# Do casinos manipulate the odds of slot machines?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-casinos-manipulate-the-odds-of-slot-machines/745143>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 4, 2016, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-casinos-manipulate-the-odds-of-slot-machines/745143 "2016-02-04T15:29:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 5

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**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\
**Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-casinos-manipulate-the-odds-of-slot-machines/745143/83 "2020-09-06T23:41:29Z")

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> [@Deeg](#):
>
> How are the odds on a mechanical slot machine changed? I.e. what is changed in the mechanics of the machine so that a winning combo is more (or less) likely?

It’s actually easy but time consuming. Just remove one reel and replace it with a reel with more or fewer symbols or a different combination of symbols. For a faster “fix” the operator can open the back and place a block on a detent so the pawl cannot drop in. On Pawn Stars they showed such a machine when they inspected it.

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-casinos-manipulate-the-odds-of-slot-machines/745143/84 "2020-09-07T16:20:11Z")

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I’m gonna say the odds favor that this zombie was recently revived by now-disappeared spam.

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