Coinless Slot Machines
Dear Jim,
Why are so many slots today being converted to coinless machines? Are you a fan of them? Beth R.
No aficionado in these shoes, Beth. I treasure the clanking sound of coins falling into the tray. I wonder about the rationale behind the switch to coinless machines. Casino operators of my acquaintance have long understood the value of "the sounds of winning," so much so that they install "loud drop bowls," those metal trays that catch the slugs in a payoff and give clangorous voice to someone's good fortune.
The song of these deeper pans implies that people are winning big. Hmmm... well, personally, the fun factor of yanking a handle and the happy-finger scooping up of the loot somehow tends to obscure its meagerness.
Today, approximately 20% of the 700,000 plus slots in North America are now coinless. Casino's marketeers claim players want the coinless machines because they are weary of waiting for slot personnel to pay off their jackpots. They also reckon standing in the cashier's line with 30 pounds of winnings in a cup ain't any fun. Yeah, right. ...still, many of us find it downright blissful to have that problem.
In actuality, the backroom guys with the green eyeshades point out that casinos are cashing in big-time on the cashless machines. They reduce the labor bill to repair the jam-ups, fill hoppers, empty the machines of coins and bring them to the count room, and to count the players' winnings at the cashier's cage. In addition to the resultant higher slot machine uptime, these coinless electronic marvels can keep track of how much money is in play at any time.
And feel, like I do, for the cocktail waitress, Beth, exiled to the Nickel Hell section of the casino. Dollars to donuts her tips are down, with no nickels clattering into the tray. Definitely another column for another day.
