4 ms·

Fantastic book. The stories about the slot machine players who wear black pants so that they can urinate without being noticed was shocking, to say the least. T

Fantastic book. The stories about the slot machine players who wear black pants so that they can urinate without being noticed was shocking, to say the least. They are so addicted to the machines that they won't even get up to use the restroom. The phrase he used, "playing to extinction", very much reminds me of what's happening now across most entertainment categories, broadly speaking (autoplay, loot boxes, slot machine-style gaming content, etc.)

HappySweeney 4y ago
It isn't so much that they are addicted (though they are), but that someone will take their spot while they are up.
- jonny_eh 4y ago
  That's just a rationalization they tell themselves.
  - HappySweeney 4y ago
    It's more than that. In a game like roulette, probability has no memory. In slots, the payout must come eventually, and playing losing rounds only brings you closer to that. There are slots players just waiting for others to go bust so they can swoop in. Also, one would hope that those that are so addicted that they are fine to just haul-off and piss themselves would be able to think ahead and simply wear a diaper.
    - drekipus 4y ago
      > In slots, the payout must come eventually, and playing losing rounds only brings you closer to that. Riiiigggghhhhttttt
      - bigtunacan 4y ago
        The payout is always less than the take, but the parent is correct. In most areas (of the US at least) casino slot machines are pretty tightly regulated to have to pay out a certain percentage of the take. To give an example, slot machines in Nevada must pay out a minimum of 75% of the take. Additionally, no programming/odds updates or machine resets may be made to the slot machine until the machine has sat idle for a minimum of 4 minutes; and if an update/reset is being made the machine _must_ clearly display that this is occurring. So the sick thing here is that each loss does in fact bring you closer to the winning spin. One of the only real strategies of slot machines (in the sense that there can be a strategy to a game of luck) is to stand around idling watching other people lose, then after someone leaves a machine with a bad run you immediately drop in to the spot and start playing the same machine.
        guelo 4y ago
        The 75% isn't calculated per player or per session. It's the theoretical minimum payout over the long run. Basically it's just code that does win = rand() < .75
        whoisburbansky 4y ago
        Why does the GP's comment strike you as implying that the minimum is calculated per person or session?
        bigtunacan 4y ago
        Yeah, I was a bit confused why they thought that is what I was implying. I was just trying to explain high level how it works. I previously worked on a couple of online "slot machines" and several of my former colleagues write software now for WMS on physical machines.
        guelo 4y ago
        > each loss does in fact bring you closer to the winning spin To me that implies that the machine is keeping track of a period of time to make sure it pays out 75% during that period. Each spin is random and independent of whether it's been on a losing streak or not.
nraford 4y ago
Brings to mind the old Bruce Sterling answer to the Fermi Paradox. Why haven't we discovered life yet amongst the vastness of the stars? Because they wanked themselves to death in VR pleasure palaces.

HappySweeney 4y ago

It isn't so much that they are addicted (though they are), but that someone will take their spot while they are up.

jonny_eh 4y ago
That's just a rationalization they tell themselves.
- HappySweeney 4y ago
  It's more than that. In a game like roulette, probability has no memory. In slots, the payout must come eventually, and playing losing rounds only brings you closer to that. There are slots players just waiting for others to go bust so they can swoop in. Also, one would hope that those that are so addicted that they are fine to just haul-off and piss themselves would be able to think ahead and simply wear a diaper.
  - drekipus 4y ago
    > In slots, the payout must come eventually, and playing losing rounds only brings you closer to that. Riiiigggghhhhttttt
    - bigtunacan 4y ago
      The payout is always less than the take, but the parent is correct. In most areas (of the US at least) casino slot machines are pretty tightly regulated to have to pay out a certain percentage of the take. To give an example, slot machines in Nevada must pay out a minimum of 75% of the take. Additionally, no programming/odds updates or machine resets may be made to the slot machine until the machine has sat idle for a minimum of 4 minutes; and if an update/reset is being made the machine _must_ clearly display that this is occurring. So the sick thing here is that each loss does in fact bring you closer to the winning spin. One of the only real strategies of slot machines (in the sense that there can be a strategy to a game of luck) is to stand around idling watching other people lose, then after someone leaves a machine with a bad run you immediately drop in to the spot and start playing the same machine.
      - guelo 4y ago
        The 75% isn't calculated per player or per session. It's the theoretical minimum payout over the long run. Basically it's just code that does win = rand() < .75
        whoisburbansky 4y ago
        Why does the GP's comment strike you as implying that the minimum is calculated per person or session?
        bigtunacan 4y ago
        Yeah, I was a bit confused why they thought that is what I was implying. I was just trying to explain high level how it works. I previously worked on a couple of online "slot machines" and several of my former colleagues write software now for WMS on physical machines.
        guelo 4y ago
        > each loss does in fact bring you closer to the winning spin To me that implies that the machine is keeping track of a period of time to make sure it pays out 75% during that period. Each spin is random and independent of whether it's been on a losing streak or not.

nraford 4y ago

Brings to mind the old Bruce Sterling answer to the Fermi Paradox. Why haven't we discovered life yet amongst the vastness of the stars? Because they wanked themselves to death in VR pleasure palaces.