A narrow depression, notch, groove, or opening, especially one for receiving or admitting something, as a keyway in a machine or a slit for coins in a vending machine. A position within a series or sequence, as in the schedule of a television show. Also, a specific time period, as in He got the 2pm slot.
In a slot machine, a player inserts cash or, in “ticket-in, ticket-out” machines, a paper ticket with a barcode into a designated slot. The machine then activates reels that spin and stop to rearrange symbols, which award credits according to the paytable. Symbols vary by machine, but classic symbols include fruits, bells, and stylized lucky sevens. Most slot games have a theme, and the symbols and bonus features align with that theme.
Casinos have a wide variety of slot machines that differ by size, style, themes, and payouts. Some slots are progressive, allowing players to accumulate winnings that build up to a large jackpot. Others have special wilds that substitute for other symbols and can unlock bonus levels or free spin bonuses. Still, other slots have a fixed cashout amount that players can win regardless of their betting level.
When a bot receives an utterance, it identifies the slots mentioned in that utterance and maps them to entities that will process those slots. For example, in the utterance, “I want to book two executive rooms for three nights starting tomorrow,” the bot will identify the slots of “rooms required” and “three nights”. These are mapped to built-in slot types. If the bot wants to match another kind of information, it must create a custom slot type.