You might have seen the recent TV ads in which Cache Creek Casino Resort claims to have the "loosest" slots in the Bay Area. This notion of "loose" slots is a concept that casinos like to toss around. And judging from the volume of e-mails on the subject in recent weeks, it's a term that many local gamblers don't understand. On the surface, a "loose" slot machine is a slot machine that pays frequently. Behind the scenes, however, "loose" slots may pay out no more (or less) than "tight" machines, or any other machine on the floor. It all comes down to something called "payback." Every slot machine in a casino is programmed to pay back players at a certain percentage. Most of the slots in the Bay Area, over a specific period of time, will pay back 90 to 98 percent of every dollar gamblers put in. This means "loose" machines only are "loose" relative to other machines in the same casino.Get the Story:
Matt Villano: Even 'loose' slot machines aren't a good bet (The San Francisco Chronicle 5/22)
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