Cash Tickets

Another solution to the coin-handling problem is the use of cash tickets. When you cash out, instead of dumping a bunch of coins into the tray, the machine spits out a printed ticket. You may then bring the ticket to a cashier and convert it into real money, which is more convenient than toting around a bucket of nickels or quarters.

For the casinos, the advantages are even greater. They no longer have to employ all the people who spent much of their time filling and emptying coin hoppers and spent the rest of their time keeping records on where the coins went. The lines at cashier cages move faster because buckets of coins don’t have to be counted, and there aren’t any jammed coin counters holding everybody up. Oh yes, the casinos do love the tickets.

The newest generation of cash ticket can be inserted into another slot machine as though it was real currency. These tickets have a printed bar code (see illustration) that the machine can read to register the appropriate number of credits. Although the tickets look as if they are easily reproducible with a copy machine, don’t try it. Each one contains a unique numeric security code. Any attempt to use or cash a second ticket with the same code will set off alarms.

This completely coinless system is prevalent in tribal casinos and by all means in online casinos, and numerous other casinos are installing it as well. When The Palms in Las Vegas opened its doors in 2001, all of its slot machines had cash ticket capability. Clearly, the use of cash tickets is rapidly spreading.