Most slot machines will look very similar from the outside, for they will all have a note acceptor slot, possibly a coin slot and a set of reels or a TV screen or monitor (sometimes two) on which the reels are displayed.
However, whilst you may know what a slot machine does look like you may be blissfully unaware of the inner working of such a gaming machine, and if so then the following guide will enlighten you on how slot machines work once you have fed a coin or note into the respective slot!
Both the coin and note acceptors are designed in such a way that they will check the validity of any coins or banknotes that have been inserted into them, if they pass all of the preset boundaries they will then pass through those devices and will credit the machine with the correct number of credits.
If a slot machine pays out coins once one of them is inserted into them they will first fill up a hopper, and once it is full they will then drop down the back of the machine into a bucket at the bottom.
Banknotes as well as any cash in and cash out vouchers inserted into the acceptor accumulate in a locked box located inside the slot machine.
Each slot machine you come across will have a CPU type of device within it, and that is basically the brains of the machine.
The random number generator within the Central Processing Unit will constantly select a random number and when a player clicks onto the spin or start button of a slot machines the RNG selects a number which the CPU will then turn into either a winning spin or a losing spin, and will then send a signal to the reels which will then spin and stop.
At any point in time when a player wishes to collect their winnings and clicks onto the cash out button the CPU will then send a message to either the coin hopper or the payout voucher printer which will then either release the correct number of coins or a payout voucher will be printed for the player for the entire amount they have collected.
Apart from a power pack, a wiring loom and blubs which make various parts of the slot machine light up, there is nothing much else to be found inside a slot machine!
You will often find that some of the three reel and classic slot machines you will come across will also have an arm on the side of the slot machines cabinet, and players can either opt to pull that arm to send the reels spinning or simply click onto the spin button instead.
It is of course the themes and the bonus games and bonus features and often the playing structures that will differ on most slot machines, and you will also find the stakes and payouts can be noticeably different on most slot machines you compare too.