A slot is an area in a machine that holds cash or, in ticket-in, ticket-out machines, a paper ticket with a barcode. When a player activates the machine by pressing a lever or button (either physical or on a touchscreen), the reels spin and, if they match a paytable symbol, the player earns credits based on that table’s payout ratio. Symbols vary by game, but classic examples include fruit and stylized lucky sevens.
In aviation, an airport slot is a scheduled time and place for an aircraft to take off or land at a congested airport. Air traffic controllers typically assign slots in order to manage congestion and flow through the airport. Airline companies may purchase and trade these slots as they see fit, and a single airport slot can be worth millions of dollars.
In computer science, a slot, also known as a device slot or expansion slot, is an engineering technique for adding capability to a computer by connecting it to another hardware component, such as a memory module or disk drive. A computer’s motherboard contains a number of closely-spaced holes that accept a variety of expansion cards. Each slot is assigned a unique ID and provides several signaling channels to communicate with the other components. This article uses the