The next iteration of the silver strike machine should have only .999 silver with half ounce strikes as a small interim payout, 2 ounce strikes as a medium payout, half pound strikes as a large payout, and perhaps a gold strike as the biggest payout. The mechanics for the half pound would have to be worked out or the system could be left as it is now. The respective payouts could be $25, $75, $300, and $2500.

It shouldn’t be that difficult to design the algorithm for a typical 40-60% return that provides a healthy profit for the casino per square foot of operational space and genuine excitement for the player. The problem is all those new machines with the massive visual interfaces but no tangible output. Not to go off on a tangent here but the excitement of a slot machine is not the seizure inducing screen visuals but the auditory and tactile user interaction with the old style coins and tokens.

Okay, here goes the tangent…. I won $100 in quarters that was more thrilling than the $1000 ticket win 20 years later. You cannot undervalue the Scrooge McDuck aspect of gambling. We still have chips. How long will that last? No chip, strike, token, coin (tangible object) gambling is boring. At least to me.