Originally Posted by DGenBen View Post
Im seeing bonus machines start to get pulled from some places too and these are some of the likely reasons:

Hustlers get cute and lock the button panel at the highest bet highest denomination hoping a ploppy will accidentally play it and create a big play. In realty most ploppies are not going to take the time to figure out how to unlock the button panel and will just move on so the machine gets no action at all and gets pulled.

Along the same lines on multi-denom machines hustlers often leave it on the highest denom after they check it (even if they dont lock the button panel) I assume for either the same reason as above or so they will know if they already checked it since people rarely play the higher denoms. The problem with this is that most ploppies are not yet familiar with mulitdenom machines so if they walk by and see a line video slot is quarters, dimes or nickels, they will move on looking for pennies (not realizing they can just change it) so again these machines get no action and get pulled.

Hustlers also like to leave a bank of machines all on the highest bet for again I assume the same reasons and I think that also turns ploppies off. Ploppies are attracted to low minimum bets so when they walk by a bank where every machine is displaying a $6 or $7.50 bet they just move on even though a lower bet is available if they walked up to the machine and checked the button panel. So the machines get no action and they get pulled.

Plus ploppies don’t like a steady stream of sketchy looking people walking up to the machines right next to them and slamming on each bet at full volume without playing or getting stared at by same sketchy looking people who look like the spider waiting for the fly, so they can be the first to check the machine after the ploppy leaves. This causes ploppies to cash out and go somewhere else so the machines get less action and get pulled.

Another trend Im seeing recently is on the IGT games with a 10 spin cycle, some hustlers will take one spin on every bet, every denomination (no advantage by the way) trying to load up a bunch of wilds on the first spin in which case they will play it off, but if they brick they will leave it at spin 1. As the ploppies get more familiar with these games, they come to play one but every bet & every denom is already starting at spin 1 (a dead spin) instead of spin zero like it should, they get turned off and dont play, the machines get no action and get pulled.

Also the previously mentioned bonus hustlers that are not discrete and like to stand up and blast through each bet at full volume create new bonus hustlers as the ploppies see them and figure out what they are doing. One reason you find less plays now is that a lot of ploppies when they first sit down at one of these games will habitually check every bet before settling in to play having seen indiscrete hustlers do this.

Too bad that so many hustlers don’t take a long view or these machines and plays would last longer.
1. Locking buttons on big bets is a scam. This happened on Golden Egypt, Scarab, etc. I don’t believe in people deliberately hurting innocent people so they can make an extra buck. I unlock those high bets when I see them.

Locked buttons is also a way of marking machines. If you know the buttons are still locked to your specific bet amounts, then you don’t need to check the machines with the assumption is no one played them.

I teach people to mark machines without using the lock bet button. Usually, I leave it on the $1.50 bet when the choices are $0.75, $1.50, $2.25, $3.00 & $3.75. Or if it’s a matrix of 5 X 5, I leave it at a certain combination. It lets me and my network know the machine’s been checked. I have a good memory so I know the cash out amount and that helps me minimize the need to check machines.

2. Max bet means the machines has been checked. Most bonus hustlers OUT OF HABIT start with lowest bet and work their way to the top bet (because they were b*tt poor when they started in the business and the habit stuck with them). So it’s not uncommon to see a bank of bonus machines at it’s highest best or highest denominations if multi-denom. I never leave the machines at the Max bet to see who the bonus hustlers are or how many.

A lot of the times, you just follow their ticket and you find out who they are. Or, you might see the same or similar ticket amount in a bank of machines.

The deep pocket hustlers start in reverse with biggest bets / highest denominations and work to the smallest.

3. One or two spins on Scarabs or 10-game cycle. This makes sense in Reno in certain casinos with loose slots. It’s an option and those 10 games is akin to a Markov Chain. It cost you very little to see how well your game can turn out. It also discourages other bonus hustlers since people are less likely to play with fewer games remaining.

It’s the same thing with Ocean Magic & OM Grand to catch a streak. You see hustlers throw a few dollars to see the next 5 or 6 spins to catch bubbles. In Ocean Magic, the game is not as random as slots since bubbles do come in patterns and streaks.

4. The problem is the hustlers being too aggressive in that they themselves kill the game by milking every opportunity so the game fails to attract new players. In Peppermill & Atlantis, machines were being checked every 5 minutes and the casinos got tired of this sh*t behavior.

5. The game comes in different settings so don’t be surprised if the casino changed the settings to make the game harder to make money on them.

De-contenting means casinos remove bonus machines or altering them to be less prone to bonus hustlers.

Here is a true story: This one casino is well known for resetting their bonus machines. The word got around the Harley Davidson machines were reset so don’t play them. All night long, the bonus hustlers would not play them and one hustler who thought he was smarter than everyone jumped on the Mini at 35, which had been a good number. All night long, I’m getting texts about how high the free games were: in the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s ... we were laughing our b*tts off ... 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, 100’s ... the laughter turned into downright sorrow for the moron who didn’t get the memo ... it finally hit in the 140’s. Everyone hated that a-ho so we celebrated when he lost a sh*tload of money. Schadenfreude at it’s finest moment.

I was so happy that I retired a few years ago. It’s a different crowd now than when I first got started. These young kids don’t have manners or understand the word “discretion”. The word that best describes these youngsters is: Entitlement!