Why tribes’ games aren’t slot machines

People love to play the slots.

The gambling machines at American Indian-owned casinos in Snohomish County are among the region’s most popular ways to pass the time. The flashing lights and ringing bells of the machines transport local residents to Las Vegas, and there’s always a chance of winning big.

But they’re not really slot machines.

The tribes and state gambling supervisors call them “slot-style” machines. It may seem like a nit-picky distinction, but there’s a big difference between the slot machines in Las Vegas and other gambling hot spots and the slot-style machines in Washington state.

Slot machines, like those in Las Vegas, have a random number generator inside the machine, according to the Washington Indian Gaming Association. Winnings at each machine are solely based on that machine’s number generator.

Slot-style machines are electronic versions of scratch lottery tickets. All the slot-style machines are connected to a collective number generator. At the Tulalip Casino, Angel of the Winds Casino or other gambling halls in the state, playing the “slots” means playing against everyone sitting at a machine.

“They look similar to a slot machine, but you’re actually purchasing an electronic scratch ticket,” said Ernest Stebbins, executive director of the Washington Indian Gaming Association.

When tribes in Washington State first negotiated the right to open casinos, state officials said gambling machines should operate on the same basis as the state lottery system, Stebbins said.

That means there’s no difference between sitting at a slot-style machine in a local casino and standing at the counter at a convenience store to repeatedly purchase scratch lottery tickets. But convenience store clerks don’t ring bells when someone wins or ask gamblers if they’d like a cocktail.

Reporter Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422 or kkapralos@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

More in Local News

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
1 dead, 1 in hospital after 3-vehicle crash on Highway 9

A concrete pumping truck and two sedans crashed Monday afternoon, closing the highway near Bickford Avenue.

Moses Malachi Brewer appears in court for sentencing Friday, March 24, 2023, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Man sentenced to 18 years for 2019 shooting in Everett

Moses Brewer, 23, shot four people in an Everett apartment, which left one victim paralyzed on his right side.

Logo for news use, for stories regarding Washington state government — Olympia, the Legislature and state agencies. No caption necessary. 20220331
Health care spending continues to outpace inflation, driven by prices

Can state efforts curb 6.7% growth per year in overall health care spending?

NO CAPTION NECESSARY: Logo for the Cornfield Report by Jerry Cornfield. 20200112
A buffet of budgets, a bunch of whales and a request for your miles

It’s Day 78. Here’s what’s happening in the 2023 session of the Washington Legislature

Richard Rotter listens to witness testimony in his trial at the Snohomish County Courthouse in Everett, Washington on Monday, March 20, 2023. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
As prosecution rests, jury hears jail call after Everett cop killing

“Try to put a wild cat inside a cage? … See what happens,” said Richard Rotter, accused of killing officer Dan Rocha.

James Lewis
The month in public health: COVID hospitalizations near pandemic low

Meanwhile, the bad news: Opioid overdoses continue to increase in Snohomish County.

The new Arlington Everett Clinic on Monday, March 27, 2023 in Arlington, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Everett Clinic branches opening in north Snohomish County

A new specialty and surgical clinic opened Monday in Arlington, with another clinic coming soon in Marysville.

FILE - In this photo taken Oct. 2, 2018, semi-automatic rifles fill a wall at a gun shop in Lynnwood, Wash. Gov. Jay Inslee is joining state Attorney General Bob Ferguson to propose limits to magazine capacity and a ban on the sale of assault weapons. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
WA Senate panel OKs assault weapon ban, a day after Nashville shooting

Democrats overrode Republican objections, pushing the prohibition on many semiautomatic weapons a step closer to becoming law.

A standard jet fuel, left, burns with extensive smoke output while a sustainable avation fuel, right, produces less smoke during a demonstration of the difference in fuel emissions on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Paine Field unveils plan for new, more eco-friendly jet fuel center

The research and development center is a joint effort by Snohomish County and Washington State University.

Most Read