A narrow depression, perforation, or aperture; a hole for receiving something, such as the slot in a door. Also, the position or period of time that a particular activity takes place during a day or a schedule: She scheduled her haircut for the 2 p.m. slot.
A small opening in a device, such as a computer or typewriter that accepts paper. A slots can be used to store data or information. A person may also refer to a specific time slot as a deadline, for example: The deadline to register for the course was February 2.
The term slot can also refer to an area in a newspaper where a story is placed. A newspaper’s editorial staff may choose to assign specific slots for various topics or categories of stories, including the business section and sports section.
A popular belief among casino players is that a machine that hasn’t paid off in a while is due to hit soon. This belief is flawed because casino machines are programmed with different payback percentages and based on the number of people playing them, some will be more likely to win than others. However, this does not mean that a machine is “due” to pay; all machines have the same chance of winning each spin. In addition, casinos don’t alter their machines to payout more at certain times of the day because they want all customers to see winners. However, if you choose to play at night, it is possible that more machines will pay out because there are more people playing them.
