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John Grochowski Gaming Guru - Page 138  Global Gaming Expo, slots and table games27 November 2007
A couple of days before leaving for the annual Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, I was telling a colleague about some of the latest and greatest games I was looking forward to seeing.
There was already a buzz about WMS Gaming's Star Trek, I told him, with features that boldly go where no slot machine has gone before. ... (read more)
Chicago-Area Video Poker20 November 2007
Q. I'm about to lose my upper tier status on my player rewards card, and I think it's just because I've been in a losing streak. I go back and forth between quarter and dollar video poker. My budget is the same as it always was, but the money just doesn't seem to go as far. Is this just chance, or do you think there's something wrong with the machines?
A. ... (read more)
A Mystical Malfunction13 November 2007
On nearly every slot machine in nearly every casino, you'll see this phrase, or something similar: "Malfunction voids play."
Few of us ever run into a malfunction that makes a difference. I've been doing this for a couple of decades, and have never had a payoff voided by a malfunction.
At the Sandia ... (read more)
Progressions and volatility in gambling6 November 2007
When we talk "volatility" in casino games, we're often talking about electronic games. Reel-spinning slot machines concentrate more of their returns in fewer big wins than video slot machines, which bring more frequent small wins. The reel-spinners are more volatile.
Same deal in video poker. House edges ... (read more)
Doubling your money in one bet30 October 2007
Jack is a blackjack player I've run into a few times as I make my rounds at casinos in my area. He loves to talk the game, but he also knows I don't like to talk odds and strategy while I'm playing.
"It's almost lunch time," he said one day just as I'd been dealt my third consecutive 14. "Want to take a break?"
Sure, I said. ... (read more)
Blackjack Insider23 October 2007
Dr. Henry Tamburin has been one of my friends in the little community of gambling writers practically since the first time I typed the phrases "basic strategy" or "random number generator." When I was learning to play, his early books were among the first I pored over.
Tamburin has been around long enough ... (read more)
The Ultimate Blackjack Tour16 October 2007
Saturday afternoon, I was in my home office getting a little work done, when I heard my wife shout. "Hey! It's Anthony!"
In the living room, she'd turned to CBS, and the Ultimate Blackjack Tour, where the final hands were a showdown between Anthony Curtis and Blair Rodman. I've known Curtis for years --- ... (read more)
A shuffle through the gaming mailbag9 October 2007
Q. I went to the new Four Winds casino in Michigan, and found a video poker game that was really strange, and I mean that in a good way. It was called MultiPay Poker, and sometimes it paid more than the pay table said it should. I'd get three of a kind, which the pay table said paid 15 coins, and sometimes I'd be paid 15, but every once in a while I'd get 20. ... (read more)
Changes at the Ameristar East Chicago2 October 2007
In the beginning, there was Showboat Mardi Gras, which begat Harrah's Mardi Gras, which begat Harrah's East Chicago, which begat Resorts East Chicago, which soon will beget Ameristar East Chicago.
Far more than any other casino property within hailing distance of Chicago, the boat in East Chicago has seen ownership change and rebranding. ... (read more)
Does pressing the stop button affect the outcome of a spin?29 September 2007
I noticed on some multi-line video slot machines that you can stop the spin. Does stopping the spin affect the outcome? Or is the outcome predetermined?
Chet
Dear Chet,
The outcome is determined by numbers polled from the RNG. Stopping the spin only decreases the length of time that the reels spin. ... (read more)
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