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Server Based Slots of the Future
prostoalex writes "The slot machines of the future won't be dumb one-armed bandits anymore, CNet reports. New generation of slot machines, to be deployed in major Vegas casinos, will feature server-based gaming with games, new features and, most important, the odds being downloaded from a central server location, not determined by internal machine algorithm any more."
Hasn't it? Harrahs black jack tables are computerized. You can see a CAT-6 cable running out of a computer under the table... They are obviously all going to one server. I'm sure it's the same with the slots there, too.
Could you plug your own cable in and pretend to be the server? Not that I want to face casino security, but it's an interesting scenario.
I am trolling
Hi, What about automatic day-trading in FX derivatives or equities with the collected monies of (say) each 100 players? In the short term this really would be pretty random, with the broker acting as "house" and guaranteed an income... Rgds Damon
http://m.earth.org.uk/
Ok. I've written much of the system code for one of the big three slot manufacturers' boxes and actually had to go through the NGCB (Nevada) and GLI (Jersey) submission procedures. They do in fact inspect some of the code in great detail, particularly the random number generator and the process of using it to extract the final reel positions. This (c++) code is perhaps 2-300 lines out of about 15k. There is NO way they could secure this amount of code. Any software guy with a year of experience could hack something in that would look totally innocuous. RAM based pointers in completely different modules come to mind (not that I've thought about it much :) ). The NGCB/GLI process is really just a way for them to get copies of the code and say they did *something* to make the casino ops get a fuzzy warm feeling. What really keeps the software guys in check is simple math. Go into a casino and start winning on ANYTHING consistently and you WILL eventually be caught. You can't drop a stick of gum in these places without being taped from at least 3 angles, and both the slot itself and the central system it's hooked up to keep a very long gamelog. If you're stupid enough to make the machine jackpot, now they have your name (required for tax purposes). So perhaps you could make a few loose thousand without getting noticed but wind up risking all future employability. In addition, if word of the cheat goes public, you've just damaged your employer's reputation, and they can go after your ass financially for lost credibility. I hate to bow to "the man" but some things just aren't worth it.
Slot machines are one of the very few computer applications that I'd trust the security of. There's too much money to be had in it, and any imperfection results in a loss of income for the casino, which translates to VERY BAD THINGS (both above and below the table) for the manufacturer. If they're lucky, they'll just lose business.
For e-voting, there are many interests all around that will cause poor coding... malicious coders, crooked people, cushy government funding and lax oversight, and the fact that if it just works "pretty good," the government doesn't immediately dump all your machines but rather, at best, sends out a lengthy court-run investigation.
For machines that make casinos loads of money on often as low as a 1% advantage, the slightest slipup can be devastating, so they're careful.
Now, if THESE are routinely cracked, I'll have lost all faith in any sort of computer security, ever.
-- I prefer the term "karma escort."