Page 26 - February 2012 • Southern California Gaming Guide

Bill Burton: About Gambling
YIou Do Control Your Destiny in Bonus Rounds
have been writing about casino gambling since 1998, and the other day I took a look at some of the columns I have written over the years. Reading through them was like looking at a time capsule. Some of the “new” technology from those early years is now common place in the casino.
One example is video slot machines with bonus rounds.
In one column I wrote about video slot machines that o ered bonus rounds and stunning graphics that made the games more entertaining for players. e machines were quite a change from the standard reel machines that dominated the casino oors back then, and they have evolved into something even more spectacular today.
Australia’s Aristocrat Technologies rst introduced the video bonus slot games to this country in 1996. e slots in Australia are called “pokies” and at that time they dif- fered from the American three-reel machines by o ering multiple pay lines, various betting options and multiple winning combinations. ese winning combinations appeared across the screen
Video slot machines are essentially computerized video games. Rapid advancements in computer technology have been incorporated into new slot machines to make them into something as di erent from the rst video games as the original games were to the reel slot machines. In fact, some newer video slot machines are more advanced and entertaining than some of the modern video games available.
One example is my favorite game, Star Trek. e game by WMS Gaming incorporates the Bose 3Space Surround Sound Gaming Chair, which lets the player hear and feel the action that takes place on the screen during the game.
and were dubbed scatter pay machines. ey also had bonus screens that gave the player the opportunity for a bigger additional jack- pots when triggered. e games were rst placed in some Indian casinos and quickly gained in popularity. American slot makers took notice and started to design multi-line bonus games of their own. It was discov- ered that players would play longer in hopes of reaching the bonus rounds.
In the years since they
were rst introduced, video
slot machines have taken
over the majority of the
casino oor. In that time we
have also seen a reduction in the base denomination of the machine from quarters to nickels, and then to pennies.
Technology has allowed slot makers to add additional lines to slot games, along with adding the number of coins that could be played on each line. Many of new games o er the option to play so many coins that sometimes it can be cost prohibitive for the average person to play maximum coins on each spin of the machine. e only way to accommodate all players was to lower the denomination of the machine. All the lower denomination of the machine really does is allow players to spread their money over more pay lines. Many players are wagering as much, if not more, than they were spending on the reel machines.
You feel as if you were sitting in the captain’s chair on the bridge of the Enterprise. e chair vibrates and shakes as you do battle with enemy ships, ring photon torpedoes and taking hits from Klingon vessels.
When you make it to one of the Star Trek bonus rounds, it then becomes an interactive experience because the choices you can make during the bonus portion of the game actually a ect the amount of bonus money you collect. is makes you feel as if you are more a part of the game than just pushing the spin button.
Do Choices in Bonus Rounds Matter?
Not all machines o er vibrating chairs, but the interactive experience is a reason why the majority of new slot machines o er some sort of bonus round. One of the reasons some players prefer to play video poker or table games is because they get to interact with the game they are playing. Choosing which cards to hold on a video poker game, or making decisions while playing table games allows the player to feel in control of their own destiny.
One question I have been asked many times by players is whether the choices they make during the bonus round of a slot game really matter, or whether the amount they win is predetermined no matter what choice they make.
For example, in the Star Trek game during the bonus round, you are transported to the surface of a planet where there are ten rocks that you blast with your phaser gun to reveal either bonus points or the Salt Monster. As long as you hit credit amounts, you continue. If you blast an object and reveal the Salt Monster the round is over. You may wonder if there is really only one Salt Monster behind those rocks or if the machine is programmed to have it appear behind more than one.
How Bonus Rounds Work
e good news is that in this type of bonus round where you have to select winning objects, your choices really do make a di erence. Inside the slot machine is a microprocessor similar to the one in your home computer. Instead of running Word or Excel, it runs a special program, the Random Number Generator — RNG, which generates numbers to correspond to the symbols on the reel of the slot machine. is program determines whether there is a winning spin. When a bonus round is triggered, a second RNG selects the location of the bonus amounts and losing symbol on the bonus screen. is means that the choices you make really do matter. You could pick all the objects with the bonus credits or you could pick a loser on the rst choice. You control your own destiny. is is why the bonus round makes the game more exciting.
Until next time, remember: “Luck comes and goes... Knowledge Stays Forever.”
Bill Burton is the author of 1000 Best Casino Gambling Secrets and Get the Edge at Low Limit Texas Hold’em available online at billburton.com. Burton is also an instructor for Golden Touch Craps: thecrapsclub.com.
“When a bonus round is triggered, a second RNG selects the location of the bonus amounts and losing symbol on the bonus screen.
This means that the choices you make really do matter...
You control your own destiny. This is why the bonus round
makes the game more exciting.”
PAGE 26
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
February 2012