Slot Machine Myth #4 - Casinos loosen and tighten the slot machines all the time
Casinos do keep good records of what the machines take in and give out, and they always know on a day-to-day basis which machines are paying out better then others. But, don't bother asking around to much as these reports are strictly for management. The floor staff rarely ever find out what's really going on with the machines. The other point is while the reports are there, they aren't used to figure out which machines to loosen or tighten, they are used as accounting reports so the casino knows exactly what sort of money they have available.
Casinos don't have much chance to change the payouts of the machines. Even a small tweak to the odds of the machine require a new chip to be installed, and these chips are highly regulated. The procedure for changing these chips is very long and has a lot of paper work involved for the casinos to avoid criminal charges. Once the machines are set, they are usually set for the rest of their usable life.
