There are basically 4 commonly available types of gaming machines for home use.  They are:

1.  Video poker
2.  Reel Slots
3.  Video Slots
4.  8-liners

Some of these may even include both video slots and video poker, these are called multi-game machines.
I will briefly describe the 4 main types.

Video Poker

These are very popular in the casinos and if played correctly have a very high payback percentage if 
played properly.  Casinos will tweak the middle payouts to vary this percentage.  If you have one at home
you can set these percentages too.  The most popular machines here are the IGT Player's Edge Plus.  For
home use you will typically pay $1,500.00 to $2,000.00 for a "reconditioned" upright unit, and around $1,000.00
or so for a slant top (sit down type).  The Player's edge plus can be either a single game or a Multi-Game.  All
Player's Edge Plus machines can be upgraded to Multi-Game, though it may require the purchase of a "Super Board"
Typically sold on ebay in the $50 range, plus any of 3 different game sets.  The Multi-Game in this case are only
different versions of poker and do not have slot games on them. These machines have
monitors to display the game and have various degrees of image burn-in.  This is a result of having the
same image displayed for prolonged periods of time and is just a fact of life with older CRT based games.
The newer LCD based games do not suffer from this malady.

Reel Slots

These by far used to occupy most of the gaming floor in Casinos in Nevada, and in some cases still do, but more
and more the Video slots are taking over.  This is the good old fashioned 3 reel-pull the handle and hope it
lands on a winner type slot, though there are slots with as many as 5 reels available.  There are tree different
kinds of technlogies used in these machines.

1.  Mechanical - These are the antiques and are typically more than 35 years old.  THese where the pioneers in our
hoby and these machines in good condition can fetch several thousand dollars.  They were all mechanical, no computer,
electric contacts or lights (well maybe a few had lights). Odds on these machines are set by number of physical 
symbols on the reel.

2.  Electromechanical - Bally in the mid 60's manufactured a machine that had a series of actuators and switches to
control the machine.  It was a revolution in gaming, as this machines had top payouts of up to 300 coins!!!  These 
machines are legal in states that require machines older than 25 years.  These machines are a nightmare to fix, but
when they work, they will work forever (well maybe not forever, but a LOOOONG time).  The typicall sell price for these
range between $600 to $1900.00.  The odds on these machines is based on the reel, so the more symbols on the physical reel,
the more the actual combinations.

3.  Electronic -  These are the modern machines you see in the casinos today.  The machine is controlled by a computer
and it decides wether you win or loose on a spin.  Everything else is just for show.  The reels stop where the
computer tells them to stop. These machines introduced the virtual reel, where any one symbol on the reel can have
more than one stop assigned to it. This was revolutionary as now you could have combinations in the hundreds of thousands.
Top Jackpots grew from the several hundred to several thousands, another big revolution in casinos. The most common type 
seen for home use is the IGT S+.  These machines were all the rage in the casinos thoughout the late 80's and most of 
the 90's.  Most have now been retired and replaced by the newer S2000 model and of course video slots.  These can
be had for a reasonable price ranging between $500.00 to $1,300.00 depending on what game it has, where you buy it,
and what features it has.  Other brands available are Bally (Pro slot), Williams, Sigma (this company is no longer 
around, so if you get one of these, make sure you stock up on replacement parts), Aristocat (rarely seen for sale).
There are some that have a Bonus game in the top box that gets triggered by a special winning combination.  Williams
are popular here with their dot-matrix bonus display on the top box like jackpot party, Stampede, Piggy Banking, 
X-Factor(around $500 to $1,100).  IGT has the Vision series which has an LCD on the top box for the bonus game. 
IGT also partnered with Barcrest games (a uk gaming company) with top boxes made by barcrest, and another company 
called anchor games.  THese last batch of IGT machines can be hand for around $1,400 to $2,500.00 or more depending 
on the dealer/game.  Again, these are no longer manufactured, so stock up on parts.

Video Slots

These are now the contemporary slots that are flooding the floors in the casino.  They originated in Australia and now
incorporate up to 25 paylines (maybe even more now) and you can now bet up to 10 to 20 coins per payline.  I've seen 
machines with Play 400 coins per spin!!! (it wouldn't surprise me if there was a machine with 1000 coins per play).  
Most of the games incorporate a BONUS round that is triggered by special winning combinations.  In the bonus round
the player will choose different options and those choices will reward with credits, free spins, other choices, etc.
For the home market the Williams machines are popular.  IGT makes the IGames (Gameking), and bally has their EVO platform.
These games represent what is on the casinos at the moment and thus fetch a higher price, typically in the $2000+ range.
THey have touchscreens and color monitors (some even have flat panel LCD screens) and very enganging game play.



Multi-game types.

These are video machines that have more than one game.  They include video poker, blackjack, slots, and keno.  Most 
popular for home use are the Bally Game Maker and the IGT Multi-Game Gameking.  These are typically in the $2,000+ range.
Great games if you your bankroll can afford one.

If you are ready to go get one click here and read on.