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Gaming Guru  Size Does Matter11 May 2021
By Frank Scoblete I have five stores to which I go and all five sell lottery tickets; three stationary stores, a 7/11 and a liquor store (I want you to know that I only go in there for scientific purposes). I am not a big lottery player; I buy one ticket when the lottery gets to a half billion dollars. So you can see that I don’t play much. I enjoy watching people ferociously rubbing off their scratch-off tickets. Both men and women rub them for all the tickets are worth – which isn’t much in the long term as the house edge on such tickets makes slot machines look generous. Of course, when the BIG lotteries such as Powerball and Mega Millions get over the 200 million-dollar level, everyone comes out of the woodwork to bet it up. Some stores actually have lines of people waiting to buy tickets. And men seem to make up the majority of those people. I am not saying my perceptions of the man/woman percentages are actually scientifically accurate but this is what I am experiencing when I hit those stores during the BIG possible wins lotteries. Men tend to dominate the players when the monster jackpots are on the line. In casinos, some relatively small percentage of slot players will go after the big possible jackpots on progressive machines but these machines don’t seem to entrance the players as much as the BIG lotteries entrance them. Big possible jackpots are not necessarily best audience draws on the slot machines, although I must say even some of the smaller jackpots on stand-alone machines are actually quite large and they certainly do attract loyal players. Yet, something new has entered the casino over the past few years and that is – ta da! – big slot machines. No, not the Big Berthas that would stand alone in many casinos and attract some poor sucker every so often. No, the newer big machines are physically big, as in tall. But they are not much wider; they can fit right into the normal slot aisles. They go up; not out. Whoever came up with this idea was a genius. Going tall as opposed to going wide does not limit the number of slot machines a casino can employ. Instead, such designs attempt to play into the “bigger is better” concept that monetarily propels lotteries without the casinos having to offer more (or much more) jackpot money to attract players. [Please note: One of the truly weirdest big slot machines is titled The Titanic. Why anyone would want to play a machine that highlights an historic event that killed so many people is beyond me. Yes, there are machines that highlight the flesh-eating zombies of The Walking Dead but at least they are fictional…I hope.] Sometimes these big slot machines are put in small carousels where they are far more noticeable than they would be tucked in with other slot machines. Although tucking them in would not prevent them from sky-shaming the runty slot machines that shared the aisles with them. Still, positive placement might enhance the players’ desire to play them. Are players really playing such machines? After all, that’s the bottom line of everything a casino does. In the casinos where I play, I have noticed that the slot players do seem attracted to these big machines. I also see a lot more men playing them. I guess men have bought into the idea that “bigger is better,” even if that bigger is not necessarily in terms of the jackpots. You can get the normal range of games on the big machines; cartoons, movies, television shows and the like. I liked the Tarzan machine because I love the real Tarzan of the book. [Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs is a great book and nothing like any of the movies made about the character. The book is adventure, a great love story and a lead character that is truly amazing. I encourage you to read the book.] It’s the bigness of the machines that truly attracts and warrants the attention of slot players. Sitting at one of those machines makes you a part of something large and I wonder if some players don’t think of themselves as larger because they are playing such machines. “Ah, Martha, look at all those peasants down there. They look just like ants. I can crush them between my fingers.” Our daily lives can show us that bigger is better. Manhattan would not be so popular if it did not have such towering skyscrapers. Just ask King Kong! That gorilla knew he wanted to be at the top of the world. Slot players might want that too. Of course, machines can only go so high in most casinos. Yes, casino ceilings are somewhat high but they do limit how far up a slot machine can go. There may come a time when the entire casino is composed of ceiling-scrapping machines; a Manhattan of mechanical monsters. I wonder if such a thing happened, would the casinos be making more money because of such height. All the best in and out of the casinos! Frank Scoblete’s web site is www.frankscoblete.com. His books are available at smile.Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, kindle, e-books and at bookstores. This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network. Melissa A. Kaplan is the network's managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press, the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network. To contact Frank, please e-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net. Are Casino Players Insane?4 May 2021
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.” This quote, or some version of it, has been credited to Albert Einstein. Whether Einstein said this or not, the concept seems to hold water. Why would anyone who is sane keep doing the same thing “over and over again” without seeing some change, hopefully for the better. ... (read more)
Sometimes It Is Best to Surrender27 April 2021
In the glory days of blackjack, and maybe even in some casinos today (maybe in the remote hinterlands), there was an option called “surrender.” If you didn’t like your hand you could give up half your bet. This was an excellent option if used correctly. If you were saddled with a 16 and the dealer showed a ... (read more)
Flat Betting20 April 2021
Scratch casino players and you will get a load of betting strategies. Some of the players will be positive progressive bettors, a few will be negative or regressive bettors, some will be haphazard bettors just throwing out bets hither and yon of different sizes, perhaps at a multitude of different games. ... (read more)
Ask Frank: Spanish 21 StrategyHello there, Living in Canada, I find that the rules are more liberal here than at other casino locales, such as the dealer standing on all 17s for Spanish Blackjack. In your book, Armada Strategies for Spanish 21, there is only a strategy for when the dealer hits soft 17... (read more)Ask Frank (Playing Winning Craps)Dear Mr. Scoblete: In your book Forever Craps, you recommend to play one Don't Come bet per shooter without odds in order to reduce your exposure to the house. I usually play at casinos that count the spread and odds. If I play one ... (read more)Bad Ways to Play Good Casino GamesYou've met this guy before. He's cantankerous, witless, and loud. He knows everything about everything when it comes to casino games. He's a self-made expert who knows more than all writers and mathematicians combined, and as he doubles on his thirteen against the dealer's ... (read more)The Craps to English DictionaryCraps is another country, a kingdom with its own mores, legends, myths, rites, rituals, superstitions and government. It also has its own language, much of it easily misunderstood as sexual or scatological references. For those of you interested in journeying to this other ... (read more)Craps Crap and Craps Gold - Part 1What do the following sayings have in common? "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." "Better late than never." "High fences make good neighbors." "Always play the Pass/Come and take full odds." Answer: The above statements are true. Yes, some people might quibble and say that you can eat as ... (read more)Frank Scoblete |
Frank Scoblete |
