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Ask the Slot Expert: A ticket too large

My luck had changed the past week, so I started off with a sizable ticket when I sat down to play NSU at Suncoast. This machine continued to make amends for the stinginess of most of the NSU machines I've played during the summer and fall. In addition to my fair share (probably more than my fair share) of premium hands, I also got a set of deuces. A little late according to the averages, but always welcome whenever it hits. It's so disappointing when you get a set of deuces and the machine just turns around and takes it all back. Because this machine was being kind to me, I was able to hold onto my deuces winnings and then some. I cashed out a ticket for just over $3000.

I used to redeem tickets before leaving the casino. I didn't want to lose a ticket. I had envelopes filled with singles, fives and twenties. Every once in a while I took the bills to the cage to "color up".

After playing with Jean Scott for a while, I saw that she didn't always redeem her tickets at the end of the day. She saved them for the next visit, which was usually not too far away. I switched to redeeming my tickets only when they were big or I wasn't planning on visiting the casino again soon -- or I needed the money to play in a different casino.

I figured I would use this ticket when I did my tour of slot machines after playing video poker. I sat down at my favorite Quick Hit Blitz machine and put the ticket in the bill acceptor. The machine thought for a little while and then returned the ticket. I took a close look at the ticket. The bar code looked good. It should work. I put the ticket back in the acceptor. After a few seconds, the machine spat out the ticket again.

Finally I realized what was going on. My ticket was too large. Nevada Technical Standard 2.050 (Credit play requirements).1 says that the maximum number of credits you can put on a machine using coin or currency is $3000. My ticket was $16 and change over the maximum.

No problem. I'll just redeem the ticket at a kiosk. Right after I inserted the ticket in the kiosk's bill acceptor, I saw a notice on the machine that looked like someone made it on a Brother P-Touch Label Maker: The maximum ticket that can be redeemed is $2999.99. The screen displayed a message saying that I needed to take the ticket to the cashier for redemption and the machine returned the ticket to me.

Actually, I was 99.99% certain that I was not going to be able to redeem the ticket at a kiosk. I learned that there was a limit on ticket amount at kiosks at Red Rock the first time I scored a hat trick on sets of deuces. The ticket was over $3000 and the kiosk at Red Rock told me to take it the cage. I don't recall ever seeing a regulation limiting the ticket amount that can be redeemed at a kiosk, so I thought maybe Suncoast would allow a larger ticket. Nope.

Actually, Suncoast's procedures for large ticket redemption are more elaborate than Red Rock's, at least for tickets just over the limit. At Red Rock, they ask for my player card and a supervisor has to approve the redemption.

Suncoast wanted my player card too. It also required a supervisor's okey-dokey. There was one more step. The cashier radioed the slot floorpeople to have someone verify the ticket. I heard her say the machine number, my name, and the ticket amount. There were a few people waiting in line for the cage now, so she asked me to step over to the next window so she could take care of the next guest while we waited for verification, which came a few minutes later.

I asked her if the floorperson had to check the ticket log on the machine. You may remember a few weeks ago when I set up an account in the STN Cash cash-less gaming system that I cashed out on a machine and didn't get a ticket. The slot floorperson checked the Ticket Log on the machine and the last ticket printed was timestamped long before I cashed out and for a different amount. Then she checked the machine's Cash-Out Log. It had my cash out. Where did my money go? Not to a ticket but to my STN Cash account.

A friend who works at the Westgate once showed me a Ticket Log on one of their machines. In addition to the timestamp and amount, this log also showed the player card number that was active when the ticket was printed.

I don't know whether the floorperson actually pulled up the log on the machine I had played (What if someone was playing it then?) or queried the ticket database from one of the terminals on the slot floor. The floorperson said the ticket was legit and the cashier paid me.

Happiness is having a ticket too large to be accepted at a slot machine or redeemed at a kiosk.

My holiday wish for you is to cash out a ticket that is so large that it requires special handling.

Here are the latest Covid data. There is a difference in the hospitalization data for US versus NV. The CDC reports total number of Covid hospital admissions. Nevada reports current hospitalizations, not admissions.

All data comes from the CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#cases_totalcases, https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#new-hospital-admissions), except for Nevada current hospitalizations (https://nvhealthresponse.nv.gov/).

Send your slot and video poker questions to John Robison, Slot Expert™, at slotexpert@slotexpert.com. Because of the volume of mail I receive, I regret that I can't reply to every question.

Copyright © John Robison. Slot Expert and Ask the Slot Expert are trademarks of John Robison.

Ask the Slot Expert: Those elusive deuces

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	Totals						Weekly Changes
	US			NV			US			NV
Date	Cases 	Hosp. Adm. 	Deaths 	Cases 	Curr. Hosp. 	Deaths 	Cases 	Hosp. Adm. 	Deaths 	Cases 	Curr. Hosp. 	Deaths 
 12/07 	 49,198,746 	 3,455,951 	 787,064 	 474,754 	 674 	 8,110 	 821,215 	 66,191 	 8,575 	 5,011 	 23 	 125 
 11/30 	 48,377,531 	 3,389,760 	 778,489 	 469,743 	 651 	 7,985 	 563,746 	 28,426 	 6,309 	 3,343 	 (50) 	 55 
 11/23 	 47,813,785 	 3,361,334 	 772,180 	 466,400 	 701 	 7,930 	 667,924 	 41,145 	 10,754 	 4,784 	 (24) 	 86 
 11/16 	 47,145,861 	 3,320,189 	 761,426 	 461,616 	 725 	 7,844 	 604,748 	 63,164 	 7,862 	 4,577 	 22 	 85 
 11/09 	 46,541,113 	 3,257,025 	 753,564 	 457,039 	 703 	 7,759 	 516,764 	 33,219 	 8,290 	 5,539 	 34 	 103 
 11/02 	 46,024,349 	 3,223,806 	 745,274 	 451,500 	 669 	 7,656 	 555,915 	 38,028 	 9,226 	 4,327 	 45 	 109 
 10/26 	 45,468,434 	 3,185,778 	 736,048 	 447,173 	 624 	 7,547 	 488,829 	 42,265 	 9,842 	 4,753 	 (87) 	 96 
 10/19 	 44,979,605 	 3,143,513 	 726,206 	 442,420 	 711 	 7,451 	 578,396 		 11,963 	 4,381 		 136 
 10/12 	 44,401,209 		 714,243 	 438,039 		 7,315 	 795,586 		 14,067 	 15,710 		 149 
 10/05 	 43,605,623 		 700,176 	 422,329 		 7,166 	 554,194 		 10,642 	 3,852 		 121 
 09/28 	 43,051,429 		 689,534 	 418,477 		 7,045 	 817,218 		 14,463 	 6,160 		 165 
 09/21 	 42,234,211 		 675,071 	 412,317 		 6,880 	 971,637 		 14,691 	 7,466 		 152 
 09/14 	 41,262,574 		 660,380 	 404,851 		 6,728 	 1,176,763 		 12,919 	 10,256 		 145 
 09/07 	 40,085,811 		 647,461 	 394,595 		 6,583 	 975,725 		 10,076 	 5,237 		 104 
 08/31 	 39,110,086 		 637,385 	 389,358 		 6,479 	 1,113,414 		 9,385 	 7,592 		 173 
 08/24 	 37,996,672 		 628,000 	 381,649 		 6,306 	 1,045,491 		 7,507 	 8,117 		 116 
 08/17 	 36,951,181 		 620,493 	 373,649 		 6,190 	 959,978 		 4,715 	 7,065 		 150 
 08/10 	 35,991,203 		 615,778 	 366,584 		 6,040 	 819,524 		 3,987 	 7,652 		 122 
 08/03 	 35,171,679 		 611,791 	 358,932 		 5,918 	 622,832 		 2,279 	 7,489 		 81 
 07/27 	 34,548,847 		 609,012 	 351,443 		 5,837 	 652,251 		 2,394 	 8,347 		 79 
 07/20 	 33,896,296 		 606,618 	 341,096 		 5,758 	 169,933 		 1,478 	 3,351 		 28 
 07/13 	 33,726,363 		 605,140 	 339,745 		 5,730 	 181,047 		 1,959 	 4,982 		 33 
 07/06 	 33,545,316 		 603,181 	 334,763 		 5,697 	 75,104 		 1,373 	 2,234 		 27 
 06/29 	 33,470,212 		 601,808 	 332,529 		 5,670 	 87,507 		 2,057 	 3,020 		 24 
 06/22 	 33,382,705 		 599,751 	 329,509 		 5,646 	 75,420 		 2,157 	 1,930 		 22 
 06/15 	 33,303,285 		 597,594 	 327,579 		 5,624 	 95,797 		 2,293 	 1,560 		 17 
 06/08 	 33,207,488 		 595,301 	 326,019 		 5,607 	 114,250 		 3,762 	 2,271 		 21 
 06/01 	 33,039,238 		 591,539 	 323,748 		 5,586 	 123,333 		 3,709 	 991 		 27 
 05/25 	 32,969,905 		 587,830 	 322,757 		 5,559 	 174,125 		 4,234 	 1,676 		 26 
 05/18 	 32,795,780 		 583,596 	 321,081 		 5,533 	 223,966 		 4,230 	 2,301 		 27 
 05/11 	 32,571,814 		 579,366 	 318,780 		 5,506 	 303,856 		 4,687 	 2,541 		 33 
 05/04 	 32,267,958 		 574,679 	 316,239 		 5,473 	 343,348 		 4,908 	 2,559 		 40 
 04/27 	 31,924,610 		 569,771 	 313,680 		 5,433 	 383,163 		 4,958 	 2,747 		 65 
 04/20 	 31,541,447 		 564,813 	 310,933 		 5,368 	 464,556 		 5,072 	 2,590 		 36 
 04/13 	 31,076,891 		 559,741 	 308,343 		 5,332 	 480,061 		 5,321 	 2,986 		 57 
 04/06 	 30,596,830 		 554,420 	 305,357 		 5,275 	 448,935 		 7,124 	 3,084 		 38 
 03/30 	 30,147,895 		 547,296 	 302,273 		 5,237 	 439,510 		 6,793 	 939 		 63 
 03/23 	 29,708,385 		 540,503 	 301,334 		 5,174 	 388,928 		 7,446 	 1,863 		 53 
 03/16 	 29,319,457 		 533,057 	 299,471 		 5,121 	 381,695 		 8,362 	 3,078 		 81 
 03/09 	 28,937,762 		 524,695 	 296,393 		 5,040 	 480,902 		 11,573 	 2,413 		 83 
 03/02 	 28,456,860 		 513,122 	 293,980 		 4,957 	 463,356 		 14,129 	 2,835 		 75 
 02/23 	 27,993,504 		 498,993 	 291,145 		 4,882 	 451,083 		 13,923 	 2,406 		 162 
 02/16 	 27,542,421 		 485,070 	 288,739 		 4,720 	 602,906 		 21,411 	 4,149 		 198 
 02/09 	 26,939,515 		 463,659 	 284,590 		 4,522 	 779,305 		 21,828 	 5,444 		 244 
 02/02 	 26,160,210 		 441,831 	 279,146 		 4,278 	 1,007,777 		 22,004 	 7,249 		 249 
 01/26 	 25,152,433 		 419,827 	 271,897 		 4,029 	 1,312,565 		 23,385 	 10,324 		 250 
 01/19 	 23,839,868 		 396,442 	 261,573 		 3,779 	 1,317,119 		 21,318 	 11,324 		 279 
 01/12 	 22,522,749 		 375,124 	 250,249 		 3,500 	 1,790,345 		 22,660 	 17,217 		 294 
 01/05 	 20,732,404 		 352,464 	 233,032 		 3,206 	 1,499,561 		 18,435 	 14,655 		 233 
 12/29 	 19,232,843 		 334,029 	 218,377 		 2,973 	 1,258,540 		 15,460 	 12,493 		 186 
 12/22 	 17,974,303 		 318,569 	 205,884 		 2,787 	 1,656,411 		 18,537 	 16,472 		 239 
 12/15 	 16,317,892 		 300,032 	 189,412 		 2,548 	 1,494,763 		 17,247 	 18,825 		 229 
 12/08 	 14,823,129 		 282,785 	 170,587 		 2,319 	 1,375,502 		 15,483 	 18,418 		 175 
 12/01 	 13,447,627 		 267,302 	 152,169 		 2,144 	 1,114,175 		 10,286 	 15,942 		 121 
 11/24 	 12,333,452 		 257,016 	 136,227 		 2,023 	 1,197,199 		 10,784 	 14,130 		 106 
 11/17 	 11,136,253 		 246,232 	 122,097 		 1,917 	 1,099,790 		 8,501 	 11,115 		 65 
 11/10 	 10,036,463 		 237,731 	 110,982 		 1,852 	 767,645 		 6,838 	 8,868 		 68 
 11/03 	 9,268,818 		 230,893 	 102,114 		 1,784 	 588,207 		 5,809 	 5,936 		 35 
 10/27 	 8,680,611 		 225,084 	 96,178 		 1,749 	 492,026 		 5,585 	 5,238 		 (10) 
 10/20 	 8,188,585 		 219,499 	 90,940 		 1,759 	 401,037 		 5,053 	 4,501 		 48 
 10/13 	 7,787,548 		 214,446 	 86,439 		 1,711 	 351,270 		 4,886 	 3,910 		 48 
 10/06 	 7,436,278 		 209,560 	 82,529 		 1,663 	 306,965 		 4,962 	 3,232 		 36 
 09/29 	 7,129,313 		 204,598 	 79,297 		 1,627 	 303,616 		 5,136 	 3,058 		 54 
 09/22 	 6,825,697 		 199,462 	 76,239 		 1,573 	 288,070 		 5,370 	 2,196 		 82 
 09/15 	 6,537,627 		 194,092 	 72,043 		 1,491 	 250,265 		 5,404 	 1,825 		 65 
 09/08 	 6,287,362 		 188,688 	 72,218 		 1,426 	 282,919 		 5,638 	 2,734 		 92 
 09/01 	 6,004,443 		 183,050 	 69,484 		 1,334 	 251,790 		 5,291 	 3,237 		 104 
 08/25 	 5,752,653 		 177,759 	 66,247 		 1,230 	 330,411 		 7,889 	 4,076 		 125 
 08/18 	 5,422,242 		 169,870 	 62,171 		 1,105 	 358,071 		 7,463 	 4,973 		 114 
 08/11 	 5,064,171 		 162,407 	 57,198 		 991 	 365,353 		 7,203 	 5,776 		 117 
 08/04 	 4,698,818 		 155,204 	 51,422 		 874 	 418,683 		 7,532 	 7,367 		 109 
 07/28 	 4,280,135 		 147,672 	 44,055 		 764 	 460,996 		 7,042 	 7,130 		 91 
 07/21 	 3,819,139 		 140,630 	 36,195 		 674 	 463,682 		 5,395 	 8,181 		 57 
 07/14 	 3,355,457 		 135,235 	 28,744 		 617 	 422,861 		 5,102 	 5,607 		 57 
 07/07 	 2,932,596 		 130,133 	 23,137 		 560 	 351,367 		 3,394 	 5,006 		 24 
 06/30 	 2,581,229 		 126,739 	 18,131 		 536 	 278,941 		 6,406 	 4,367 		 26 
 06/23 	 2,302,288 		 120,333 	 13,764 		 510 							SEARCH ARTICLES:   This Author All Authors John Robison John Robison is an expert on slot machines and how to play them. John is a slot and video poker columnist and has written for many of gaming’s leading publications. He holds a master's degree in computer science from the prestigious Stevens Institute of Technology. You may hear John give his slot and video poker tips live on The Good Times Show, hosted by Rudi Schiffer and Mike Schiffer, which is broadcast from Memphis on KXIQ 1180AM Friday afternoon from from 2PM to 5PM Central Time. John is on the show from 4:30 to 5. You can listen to archives of the show on the web anytime. Books by John Robison: The Slot Expert's Guide to Playing Slots RSS FEED LINKS add to My Yahoo! add to Google RSS feed