One of the most common questions I get is: “In your opinion, is there a better time of day to win at slot machines?” And honestly, I’ve heard just about every theory imaginable. But here’s my honest take, based on personal experience and conversations with slot manufacturers and casino staff.
Morning. Afternoon. Evening. Weekends. Holidays. End of the month. Start of the quarter.
People swear by all of these. Some say the slots are “looser” at certain times, others claim they’re “tighter.” But let’s think logically. If you ran a casino, would you really want to make some people happy and upset others just based on when they visit? Probably not.
Now let’s get into how slot machines actually work. There’s a popular belief that casinos “flip a switch” to make machines stop paying. But here’s the truth: there is no magic switch. Changing a slot machine’s payout percentage requires at least two employees to physically open the machine and make adjustments — and this process takes up to 45 minutes per machine.
That means if a casino like the Cosmopolitan wanted to change all 1,300 machines, it would take 975 hours. A larger casino like Yaamava’ could need 225 days of non-stop work to do this. Clearly, it’s not a practical move.
What casinos can do, however, is move machines to new locations — something that does happen from time to time. If they choose to adjust the machine’s settings during that move, they can — but it’s still a lot of effort and doesn’t happen often.
It’s also important to remember that casinos operate under strict regulations from gaming commissions. They won’t risk heavy fines or losing their license over a few percentage points on a couple of machines.
Now, I can already hear some of you saying, “You’re wrong! I always lose on holidays and always win first thing in the morning!” And hey, maybe that’s been your experience. But that doesn’t mean it’s a rule. It’s just like those people who think tapping the screen or slamming the spin button changes their luck. It might feel like it helps — but it’s not based on fact.
Another popular theory is that slot machines on the end or in corners pay more. Interestingly, this one has some truth — but not for the reason you might think. It’s not that they have higher payout percentages, it’s that they’re played more often. Think about it: no one wants the “middle seat,” right? The end machines get more action, which means they naturally hit more often. I saw this myself at the Hard Rock Casino opening in Atlantic City — the end machines had visibly higher progressive amounts simply because they had been played more.
