Class II Gaming, Bankroll

John,

Recently my wife and I visited the Seminole/Hard Rock Casino in Tampa, Florida, and the slots are a video type of slot machine that we have not been exposed to. When you pushed the play/credit button it stated daub? It seemed to take forever for the machine to spin its reels. Is this a law in Florida or is there another reason for these type of machines?

Also, at the top of the video screen was a bingo card with a bonus that no one seem to be able to explain. Got any ideas how this works?

Needless to so we found no video poker and had no luck on the red/white/blue machine that we played (the dude next to us hit 3 Wild Cherries for $2500) and left very frustrated.

Thanks,
Steve

Dear Steve,

I think what you played was a Class II gaming device. I've never played one myself. Here is an excerpt from a letter about these devices I received recently:

"All of these machines use a "ball drawer," which is an RNG in a server that draws various number of "balls" depending on how the game vendor set the game up. The RNG has to be in the server and each machine cannot have its own RNG or it is Class III. The players play against each other in Class II such that several players will get the same balls but they have different bingo cards.

Winning patterns are converted to slot machine graphics and displayed as such, but the bingo results also show up on the screen."

Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
John

Enjoy your column. Is it possible to get on a mailing list for the Compton-Dancer Playback newsletter you mentioned in your column several months ago? I haven't had any luck finding it, understand it is being sent to the casinos, but did not know if it's available to the public.

Many thanks for any feedback.

Bob

Dear Bob,

Try sending an e-mail to playback@mcgi.com asking if you could be put on the distribution list.

Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
John

I wanted to know if you can play The Price Is Right slot machine online anywhere. I have looked in every search engine and I can not find that one anywhere.

Thank you,
Shannon

I don't know of any online casino that has The Price Is Right slots and I doubt you'll find it online because they'd have to get licenses from IGT, Pearson Television Operations, and Fremantle Brand Licensing.

Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
John

In response to bankrolling yourself for a particular session: I headed out to men's night at the golf course leaving my wife at the slot parlour for a few hours. She had $50 with her so, one coin on a 25-cent machine seemed like a good idea. She watched the night before and noted a 5-line, 5-coin Double Jackpot hitting frequently on the first line so she played it one coin at a time. (Of course, you have to be prepared, like John stated in a past article, to miss some hits but if you can stand it, there are possibilities there.)

She missed a few decent hits but scored big on 3 Doubles on the centre line (the only paying line) and got 2000 coins, $500. There is fun to be had out there if you can stick to your budget and not get greedy or upset if you miss a few. We have tried it again a few times and hit D-D-777 on 4th line and got nothing but we had a great time watching what we hit and missed.

Have fun,
Stu

Dear Stu,

Thanks for sharing your story. It illustrates how being adequately bankrolled not only keeps you in the game should those big payoffs hit, but also makes for a more enjoyable casino experience. Everybody hates running out of money before they run out of casino time.

Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
John

Hi, Slot Expert,

I have a question on the Boom slot machines.

I know it says to bet only 1 credit/spin for the 'Crackers,' but if there are 45 crackers, is it correct to bet more than 1 credit. Like 5 or 10 credits?

Ed

Dear Ed,

It's been a long time since I played a Boom slot machine. If I remember correctly, you have to get a certain number of fire crackers to collect the fire cracker bonus. You can bet as many credits per spin as you like, but betting one credit per spin is the way to complete the bonus requirement while risking the least amount of your money.

Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
John

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