Las Vegas slot machines provide gamblers a range of stakes to bet in, with the most popular by far being penny slots.
But despite requiring much smaller wagers and being easy to play, these games often come with far inferior Return-to-Player (RTP) values than machines of higher denomination.
Easy to Play, Low Risk
The advantage of penny slots is that they are comfortable for players who don't feel comfortable with the rules of some gambling activities like poker or baccarat. Penny slots, like any slot machine, are pure games of chance that do not require any specific knowledge to play.
Further, the low wager amount, a coin value of 1¢, means that even betting all the paylines is a sub-dollar affair, generally just a fraction of that.
For casual players that just want to get the experience, or who might be travelling with people that have higher risk tolerances, the penny slots might be just the place for those players just looking for a bit of entertainment.
Lower RTPs
As alluded to earlier, penny slots offer punters lower RTPs compared to machines requiring high wager amounts. RTP governs the amount you are likely to receive from your wagers gambled over time. Let's say a machine advertises an RTP of 95% - this means you'll receive 95¢ for ever $1 wagered on average.
There is a minimum RTP of 75% mandated by the gaming board of Nevada; however, in reality casinos rarely offer games with RTPs quite this low since the market is extremely competitive. Penny slots are likely to have RTP percentages hovering around the mid to high 80s bracket, which translates into millions in gaming revenue for some of the bigger casinos based in 'Sin City'.
Stay Informed
If a visit to the casino is nothing more than an entertainment experience, and you aren't interested in dropping large sums of cash down, the penny slots are a good option. Just be aware of the nature of these games. If a higher return is what you are after, you will need to play some of the more expensive machines. Naturally, the risk there is that a bad streak can quickly deplete your bankroll in a way a penny slot would not.