Say Goodbye

To Tokens

Slot machines at Mohegan Sun casino will no longer accept tokens. The tokens, designed with tribal themes, came in five denominations from $1 to $100. Tokens worth $10 and up used silver with gold-plating. Tokens can still be redeemed through the summer, casino officials said.

Plastic buckets full of dollar tokens and slot machines spitting out streams of coins after a jackpot have become nostalgia at Mohegan Sun.

Starting today, only paper -- either currency or casino-issued tickets -- will go into the casino's 6,000 slot machines. To collect winnings -- or cut losses -- gamblers need only take their tickets to a cashier's window or a device that operates much like an automated teller machine.

Oh, the sound gamblers love to hear -- coins tumbling into the collection tray -- is still there. A computer chip provides an electronic refrain, and the casino can control the volume to match the noise of the crowd.

Tokens are going the way of another sensory experience long associated with slots, the big pull handles. But several slot players on a recent afternoon weren't sentimental about the loss.

"Some of the old people can't carry the coins," said Dennis Maloney of Cranston, R.I., as he played slots at Mohegan Sun on a recent afternoon. "It's easier. It's quicker."

The retiree with a thick crop of white hair added with a smile: "It's good for the house because they get their money quicker. Everything is fast -- like the Internet."

One gambler described her pleasure with the elimination of coins in four words: "Jingle, Jingle. Dirty, Dirty."

Casino officials said that dealing with literally tons of coins each day was a costly logistical problem.

"One of the most laborious jobs in casinos -- and this goes back decades to when casinos started in the '40s and '50s -- is the handling of coins. They're heavy, they're bulky, they're dirty and cumbersome to count," said Frank Neborsky, vice president of slot operations for Mohegan Sun.

Many casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City have eliminated coins in recent years -- a strategy that was once scoffed at out of fear that players would rebel. Foxwoods Resort Casino, just a few miles from Mohegan Sun, is finishing the process of going coin-free, as well.

Known as "ticket-in, ticket-out," the coin-free system works when a player feeds paper currency into a slot machine. When the gambler is ready to move on, the machine issues a ticket that's worth whatever money has not been wagered plus any winnings accrued. The ticket can be inserted into another slot machine or redeemed at a kiosk or cashier's window.

The decision to dump coins was influenced partly by the kind of slot machines people like best. Slot machines are no longer a simple matter of pressing a button and waiting for cherries or lemons to align. New slot machines allow dozens of betting options per play.

That has encouraged a proliferation of nickel, penny and even half-penny slot machines. The low stakes allow dozens of different betting plays for a cumulative layout of only a few dollars. The Mohegan Sun went from a few hundred low-denomination machines in 2003 to more than 2,000 today.

But for casinos, paying out jackpots in pennies or nickels was a logistical nightmare.

"It put a huge burden on casinos to increase their staff to keep up with the demand," said Ed Rogich, vice president of marketing for International Game Technology, one of the country's largest slot machine companies. "The perfect answer was the ticket system."

Players say the allure of nickel or penny machines is longer playing time. But that doesn't necessarily mean people bet less per visit.

Jay Riotte of Niantic was playing a nickel machine Friday as he waited for his wife. With each spin he bet 45 nickels -- or $2.25.

A few machine away, Dorothy Griffin, a retired secretary from Willimantic, had a similar strategy as she played a penny machine. She placed several bets, giving her more chances to win.

"You can spend a lot of money on pennies. It just takes a little longer," she said.

The low-denomination machines are set to favor the house more than higher priced machines. Mohegan Sun's monthly slots report shows the casino makes almost 15 cents on every dollar bet on a half-penny machine. But it makes less than 3 cents on each dollar bet on a $100 machine.

Neborsky said casinos work on a simple principle: A player gets more of a reward for taking a larger risk. But people like the penny or nickel slots because they win more regularly by placing a myriad of smaller bets, and they're not left feeling they blew their budget in a few minutes.

As Mohegan Sun phased in coin-free slots over the past two years, it reduced its staff dedicated to slots by 20 percent. At the same time, the casino was able to shut down several change windows and free up space for more machines.

The casino also said there was a workplace safety benefit: Bags of coins are heavy to lift and dangerous if dropped.

Contact Mark Peters at mrpeters@courant.com.