The Casino Answer Man

I will soon be in my first tournament and I was wondering if there was any strategy involved other than just pulling the "arm" or hitting the buttons like you do when you play normally? Is it just the fastest person to hit the buttons on the lucky machine?

Laura

The most important thing in slot tournaments is to set the reels spinning as often as possible, giving yourself the maximum number of chances to accumulate points. The best method is to continually tap the max coins button, so that as soon as the reels stop spinning, you start 'em up again.

The continual tapping can be tiring on the wrist. When I play in slot tournaments, I switch hands every so often.

In most states, you play strictly for points. Cash prizes are awarded to the players with the most points. Players do not keep winnings at the machines, so promoters use a souped-up tournament chip that increases the frequency of winning combinations.

Tournaments are different in Illinois. The Illinois Gaming Board requires tournament play be for live money.

One of the gaming board's objections has to do with the tournament chip manufactured by IGT in Nevada. The chip has two settings -- one for tournament play and one for regular casino play. Board members don't want to risk a two-tier chip accidentally being switched to tournament mode during regular play.

Once manufacturers produce a single-mode tournament chip, maybe we'll finally see better tournaments in Illinois.

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