A narrow opening, elongated depression, groove, or notch, often used to admit something, as a coin or a letter. Also used in a figurative sense to refer to a position in a sequence or series: The program got a new time slot on the broadcasting schedule.
A device that accepts money or other valuables and pays out winning combinations of symbols when activated. Casinos offer a wide variety of slot games, including online slots and live casinos. Understanding how slots work and what your odds are from one slot to the next can help you play smarter and win more money.
In BigQuery, a slot represents virtual CPUs that are available to execute your queries. Access to more slots allows you to run more concurrent queries, and your complex queries can run faster. BigQuery uses a capacity-based pricing model, where you purchase a commitment for a certain number of slots and pay for that capacity continuously every second it is deployed.
The first slot machine was invented by Charles August Fey in 1894. Unlike modern video machines that are programmed to select various patterns of symbols when activated, the original slot machine paid out winnings in coins, allowing patrons to make multiple wagers in quick succession. The machines quickly became popular in saloons, but the forces of morality and public policy soon drove them out. By the 1930s, they were virtually prohibited outside Nevada, which relegalized them in 1951.