A narrow notch, groove, or opening, such as a keyway in a piece of machinery or a slit for a coin in a vending machine. Also: a position in a group, series, or sequence.
A slot is a container that can hold dynamic items in ATG, including both a scenario and a content item (for example, a media image). Slots work together with scenarios and renderers to deliver content to the page. They can either wait for content to be added to them (passive slots) or they can call out for it using an Add Items to Slot action or a targeter. Slots and scenarios can be used to feed dynamic items into offer management panels and other components in the Service Center.
In a slot game, players insert cash or, in “ticket-in, ticket-out” machines, paper tickets with barcodes that have been validated by the machine, and then activate reels that rearrange symbols into combinations. The machine then pays out credits based on the pay table and the symbols in play. Symbols vary by machine, but classic symbols include objects such as fruits, bells, and stylized lucky sevens. Many slots have a theme, and bonus features are often aligned with the theme.
Several types of slot games are available, ranging from the traditional mechanical 3-reel games to video and internet-based versions. Most of these games require a minimum bet to be paid out, and winning is achieved when the symbols line up on the payline. Some slots also have a skill stop button that lets players manually control the reels.
An airport slot is the time during which a specific airline may fly to or from an airport, typically limited by the number of available gates and runway capacity. Airline schedules are usually planned well in advance, and airlines can often buy and sell slots if their plans change. Slots are particularly valuable in congested airports where additional capacity is needed and are sometimes traded for substantial sums of money. For example, one airline bought two London Heathrow slots for $75 million in 2016. A slot is also a term for a position in an organization or hierarchy. For example, a senior manager is in the “slot” of a project team.