Nevada spies 'chameleon slots'
20th February, 2008
Casinos in Las Vegas are lobbying for technology that will allow managers to alter the look, price and takings of slot machines from a central server, it has been suggested.
Industry experts says that adopting the so-called chameleon slots would make it easier for operators to alter games in real time to suit specific clientele demographics and contemporary themes - but, as the Las Vegas Sun reported, the proposals have left many punters wary.
"The player perception is, 'They changed the game just as I was getting ready to win a jackpot!'," Faisal Khan, a technical compliance manager with Gaming Laboratories International, explained to the newspaper.
Critics argue that the futuristic machines bring the whole integrity of casino gambling into question, noting that it would be possible to alter denominations and percentage holdings remotely from backrooms.
They reject industry arguments that the move would actually lead to bigger winnings by making casinos more efficient - for example, by allowing the same individual piece of hardware to function as a nickel machine on weekdays and a quarter slot on weekends.
Missouri is one of the few US states that currently permits server-based chameleon slots.
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