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John Robison Gaming Guru - Page 5  Ask the Slot Expert: My two cents on how eliminating pennies will affect slots7 January 2026
My grocery store had a sign at the entrance. It said they had a shortage of pennies. I don't remember what they wanted customers to do. The shortage wasn't going to affect me. I can't remember the last time I used cash in a supermarket.
For that matter, I can't remember the last time I used cash to pay for anything. ... (read more)
Ask the Slot Expert: Deuces Wild doesn't pay enough31 December 2025
In 1933, The Mills Company introduced the Mills Mystery slot machine. I don't know what was so mysterious about this machine. I do know that it broke tradition for paytables of the era. From the brochure:
For 30 years all manufacturers have agreed that Bell rewards should be 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20.
The ... (read more)
Ask the Slot Expert: Slot machines don't need no stinking paylines24 December 2025
As I wrote in my column on December 10, 2026, a change in the number of paylines is something to look out for when you change denominations on a slot machine.
I decided that I would bet $1.50 per spin on a Ramosis' Treasures machine. I had multiple ways I could make that bet. I could bet two credits per ... (read more)
Ask the Slot Expert: Rooting against a progressive?17 December 2025
It's that time of year again. I don't mean the holidays. I mean time to re-qualify for upper tiers in slot clubs.
Because I let re-qualifying go to the last minute, instead of playing mostly video poker to re-qualify, I'm also playing a bit more slots than I usually do because I earn three times the tier points per dollar played through a slot than through a video poker. ... (read more)
Ask the Slot Expert: Should I increase the line bet or increase the denomination?10 December 2025
Modern life has many age-old questions.
Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
Is it live or is it Memorex?
What was the best thing before sliced bread?
When does it stop being partly cloudy and start being partly sunny?
Is it better to increase the line bet or increase the ... (read more)
Ask the Slot Expert: A better example of the dark side of Quick Hit3 December 2025
Last week I wrote about the dark side of Quick Hit slots and other games with scatter pay symbols. You can land two symbols that are part of a paying combination on a payline and have your payout ruined by a scatter pay symbol landing on that payline. Sometimes there's still a happy ending when you land ... (read more)
Ask the Slot Expert: The dark side of Quick Hit slots26 November 2025
I made my triumphant, in my mind at least, return to my movie theater after a two-week trip to New Jersey and Cancun. I was very disappointed that none of the theater employees noticed that I hadn't been there for over two weeks.
On my way out of the casino--
Let me digress here and mention how surprised ... (read more)
Ask the Slot Expert: A tale of two cashless systems19 November 2025
I'm usually one of the first to try new technology in the casino.
A number of years ago, Red Rock rolled out Cardless Connect on its slots. Riding the wave of using an app on your smartphone for practically anything, you could use the Stations Casino app on your phone instead of your players card to log in to a machine. ... (read more)
Ask the Slot Expert: I see casino equivalents in everyday things12 November 2025
Sometimes I think that maybe I've been writing about gaming for too long. I see parallels between practically anything in real life and the casino.
For example, I binged a Brit game show called 007:Road to a Million a few months ago. I mentioned it in some columns. Two-person teams perform some James ... (read more)
Ask the Slot Expert: How does a casino determine its return to player5 November 2025
Question: I never thought much about Return to Player (RTP) regarding slot machines. Only when seeing stats a while ago about the various percentages in casinos on the strip, downtown, or off strip, did I realize how little I know about it and am curious.
For example:
How do casinos determine ... (read more)
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