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John Robison Gaming Guru  Ask the Slot Expert: Keno cacophony22 July 2026
By John Robison, Slot Expert™
Answer: Thanks for the kind words. There's only one casino game that I do not understand why people like. Video Keno. I like playing Live Bingo, so why not Video Keno? Maybe it's the shared experience in Live Bingo of the players against the drawing and competing against the other players to be first with a Bingo. Me against the machine, though, I'd rather take on a deck of cards or cows from the planet Moolah than a random drawing of 20 numbers. I sympathize with your dislike of the sounds from a Video Keno machine. I dislike it when a video poker player near me hits the Bet Max button for each new play instead of the Deal button. A Bet Maxer, at least, only generates five identical sounds per play and not a random sequence of 20 hit and miss sounds. As I wrote last week, I find Caveman Keno's flying, screeching dinosaur particularly annoying. (But not the moos from the cows from the planet Moolah.) Video poker machines with multiple paytables is one of the best innovations for video poker players. Multi-paytable machines allowed casinos to offer many paytables in just one gaming position and gave video poker players more choices. Adding slot and Keno options to the machines is one of the worst. The noises from those games ruin the relatively serene symphony of playing video poker hands. Remember the advice about getting along with other people: You can't change their behavior, but you can change your reaction to it. I find that it takes less than a minute for me to tune out the repeating sounds of Bet Max-ing from a nearby machine. It takes longer when the sequence of sounds changes from play to play, like on Video Keno . My brother is a consultant to companies producing high-absorbency products like diapers. He wanted to be a dentist but the universe had other plans. I remember commenting to him that I thought gender=specific diapers was a great idea. He told me it's a terrible idea. If the store doesn't have the gender you need, you walk out without buying anything. You would buy non-specific diapers though. Multi-game machines give casino operators the same one-size-fits-all flexibility as unisex diapers give retailers. They cover all the bases. One machine can satisfy many diverse groups of players. When Las Vegas was a vacation destination for me, I played 9/6 Jacks at The Desert Inn, The Venetian, Treasure Island, and even Caesars Palace. There are still some good-paying (99.5%+) machines on the strip at a reasonable denomination, but they are few and far between. You can still find good-paying video poker at many locals casinos. If you would like to see more non-smoking areas on slot floors in Las Vegas, please sign my petition on change.org. Send your slot and video poker questions to John Robison, Slot Expert™, at slotexpert@slotexpert.com.
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.
Ask the Slot Expert: You're just too darn loud. Why are slots turned up to 11?15 July 2026
Question: I have enjoyed reading your columns for almost as long as you have been writing them, and I appreciate your efforts to establish more non-smoking areas in Nevada casinos. I recently have dramatically decreased the number and duration of my trips to Las Vegas, and the reeking of smoke in most of its casinos is foremost among the many reasons for the reduction in my visits. ... (read more)
Ask the Slot Expert: The RNG does not directly determine how much is won8 July 2026
Question: Something interesting always pops up with the questions you get. I just wanted to add my opinion to what you answered [last week].
If the screens the questioner showed you were losers, then out of the many possible screen combos that show losers, there are probably many more ways for the RNG ... (read more)
Ask the Slot Expert: Slot machine synchronicity1 July 2026
Question: Attached is a picture of two Wolf Run Wild Moon slots, identical machines next to each other on the same bank.
My husband was playing the machine on the left; I was playing on the right. I cashed out a winning ticket of over $400, then put in another $20. A few spins later, I hit another bonus and won just about $150. ... (read more)
Hit Frequency, Reno, Atlantic City, Double UpHi there, Has there ever been any research done into what number of times a slot machine will pay "anything" during one hundred spins on the average? I have counted many times and find the average slot machine will pay roughly 16 times out of 100 spins. That includes winning a lowly cherry return to a bigger win. ... (read more)Slot Machine Pay OffDear John, In reference to the reader's question about slot machines where you play for gold or silver tokens: In Las Vegas, many of the casinos have 25-cent slots that pay off a $10 jackpot with a $10 silver souvenir token. ... (read more)Declare Your Independence from the SlotsOn this Independence Day as we celebrate 226 years of independence from the tyranny of the British, consider making your own Declaration of Independence from the tyranny of the slot machines. You don't have to stop playing machines altogether. Just switch to playing video ... (read more)Guide to Winning at Slots: The Best Number of Coins to PlayEvery casino guide to gaming recommends playing maximum coins on all slot machines. And almost everyone who's written a book about slots also recommends playing maximum coins when playing a slot machine. I analyzed over 1,000 slot machine programs and I discovered that ... (read more)John Robison |
John Robison |
