A coin hopper is a container where the coins that are immediately available for payouts are held. The hopper is a mechanical device that rotates coins into the coin tray when a player collects his credits/coins (by pressing a "Cash Out" button). When a certain preset coin capacity is reached, a coin diverter automatically redirects, or "drops", excess coin into a "drop bucket" or "drop box".

A drop bucket or drop box is a container located in a slot machine's base where excess coins are diverted from the hopper. Typically, a drop bucket is used for low denomination slot machines and a drop box is used for high denomination slot machines. A drop box contains a hinged lid with one or more locks whereas a drop bucket does not contain a lid. The contents of drop buckets and drop boxes are collected and counted by the casino on a scheduled basis.

Shortpay refers to a payout made by a slot machine, less than the amount indicated by the payout schedule. Occurs when the coin hopper becomes depleted during a payout and the remaining amount is paid to the player by a hand pay.

Hand Pay is when the slot attendant or cage gives the player a cash payout, rather than the actual slot machine paying out from the coin hopper. A hand pay may be automatically requested by the slot machine if the total credits on the machine is greater than a certain number of coins (typically 1,000).

A hopper fill slip is a document used to record the replenishments of the coin in the coin hopper which are required as a result of payouts to players. The slip indicates the amount of coin placed into the hoppers, as well as the signatures of the employees involved in the transaction, the slot machine number and the location and the date.

Weight count is an American casino term, refering to the dollar amount of coins or tokens removed from a slot machine's drop bucket or drop box and counted by the caino's hard count team through the use of a weigh scale.

Optimal play is a payback percentage based on a gambler using the optimal strategy in a skill-based slot machine game.

The Theoretical Hold Worksheet is a worksheet provided by the manufacturer for all slot machines which indicates the theoretical percentage that the slot machine should hold based on adequate levels of coin-in. The worksheet also indicates the reel strip settings, number of coins that may be played, the payout schedule, the number of reels and other information descriptive of the particular type of slot machine.