Related: Check out this cool time-lapse video of the Las Vegas airport

But since airport slots are almost exclusively played by travelers, and not regular customers, operators perhaps don't feel the same urgency to find that 'balance.' One reason for that is that airport slot machines have what industry observers call 'a captive audience.'Ĭasino operators try to strike a balance between earning a profit and having the customer leave happy, meaning they spent a good amount of time at the machine. That's a notable difference in RTP in the slot machine business. Sign up to get the daily TPG newsletter delivered to your inbox each morningĪ 2001 survey by Michael Shackleford, a gambling analyst known as the 'Wizard of Odds,' showed slots at McCarran paid out as much as 8% less than 'return to player' (RTP) casinos on the Strip. Indeed, most gamblers will tell you to save your money for the Strip. 'Airport paybacks are generally far worse than any Strip casino, ' says John Mehaffey, owner of the gambling industry site,. Making the win even more noteworthy is that Vegas airport slot machines and video poker games, while a popular way to kill time before boarding your flight, are considered sucker bets by some gamblers.

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