Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 303

Ask the Slot Expert: Does the IRS accept win/loss statements?

Will the IRS accept win/loss statements? According to Topic 419 - Gambling Income and Losses on the IRS web site, "it is important to keep an accurate diary or similar record of your gambling wins and losses." Just doing a quick search for relevant sites, I found a number of cases in which the IRS and tax courts did not accept a win/loss statement as proof of a loss...read more

Mind your own business

Today is the day after St. Patrick’s Day. Some folks are happy and content with their celebration yesterday of the Patron Saint of Ireland who drove out the rats. Others are (shall we say) paying the price for partying too much. That used to be me.Now casinos have “rats” in them too; “rats” that I wish a modern St...read more

Players' clubs and splitting 10s at blackjack

QUESTION: I’m at a loss to explain what’s happening in my players' club, and hoped maybe you could help. My wife and I go to a casino together, maybe two or three times a month. She plays slots the whole time, mainly on pennies. She likes the entertainment, but doesn’t really like to spend much money, so sets a budget for herself...read more

Is Your Casino’s Valet Service Driving Guests Away?

The old adage that you never get a second chance to make a good first impression is true. And it couldn’t be more true for casinos when guests drive up to their property and use the valet service.For many guests, valet employees provide that first important impression that can play an important role in a customer’s decision to return and play again...read more

The new slot bonuses

Today’s slot players are used to bonus events as a normal part of the games. That video slots, and many reel-spinners, will have free spins, pick’em events, mystery jackpots or some combination of the available options is a given.But new forms of bonusing are being developed all the time, and they’re not all integral parts of the game itself...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Posting slot machine paybacks

How would we be able to have casinos make slot machine paybacks visible for the player to see? I think they should be disclosed and let the player decide which machines to play. We have disclosures about other products we buy, like nutrition labels, car mileage and so forth. Casinos have disclosed the long-term paybacks on some of their machines in the past...read more

The stop spin slots

QUESTION: On slot machines that have a "stop spin" button does it make a difference or will you get what you would have gotten if it completed its spin on its own?ANSWER: It makes no difference. The reels are going to show what the random number generator tells them to, regardless of whether you stop them.There are a few rare exceptions...read more

The Hot and Dangerous Fire Bet

Hello Stickman,The Fire bet on the craps table has such an enormous house advantage that I was wondering why casinos don't alter the payout to be more competitive. If the payout for all six numbers was increased to 2000 for 1 they would have more takers and still have a sizable advantage...read more

Winning a big one at video poker

I’ve been playing video poker for a very long time, and only once have I had a royal flush dealt to me in the first five cards. When it happened, I was alternating play with my dad, and we split the royal, $500 for him, $500 for me.On multihand machines, I’ve never had a dealt royal, although I did once draw two on a Triple Play game...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Does how much I bet affect my chances of winning?

Bilbo's in Las Vegas went out of business. The three phone numbers I found for them are not operational. How do I get a win lose statement for 2013? Bilbo's Bar & Grill was a chain of bars in Las Vegas that closed last year. Your only hope now is to go to the county clerk's office to get the contact info for the owners unless you can find it online. I know I'm stating the obvious, but if Bilbo's didn't have a players card, there's no way they could track your play. And it's too late for this advice, but it's best to keep your own diary of wins and losses...read more