Casinos have a wide variety of game, and anyone who wants to gamble can find something that suits their playing personality.
That includes three-reel slots with mechanical reels. Over the last 20 years, they’ve been displaced by video slots as the most popular casino games, but three-reel slots still have their adherents.
One is Charlene, who responded when I asked reel slot fans for their stories about why they still liked the old-style games. She said she played video, too, but stuck to three-reel games when she was with her husband George and saved video play for when she was with friends.
“My husband never really regarded video slots as real gambling,” Charlene said. “He says, ‘We’re here to gamble. Let’s gamble.’”
Charlene is in her 60s, and was a slot player before the video slot era.
“Reel slots were all there were when we were young,” she said. “Those are the games we’re used to. We both hit some pretty nice jackpots on the reels and we’ve never won anything big on video.
“I think what really did it for George was the first time he played a video slot and bet something like 60 cents and got a winner that was only 20 cents. He thought that was just outrageous, that you could have a winner and still lose money.”
So George hasn’t played video slots since. Charlene does occasionally play video.
“When the weather is nice and George is out on the golf course a lot, a few of us women will have our own casino days and go spend time playing for pennies,” she said.” I have a good time. The bonuses are fun, and you do feel more like you’re playing a game than you do on the reel slots.
“But when George and I go, we’re there to gamble, not to play games. We’re well prepared for our retirement and can afford to play that way, and we have some big wins that pay for the times we lose a lot. On video, we wouldn’t lose so much but wouldn’t have the big wins either. So you take your pick.”
