I repeat - Bluejay is talking about land-based slots in Vegas. That does not make them any more fair than other slots elsewhere - just that they meet Nevada standards.
Also, he is correct in saying a slot is never due. Even under the scenario I described, it does not make a slot any more due - otherwise there would have to be a point (in theory) where a slot MUST pay off in order to meet its published or unpublished odds. That is what a fruit machine in the UK would do.
Any variance in odds of hitting the jackpot would still be very limited - it would never go from say 10 million to 1 to 1 million to 1. It might, however, slide from 10 million to 9 million over a fairly lengthy period of time. There obviously has to be some sort of limit on how much variance in odds there could possibly be.
Now - if one person is playing the slots, and no one else, obviously his odds would remain quite long and the jackpot might last forever - it's the increase in the number of people playing, and subsequently the amount of chances generated, which will eventually crack a jackpot under the right circumstances. This is the same under any normal scenario.
Anyway, back to the point - Michael Bluejay is talking about land-based slots. I am not aware that he has any direct experience with online slots - however, the Wiz does have experience analyzing online slots for sure - so he would be the best person to put this question to for an informed answer.
Me, I'm just offering my opinion. And by "watching slots", I mean watching progressive slots, ever since they evolved on the Net starting with CashSplash. However, as you say, to be conclusive, you would need statistical analysis - which I don't have, which is why I say it's my opinion, and not stating that anything is fact
Near misses - I was actually referring to three-reel slots
I haven't heard anything about a 5-reel slot being programmed for near misses - and it doesn't always take a blank to cause a near miss