A slot is a thin opening or groove in something. You can put mail and postcards through a slot in a mailbox, and you can place bets on a slot machine.
The slots on a slot machine are used to hold the winning combinations of symbols and can also be used to trigger bonus features. These bonus features can vary, but they usually include free spins, jackpot amounts, sticky wilds, and re-spins. The pay table of a slot will explain the rules for these bonus features in a clear and easy-to-understand way.
There are several different elements to a slot pay table, including the game rules, how to land a win, the number of paylines, potential payouts, betting requirements, RTP, and more. These pay tables are often accessed by clicking an icon near the bottom of the slot screen. It never fails to amaze us how many players dive right into a slot without ever checking its pay table!
In the context of airport coordination, a slot is an authorization to take off or land at a specific time during a busy period. This authorization is issued by an air traffic control coordinator, and it’s an essential tool to manage air traffic at extremely busy airports and prevent repeated delays caused by too many flights trying to take off or land at the same time. A slot is not to be confused with an air traffic clearance or similar authorization, which are governed by different rules and processes.