Introduction to Slots


Slots are one of the most popular casino games that offer more payouts compared to the other casino games of roulette, blackjack, poker etc. A slot machine is often referred to as a fruit machine or a poker machine. Sometimes a slot machine is also termed as a one-armed bandit. Charles Fey first invented the one-armed bandit in 1887 in San Francisco, USA. Initially he designed the machine with three spinning reels and five symbols comprising diamonds, hearts, spades, horseshoes and a liberty bell.

Later many improvements were made to Fey’s machine. In 1996 the WMS Industries Inc developed the first video slot machine, which gave the facility of winning an additional payout. Instead of the usual three spinning reels, an online video slot comprises five reels. Unlike the three reel versions, which offer only one payline, an online video slot can offer as many as nine paylines. These can also have several other symbols such as wild symbols, multipliers and scatter symbols. Most popular themes used in online video slots are Easter Slots, Halloween Slots, Tomb Raider, Christmas Slots, Hitman etc.

A slot machine has a random number generator that constantly generates numbers. The numbers are automatically generated even when the machine is not in use. As soon as you start playing the machine displays the most recent numbers that would determine the result of the game.

https://legacypinesgc.com/ Slots games have been an all time popular game to casino goers. With the introduction of online slots casinos it has become easier. Some such casinos encourage players to play on the website for which you do not have to download anything. There are some online casino sites where you need to download the game software on your computer to participate in it.

As a beginner you can play these casino games just for fun online. As you hone your gambling skills and gain confidence you can try out real money games. Initially it can be a bit confusing deciding the right casino for you. Websites with slots reviews will feature games with the highest payouts and the best online videos. If you are depositing real money to your player’s account then it is always better to go for online slots with highest payout. While playing online video slots choose an authentic site and also check the payouts. At some casinos you will be encouraged to take the risk of doubling or quadrupling the whole amount.

Bonuses in a slots game generally depend on the game you have chosen to play. They are issued when a winning combination demonstrates a set of symbols. Sometimes bonuses in a game are given as a session of free spins. In some rounds, a player may be asked to choose an item from a number of options displayed on the screen. The bonus amount is rewarded as soon as the player makes their selection.

Commercial Casinos Energy Policy Act Tax Opportunity


The Casino Environment

Before the recent economic downturn, commercial casinos collected at least $30 billion in revenues each year from 2005 through 2008.1 During this period, US casino owners built new facilities and expanded the size of their existing facilities. As a result of the economic downturn, new US commercial casino construction has come to a screeching halt and casino operators are now focused on existing facility cost reduction.

The Section 179(D) Tax Provisions

Increasingly, casino operators are taking advantage of the EPAct IRC section 179(D) commercial building energy efficiency tax provisions, which have been extended through 2013. EPAct tax deductions are available for qualifying energy reductions in lighting, HVAC(heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), and building envelope. (Building envelope consists of the building’s foundation, walls, roof, windows, and doors, all of which control the flow of energy between the interior and exterior of the building.)

The Nature of Casino Properties

Commercial casinos often encompass hotel resorts, which offer attractive packages of services for their corporate and family customers. Casinos are particularly suited to EPAct because of their large gaming floors, hotel occupancy rooms, meeting halls, and parking garages. Each of these features typically consumes large square footage and the EPAct benefit has a potential for up to 60 cents per square foot for each of the three measures described above. Some of the smallest commercial casinos are about 50,000 square feet while most American casinos are typically over 100,000 square feet. One of the largest ones, MGM Grand on the Las Vegas strip is almost 2 million square feet. Hotels themselves are the most favored of Section 179 building category. (See “Hotels and Motels Most Favored Energy Policy Act Tax Properties”)

It is common to think of commercial casinos as located in two states Nevada and New Jersey. While it is true that these two states have the largest commercial casino revenues, there are 12 states with commercial casinos in the United States, the other commercial casino states are: Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota. Members of the American Gaming Association have publicized some of their commitments to energy reduction. Reporting casinos include Boyd Gaming Corporation, Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., and MGM Mirage. They have projects which include significant energy savings via cogeneration, ERV(energy recovery ventilation), more efficient HVAC units, replacing incandescent lights with energy efficient lightings, windows with energy efficient day lighting systems, solar thermal storage and numerous other energy saving initiatives.

The underlying rule set to qualify for the Section 179D lighting tax deduction makes casinos and particularly casino hotels the most favored property category for the tax incentive. The rule set requires at least a 25% watts-per-square foot reduction as compared to the 2001 ASHRAE (American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers) building energy code standard. Full tax deduction is achieved with a 40% watts-per-square foot reduction compared to the ASHRAE 2001 standard. The ASHRAE 2004 hotel/motel building code standard requires 40% wattage reduction, which means that any hotel or motel lighting installation that meets that building code requirement will automatically qualify for the maximum EPAct tax deduction.

Occupancy Rooms

For most other building categories, the Section 179D tax provisions require compliance with the bi-level switching requirement. The comparison is always based on wired rather than plug-in lighting. Casino hotel occupancy rooms have a major advantage in that they often use plug-in lighting, and because these rooms function as hotel and motel spaces, they are specifically excluded from the tax bi-level switching requirement. Since occupant rooms are usually one of the larger spaces in hotel casinos, casinos are typically able to use energy efficient lighting to generate large EPAct tax deductions for the facility.

Back of the House Spaces

Casinos often have large kitchen, storage, and laundry (so called back of the house) spaces that have historically used T-12 fluorescent lighting. Slot Online This lighting is so energy inefficient compared to today’s lighting products that it will be illegal to manufacture in the United States after July 1, 2010.4 Once manufacturing of these prior generation lighting products ceases, the cost of replacing these inefficient bulbs will increase. Simply stated, casinos should consider acting now to replace these lighting fixtures to save both energy and lamp replacement costs. The EPAct lighting tax incentive can be used to address the opportunities related to these legally mandated product changes