All About Slot Tournaments

Slot tournaments have gained tremendous popularity over the past few years. Las Vegas slot tournaments are hugely popular, they offer excitement and big cash prizes for the top three winners.. A prize structure of $25,000 for first, $10,000 for second and $5,000 for place finishers is not unusual.

Casinos inform their slot club card holders of upcoming tournaments. They usually offer tournament participation, two or three nights accommodation and meals for a relatively low fee. Anywhere from $199 to $399. For "VIP" card holders, not necessarily high rollers, but players who are loyal customers, casinos often hold special Invitational Tournaments, where the player does not pay an entry fee. The whole three-day event is comped by the casino.

Why are casinos so generous? They're not. Consider some very conservative estimates: The average tournament attracts about 300 participants. Most of them bring along a spouse or friend. That means, for the duration of the event, there are at least 450 extra players in the casino. If, on average, each of them loses $100 a day, that adds up to $135,000. Plus, if there is a $200 entry fee, that's another $60,000. At a minimum, the casino takes in approximately $200,000, their total cost, including perhaps $50,000 in prize money, might be $100,000….

For slot tournament play, an area is set aside with an appropriate number of machines, depending on how many participants there are, about 30 or more machines. Slots are numbered from 1 to however many are needed. For each session, numbers are drawn to match up players and machines. Everyone hopes that their machine will perform better than all the others.

All of the machines are of the same type and are usually fitted with special programs that generate many more jackpot combinations than what one can normally expect. This allows the accumulation of much greater point totals, adding to the excitement of the activity.

Most tournaments are divided into sessions, each session lasting for a predetermined length of time, normally 15 or 20 minutes. Machines either start with a preset number of play credits, or will automatically stop after a certain amount of time.. The object of tournament play is to use up all the credits and/or rack up as many points as possible in the allotted time frame.

When all the players are ready the machines are activated and a frenzy of play begins. Players will furiously tap that spin button for the entire length of the session or until the preset amount of credit play has been used up. The top prize goes to the participant who comes in with the highest point total for the entire event.

Are slot tournaments a good deal? Slot tournaments are not like normal slot play. Instead of trying to win money from the machines, you play for points. You want to accumulate more points than any of the other people who participate in the slot tournament. The slots are adjusted for play without money, therefore your risk is limited only to the cost of the tournament entry fee, if any.

If the cost is low and includes two or three nights accommodation, a welcome cocktail party, breakfast every day plus dinner on awards night, slot tournaments can be good value, even if you don't win any money.

Be aware that tournament sessions are spaced several hours apart. The casino wants to make sure you have plenty of time to lose your money by playing for real. Be smart, stop being one of the 99% of slot players who walk out of the casino with empty pockets, maxed out credit cards, and empty wallets. Click here and learn how to become a tougher casino customer.

The best events to enter are those where the machines are pre-loaded with a certain number of credits and every participant plays at his or her own speed until all credits are used up. The person who drew the loosest machine ends up with the most points. The luck of the draw determines the winner. Everyone has an even chance.

Other slot tournaments limit play to a specified amount of time, usually 15 or 20 minutes per round. Here, it's of utmost importance that you keep tapping that spin button, don't let anything distract you. Every fraction of a second can add a few more points. I was in one slot tournament where only three points separated first and second place winners.

Slot tournaments often have a prize structure of $25,000, $15,000 and $5,000 for the top three winners. Even if you're number 150 on the list, you might still collect $100. If there are 300 entrants, you have a one in 300 chance at one of the top three prizes. In regular slot play your odds are not that good.

Read how to get the most out of slot clubs, including invitations to free slot tournatments: Slot Clubs & Casino Comps