Slot Machine Etiquette

With the advent of ticket in/ticket out slot machines, there are certain rules of etiquette that have changed, or are simply being ignored. Many don’t know what to do in cases where they need to leave their seat, perhaps for a bathroom break, and how to signal that they are coming back.

Before, if you were taking a short break from the slot machines you would simply put a coin cup on the machine and other players would know to leave it alone. However, with the lack of cups around, due to the lack of coins, slot machine players don’t know what the signals should be anymore.

Experts say that in Europe the slot machines have a feature that says that you are stepping away from the machine and will be back, but that US casinos choose to deactivate that feature. Instead, they say that there are things you can do to show that the slot machine is in use, they are just more work.

You can try tipping your chair against the front of the slot machine, or ask other players to watch it for you when you leave. Don’t leave anything behind of value to mark the slot machine, but you can leave eyeglasses or cigarettes – many times these tell the person that someone is here.

The problem is that you should always try to cash out before leaving your slot machine, because not everyone is honest. It doesn’t matter what you leave at the machine to save it in hopes that someone will listen, just make sure that in case they don’t you have already taken what is yours.

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