tommy Glenn Carmichael managed to improve the payout of the machine to his benefit.
A 53-years Tommy all his life tried to invent some kind of devices to cheat the slot machine. His first invention worked, but not for a long period of time as he was sentenced to prison for using it. Then he was released, but continued to work at inventing devices for cheating a slot. His next invention was a slider, a guitar wire. He inserted it into the machine, which released coins form the hopper.
When the slots were computerized he needed a new tool. In some way he managed to fool the manufacture who showed him the inner construction of a slot machine. It was enough to learn everything that he wanted. 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. Carmichael marketed these wands to other slot cheats, making as much as ,000 a day. Now he could afford the most expensive cars and several 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 that time the police already have all necessary clues to prove that Tommy was guilty. He got three years’ probation and lost everything that he had bought before. He has been banned from entering any casino.