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Gaming Guru
Playing Slots Online30 May 2004
Dear Marji, Financial transactions with online casinos are pretty much the same as those with physical casinos. First, you have to buy in. That's getting a bit tougher today because many credit card issuers and payment processing firms (e.g., PayPal) will no longer honor transactions with online casinos. As for collecting your winnings, I have heard of some online casinos being slow to play and, in some cases, refusing to pay. The cases in which the casinos refused to pay all involved situations in which a player did not follow the rules of some promotion. Some online casinos have strange requirements for getting your winnings (e.g., faxing a copy of a photo ID). I had a private correspondence with one player who objected to having to jump through the hoops the casino wanted him to jump through in order to get his money. There was nothing I could do because the terms were clearly spelled out on the casino's website. Make sure you read the fine print on the site and that you're willing to do whatever the casino wants you to do to collect your winnings. I've met a handful (three or four) operators of online casinos and in each case these folks operated casinos and games that were just as fair as brick-and-mortar casinos. I suggest you check the information on Casino City before sending any money to an online casino. I don't personally recommend playing slots at online casinos, but that's mainly because I like the casino ambience and I have a real hard time getting a cocktail waitress to come by my PC. And I'm a big tipper! Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
Dear Ray, Thanks for the story. It just goes to show you that the chances of hitting a winning combination on a machine are the same on every spin, regardless of what has happened in the past. Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
Dear BP, Sorry, I don't know anything about West Virginia's casinos other than what I read on the Casino City website. Casinos don't have to publish their paybacks. That information usually comes from the states and each state chooses how much information it makes publicly available. I did a quick search for articles about fining casinos in West Virginia for having low paybacks and didn't find any. That doesn't mean it didn't happen, just that I can't add anything to your statement. There's a gaming enforcement division in West Virginia that would verify paybacks and issue fines. You make a good point that a fine should be large enough to discourage an infraction, but the fine also has to be commensurate with the seriousness of the infraction. You are in control in this situation. If these casinos really give you no payback with playing a ton of money through their machines, stop going to the casinos. These casinos may not have to compete with nearby casinos, but they still have to get you to come play there instead of saving your money for a trip to a farther away, but better-paying casino. Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
Dear Kim, Sorry this reply is being published after you've come back from your trip. I haven't been downtown in quite a while, but friends who go downtown frequently all like Main Street Station. Judging by their listing on Skip Hughes' site (www.vphomepage.com), it has about the best selection of full-pay video poker machines downtown. I've never seen Triple Action Poker, but I have to admit that I don't pay much attention to video poker with gimmicks. There have been very few gimmicks added to video poker that were actually good--or at least not injurious--for players' bankrolls. Harrah's reopened Binion's Horseshoe in April. I don't know anything beyond what Casino Player said about the Golden Nugget. Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
Dear Cathy, There's no turning back now. Coin handling is a significant expense for a casino and for many players, coins add nothing to the slot-playing experience. I suggest you just get used to not having to search for coin buckets when you want to cash out, and not having to carry heavy buckets of coins, and not having to wait for the booth person to change bags on the coin-counting machine in the middle of counting out your coins. You'll also have to get used to not having dirty, grimy hands after playing the slots. 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 send a reply to every question. Also be advised that it may take two or more months for your question to appear in my column. 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.
Playing Slots Online
is republished from Online.CasinoCity.com.
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