bingogringo wrote on June 06, 2008 08:31 AM: Larry,
You may not find casino games appealing.
But they are based in entertainment value. The casinos using server based gaming are not interested in squeezing more money out of you in a shorter period of time. Although if that happens, they won't be sad. Any gaming establishment knows that people who lose lots of money quickly will NOT be regular clients.
They rather want to make your experience more enjoyable so you make it more of a habit just like bowling or going out to eat. It is like slot tech mentions, a casino will have the ability to switch to games that are more popular with the crowd that is present at the moment. It is like a movie theatre. The theatre could make the movies more expensive on certain days and expect more revenue. Or they can make the experience more pleasant and get you there more times, and improve their revenue.
And the add ons that slot tech mentions will be very interesting.
The casino industry is competing in the entertainment industry. You must look at it in that manner.

Slot Tech wrote on June 05, 2008 05:00 PM: Larry,

While it is true the don't have to touch the physical game to change payout %, it can't be done on the fly. Certain documentation must be completed and machines cannot be in play. A change in % on the fly during the middle of a game isn't exactly legal. It would be like the dealer taking out 2 ace's in a game of blackjack half way through the deck. I have personally been involved in the development of a server based system with a competing company to IGT and our procedure to change payouts was extensive and could at times be time consuming for the casino. Game theme changes and denom changes could be changed on the fly but only after the player had cashed out or lost their money, and the machine wasn't played for x amount of time. Casino's aren't goint to cheat you, they don't want to risk their licenses, so give them a try (server based games) the payout tables available to the casinos and approved by the commisson are the same as traditional games. (Incidentally, % payouts on traditonal machines can be changed in about 20 seconds standing at the machine so a slot tech could act like they are doing maintenance and you wouldn't know the difference.) And the best part, in the future if a game you want to play isn't available, you'll be able to tell a slot attendant and they'll be able to queue it up for you, it'll grow on you, and when you sitting there watching TV in the upper left corner of the screen while playing the slots, you'll wonder how you ever played the old ones.

JP wrote on June 05, 2008 03:07 PM: Some people do not know anything about the gaming world. It is regulated to the maximum especially in the US. One of the thousands of rules is that when it is in play the payout cannot be changed. Another rule is that the payout should always be shown on the front of the machine. There are many others which protect the gambler.

Larrry seems to be speaking out of his proverbial, "lucky enough to find a game that pays"? WTF? Seriously, how many machines have you played in your life. A machine will payout if a payout is due according to the payout percentage. You need the luck not to find a machine that pays but to find one that is going to pay you whilst you are playing!!!!

The best games are now gonna be on these Server based slots. You could have a choice of thousands of games without moving your butt. You could in the end do your shopping on the net whilst playing one of these machines in a casino on the strip without moving an inch. How about ordering your next drink or placing a bet on the monday night football from the same machine. These machines are the future. Trust me i know, i'm in the industry.

Just one thing, remember it's the house which always wins!!!

Larrry wrote on June 05, 2008 05:06 AM: This is so they can lower the payout without ever touching the game. If you are lucky enough to find a game that pays, they can instantly fix it so it doesn't. I'll never play them.