Slot machine etiquette: the unwritten floor rules

Casino floors run on an unwritten contract: the machines are first-come, but the room works because most players follow conventions that keep friction low. None of this is in the posted rules — all of it matters when the floor is crowded.

Occupied vs. abandoned

• A credit balance on screen, a ticket or card in the machine, or personal items left on the chair mark a machine as taken — respect it.
• Short holds (a restroom break, a quick drink) are generally tolerated; extended holds on a busy night draw complaints and sometimes intervention.
• Playing two machines at once is a busy-floor foul — on a slow morning nobody cares, at peak hours it earns friction.
• If you find a ticket or card left behind, hand it to an attendant — slot systems can reunite vouchers and cards with their owners.

Personal space and screens

The hovering rule is simple: don't stand over someone's machine watching their play, and don't comment on their decisions, their bets or their wins. Celebration is welcome when invited; running commentary is not. On the flip side, if someone is clearly waiting for your bank of machines, a quick heads-up about how long you'll be is the classy move.

Handpays, attendants and tips

Wins at or above the federal reporting threshold — $2,000 on a single slot win since the 2025 law change — trigger a handpay: an attendant verifies the win, completes a W-2G, and pays by hand. Tipping the attendant is customary, not required; a small gratuity proportional to the payout is the convention. The machine itself does not 'know' a tip happened — none of this touches the math.

Etiquette aside, the money mechanics are documented: how the comp system rates your play, what happens tax-wise when a jackpot trips the W-2G line, and the timing myths that have nothing to do with courtesy.