Advantage-play slots and other things

17 March 2015

By Frank Scoblete

FROM NEIL: Frank, excellent column, excellent advice about doing things other than gambling in casino towns. I'll take in an afternoon show, such as Mac King — highly recommended for all ages.

I take my friends to Mt. Charleston, Valley of Fire, Red Rock, Fry's Dept. store/Silverton/Bass Pro Shop, the Peppermill and any other hole-in-the-wall casino or restaurant I find to be interesting. The West Grand Canyon can be driven to in 2.5 hours from Vegas.

I wish I had a buddy such as yours (Jerry “Stickman”) to do the early-morning routine, but most of the friends I get together with are amateurs, not that I'm an expert by any means. I try to give them an outline of the games, chiefly, Craps/VP/Let It Ride; the rules, make sure they've joined the slot club of any/all casinos we go to.

I mostly stay downtown at the Main Street Station; although the buffet has taken a hit the past couple of years, the beer/sushi in the Triple Seven, more than make up for that for me. I am attempting to see if I can get out there.

Thanks for your level-headed columns.

FRANK RESPONDS: It looks to me as if you have your casino visits done the right way. By mixing in other activities you can have a full experience. I have seen too many bleary gamblers not even remembering what they have done for their casino “adventure.” If you can’t remember it, what is the point of it?

For your e-mail, I am sending you a copy of my book “The Virgin Kiss.”


FROM JOSEPH: You close one of your columns with this: "There are no machines where players can get a real edge at the game. In the last few issues I have shown just what machines a player can actually beat. These are generally grouped under the heading ‘banking machines.’ At certain points in the banking process the machines will start to pay more out than they take in. At these points if you jump in to play the machine you will have an edge. You can also find these machines in my book ‘Slots Conquest: How to Beat the Slot Machines.’"

Come on, if you actually knew which machines could be beaten, you would play them and retire wealthy. Instead, you toss this self-serving paragraph out there hoping to sell more books. Not a good look, Frank.

FRANK RESPONDS: The problems with these banking machines are multiple. Most are not in a positive mode most of the time. So you have to wait until they are which means other players have to pump in enough money to get the machines into positive mode. Another problem is that most casinos probably don’t have any or they might have one or two.

The payouts, as I show in my book, are not going to make anyone rich. Most of the machines are in the quarter realm with payouts that are good, but nowhere near enough to make the player roll in the dough.

I think even if someone wanted to play these machines full time, retiring wealthy is just a dream. If you find the machines in a positive mode, you will have the edge.

As for selling my books? Come on, I know of no authors who do not want to get their books read.

For your e-mail, I am sending you a free copy of my book “The Virgin Kiss.”


Frank Scoblete’s newest books are “I Am a Card Counter: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Blackjack” and “Confessions of a Wayward Catholic.”