A slot is a narrow opening, hole, groove, or slit that allows something to pass through it. You can also say, “He dropped a coin into the slot and dialled.” In general, to “slot” something means to put it into a space where it fits, as in, “She slotted her car seat belt into place easily.” A time slot is a specific moment in a schedule or program when an activity can occur, as in, “We booked a tour for next week at the visitor center.”
In slot machines, the handle rotates a shaft with discs that have pictures printed on them. When a combination lines up with the pay line, a sensor signals a mechanism that pays out credits to the player. But the actual payout is determined by how many of those pictures occupy a particular spot on the reels, which depends on the probability that they will appear in that position.
A random number generator assigns different probabilities to each of the symbols on each reel, allowing casinos to create many possible combinations. This makes it impossible to know whether a machine will hit, or miss, in advance. That’s why some strategies recommend moving on to another machine after a certain amount of play, or after seeing a jackpot win — under the assumption that recent results will impact future outcomes. But these methods are based on flawed logic: Every spin is random. If someone else saw that jackpot win, it’s because they were at the right place at the right time.
