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Gaming Guru
Do Class II machines compete against each other?4 February 2008
Dear Kim, I don't think it's correct to say that you are playing against other players in a Class II system they way you play against other players in a bingo game, but I have very little experience with either, so I might be wrong. In bingo, you are competing with others to be the first to complete a pattern on one of your bingo cards, and if multiple players complete the pattern on one draw, then they have to share the prize. On the Class II system, you are not racing to be first to complete a pattern. Once enough players have started a game, the central server draws a set of numbers and sends them down to each machine participating in this drawing. Each machine covers its bingo card with the numbers set to it. It then compares the pattern created with a table of winning patterns and then spins the reels to display the appropriate winning combination. If a winning pattern was not covered, the machine spins the reels to a randomly chosen losing pattern. For the next spin, the bingo cards are cleared and everyone starts over from scratch. As for whether higher-denomination machines pay back better, it's tough to say for sure because Class II casinos don't release as much information as other casinos do. Many Class II casinos are run by companies that also run Class III casinos and the economics of both casinos are the same, so I would assume that the higher-denomination machines do have higher long-term paybacks. Everything has to be paid for no matter how old a casino is and casino companies don't expect to recoup their investment in a short period of time. Casinos decide what long-term payback they will have by denomination on their slot floor, and they pretty much stick to that percentage unless market conditions dictate a change. There are a few tribal casinos in Nevada (search on "tribal casinos Nevada" to find them), but I don't know whether they have Class II or Class III machines. Try searching for "Class II," NIGC, and IGRA to find more information about Class II machines. I don't know of any slot books that discuss Class II machines. Class II gaming has really taken off in the past few years, so look for books written in the last year or two. Best of luck in and out of the casinos, Send your slot and video poker questions to John Robison, Slot Expert, at slotexpert@comcast.net. Because of the volume of mail I receive, I regret that I can't reply to every question. This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network. Melissa A. Kaplan is the network's managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press, the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network. To contact Frank, please e-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net. Recent Articles
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