A narrow opening or slit, especially one for receiving something, as a coin or a piece of paper. Also: A slit or groove cut in wood or metal for receiving a key, or the like. (journalism) The job or position of chief copy editor: He has been in the slot at the Gazette for 20 years.
A position in a series or sequence, or an allotment of time or space: a delivery slot; a time-window for a flight, or a time slot for a radio transmission. (ornithology) A narrow notch or other opening between the tips of the primaries on the wings of some birds, used to help maintain a steady flow of air over the wings during flight. (sports) An unmarked area in front of an opponent’s goal that affords a vantage point for an attacking player in ice hockey.
A slot is a device in which a coin or other item can be placed, either manually by pressing a button or handle, or automatically by computer control. Slot machines work by using a random number generator to assign a unique combination of numbers to each stop on the reels. When a machine receives a signal — anything from a button being pressed to the handle being pulled — the computer then sets that particular number and spins the reels to that stop. This process is repeated countless times per second, and the odds of hitting any given combination are essentially random. This randomness has two practical effects for slot players: (1) It is nearly impossible to win a jackpot just because someone else did so earlier: the odds of hitting the same combination at that exact one-hundredth of a second are incredibly minute. (2) It is a good idea to avoid getting greedy and betting more than you can afford to lose, since the odds of losing are equally minute.