Games are supposed to be fun. If players keep telling you that they would rather skip playing the game than engage with a particular game mechanic, it’s time to rethink that game mechanic.
Slot-machine mechanics are lazy game design. Randomness is one of many tools in a game designer’s toolbox, but Funcom likes it more than any other tools because it’s cheap and easy.
Did they implement the player-run shops when I wasn’t looking?