Ask the Slot Expert: You're just too darn loud. Why are slots turned up to 11?

Question: I have enjoyed reading your columns for almost as long as you have been writing them, and I appreciate your efforts to establish more non-smoking areas in Nevada casinos. I recently have dramatically decreased the number and duration of my trips to Las Vegas, and the reeking of smoke in most of its casinos is foremost among the many reasons for the reduction in my visits. While those of us in the northeast have largely been spared the nuisance of smoke in our gaming areas, there's another nuisance we haven't been able to escape. Like smoking, it's also deleterious to health and annoying to many people.

I speak of noise, usually in the form of overly loud music that is shrill and often competes with other loud sound sources to create a cacophony. The worst of this used to be confined to evenings and weekends, but I now find it difficult to find reasonable sound levels even on weekday mornings in many casinos. I have taken to wearing ear plugs in many cases, but I worry that these decrease my situational awareness in an environment in which I should remain always vigilant. And in some cases, the sound level is uncomfortable even while I am wearing ear plugs.

I wonder if casinos base their ambient sound settings on any scientific studies or consumer feedback. If you can shed any light on why casinos feel they need to keep their ambient sounds at unbearable levels at all times, I'd love to hear from you on this subject.

Answer: And to think that it wasn't that long ago that operators were concerned that the switch to tickets and the subsequent loss of the sound of coins hitting the tray would make the slot floor too quiet. Players wouldn't hear the sound of money and be motivated to play.

So manufacturers added a synthetic sound of clanging coins when players cashed out. Today, you can barely hear that sound because of all the other sounds slots make. In addition, everybody used to look when they heard "Wheel of Fortune," but now it's drowned out by all the other noise.

I can relate to your noise complaint. I think many players don't realize that most machines let the player control the volume level. I once saw (and heard) a player playing a machine at what I considered to be an uncomfortably loud level -- and I was a few feet away.

When Jean Scott still lived in Las Vegas, I was playing with her and her posse at The Palms. We all commented that a slot near us was way too loud.

Whenever someone left the machine, I went to it and turned down the volume. The volume was back at jet engine level when the next person played. The machine must have gone back to its default setting after being idle for a while.

I like having sound on slot machines I'm playing. Years ago, the Westgate (or LVH or whatever it was called at the time) moved a machine I particularly liked from the front of the casino to the middle. Something happened to the sound during the move.

I pressed the Service button and eventually a slot tech came by to take a look. He futzed around in the machine for a few minutes. He said, "I'm going to get this to work again." He eventually found the problem and I was back playing with sound. I was always said hello to him whenever I saw him.

I don't know why some casinos turn off the sound on some machines. One casino likes to turn off the sound on their few high-paying video poker machines. When I hit a Royal on one of them, I asked the attendant who paid me why the sound was off. He checked the configuration menu and turned the sound on.

When I played the machine a few days later, it was silent again.

I like playing the machines in a cluster of Egyptian-themed machines. For some reason, one of the machines has no sound. The menu lets you choose one of three sound schemes, control the volume, or turn off the sound. No matter what I choose, the machine was silent. Nevertheless, I play it more often than the others because it frequently has the highest Major jackpot value. I'll sacrifice the sound for a long shot chance at a few extra bucks.

I saw (and didn't hear) the dumbest example of a silent slot a long time ago in a casino far, far away in Atlantic City. The first Michael Jackson slot had just come out. The bonus round featured MJ singing one of his megahits. There was no sound on this machine. The manufacturer must have paid a fortune to license the songs for the game, they were the big attraction in the bonus round, and players couldn't hear them.

One group of video poker machines I play is near installations of Mo' Mo' Mo' Mummy and some version of Planet Moolah.

Actually, my video poker machines are not that close, but the volume is so loud on the Mummy and Moolah machines that I can tell when players hit a bonus on them.

I don't mind that noise pollution much because I enjoy playing those machines and I like living vicariously through the other players' play.

Two sounds bother me, though. I find the sound from Caveman Keno very annoying. And I'm tempted to tell video poker players that they don't have to press the Max Bet button and generate that five-note salute on every hand. They can just press Deal and get right to the game. After a minute or so, I usually tune out these noises.

OSHA regulates the noise level on gaming floors. I suspect casinos go close to the limit on the main gaming floor. If the casino exceeds certain levels, it has to start providing free hearing tests and free hearing protection.

My criterion for the excessive loudness in a casino: If I can only hear snippets of the background music, the machines are too loud..

I don't know what kind of ear plugs you're using. I suggest you look into concert ear plugs. These are designed to drop the volume evenly across all frequencies and not cut you off completely from the sounds around you. They're not as cheap as the bucket of 600 pairs of foam ear plugs I found online for $80, but $20 to $80 for a pair will let you maintain your situational awareness.

I'll address your comment about smoke in casinos next week.

If you would like to see more non-smoking areas on slot floors in Las Vegas, please sign my petition on change.org.

Send your slot and video poker questions to John Robison, Slot Expert™, at slotexpert@slotexpert.com.

Copyright © John Robison. Slot Expert and Ask the Slot Expert are trademarks of John Robison.

Send your slot and video poker questions to John Robison, Slot Expert™, at slotexpert@slotexpert.com. Because of the volume of mail I receive, I regret that I can't reply to every question.

Copyright © John Robison. Slot Expert and Ask the Slot Expert are trademarks of John Robison.