Ask The Slot Expert

Dear John,

I visit Las Vegas once a year. Of course, I want to make the most of my time there. Can you tell me what the new hot slot machines are? What strip hotels can I find them in? My husband enjoys video poker (9/6 Jacks or Better). Where are the best places to play? Any help you can give we would appreciate.

Thank you,
Hopeful Winner

Dear Hopeful Winner:

The hottest slot out now is at the MGM Grand. It's based on the Family Feud TV game show. When you win a chance to play the bonus round, a camera on the slot machine takes your picture and digitally inserts your face in the animations during the bonus round.

Other hot slots are all of the Monopoly-based slots. Also the slots based on Yahtzee. You can find these machines at just about every casino.

As for 9/6 Jacks on the strip, they're getting to be tough to find, especially in the low denominations. The best source I've found for current locations of full pay machines is the Video Poker Home Page (www.vphomepage.com). They report 9/6 Jacks at Ballys ($25), Bellagio($0.05-$100), Casino Royale ($0.25), Caesars Palace ($0.25-$1.00), Desert Inn ($1, $5), Flamingo Hilton (%0.25, $1), Harrah's ($5), Imperial Palace ($0.25, $1), Luxor ($1-$10), Mandalay Bay ($1-$10), Mirage ($2-$100), NYNY ($0.25), O'Shea's ($0.25), Paris ($2-$25), Riviera ($1), Sahara ($0.25), San Remo ($0.25), Stardust ($0.25-$1), Treasure Island ($1-$25), Venetian ($0.50-$100), Westward Ho ($0.25).

Although this seems like a lot of machines, remember that this list doesn't indicate how many machines each casino has. In some cases, they have only one or two.

I hope you hit a jackpot and your husband gets a royal flush.

Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
John

Send your slot and video poker questions to John Robison, Slot Expert, at slotexpert@home.com.

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