I’ve been trying to answer the question, “Why are slot hold percentages generally increasing” and have come to the conclusion that player preference for high-hold, low-denom games is a major factor. Finishing up a paper on the question, I thought I’d share some raw data:

Between 2000 and 2003, the Gaming Control Board didn’t list pennies as a separate denom because there weren’t enough of them. Ditto for multi-denoms in 2001/02.

In this chart, I compared win per unit for all statewide slots by denom. This is a better index for player preference than straight revenues, because it gives an idea of how popular each individual machine is. If you’re a slot manager, you generally want more machines that have a higher win per unit on your floor. Naturally, you’re not going to put in all penny slots (even though they are the most profitable) because some players prefer other denoms. But the slot floor denom mix is highly variable: in 2000, nearly half of all Nevada casino slots were quarters; today, just over one tenth are. So these numbers are important.

The shorthand version is that pennies have fallen to about 2005 numbers, while nickels are back to 2003, quarters to 2004, and dollars to 2000. Multi-denom slots are back to 2003 levels, give or take.

So it seems that, despite the fact that the pennies have an average hold of over 10% while dollars are near 5%, pennies are more popular than dollar machines (and all other machines). Slot gamblers are essentially paying twice as much to play pennies than they would dollars, and their popularity doesn’t seem to be slowing down. In both real and proportional terms, pennies have lost less ground than all other denominations.

Of course, it’s possible that players turned off by high holds have stopped playing Nevada slot machines altogether, since all slot numbers are down. Dollar slots, though, lost far more ground than pennies. In 2009, penny slots dethroned dollars for the “highest win per unit” crown. It’s a historic change, since dollars had long ruled the roost.

It seems clear that, while they search for bargain room rates and trim their gambling budgets, most players aren’t looking for any advantage when it comes to actual slot play.