Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 32

Best Bets Part II

There are good bets in the casino. There are bad bets in the casino. And there are plenty of so-so bets in the casino.There are good games in the casino that have some of these good bets and there are bad games in the casino that don’t have many or any good bets...read more

Analysis of Las Vegas Casino Win Rates

In a previous article the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s most recent report of casino win rates and amounts was presented. The results were very interesting – even surprising.This article contains an analysis of some of the figures presented there.First a look at what was expected and made sense.The overall dollar amount won for slots was over twice as much as for table and other games ($10.153 billion for slots versus $4,818 billion for table games).The highest casino win percentage was from penny slots...read more

Compensation II

CINDY: Most casino players who play even minimum bets will get some form of comp from the casinos they frequent.ABBY: Comps go with the territory of casino playing. We can consider these rewards for your past play or inducements to continue your play into the future...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Slot machines with disabled bet buttons

Question: We have slot machines that have 30-cent, 60-cent, 90-cent, $1.50 and $3.00 buttons but only the 60-cent and $3.00 buttons work. Is that machine legal? Answer: This is one of those questions where I wish the writer had given more details about location...read more

She Lost a Whole Day

It was April 2nd in the mid-1990s (or thereabouts) and this was at Golden Nugget in Las Vegas near the jingling Treasure Island slot machines and she came up to my wife the Beautiful AP and me and asked, “Do you know what day this is?”“It’s April second,” we said.She looked confused...read more

Best Bets

Best BetsTake your pick, my friends.Casinos are good places to play games. Casinos are the worst places to play games. There are some excellent bets in the casinos. There are some horrible bets in the casinos.Those above sentences are absolutely true.There are some excellent bets in the casinos, even though even the best bets have house edges attached to them, small ones...read more

What Casinos Make on Games

Each gambler visiting Las Vegas has their own favorite game or games. By far the favorite is slot machines. Other electronic games on the floor or at the bar include video poker, video blackjack, and video keno. These are all included in the general slots category.For table games, blackjack and craps are popular...read more

Compensations

CINDY: Our general opinion about comps that the casino gives us is to take what they offer but not to go comp-crazy. Playing for comps is a true waste of your time, your mental time mainly, and your money.ABBY: It is important to understand that the casinos give back a certain amount of a player’s potential losses in the form of what some players think of as “free stuff.” There is nothing or almost nothing free in a casino – maybe the air...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Facial recognition at slot machines

Question: Are there cameras in VLT machines to identify players? Answer: I suppose the theory is that the machine's generosity will be affected by who is playing it. Let's say that the casino can alter a machine for whatever reason...read more

Where Jackpot Originated

To Frank Scoblete:So, we were in the car, on the way home from a trip to our local casino. My Father-in-Law was reminiscing about a good win he had just hours earlier. He referred to his big win as a Pot. "That was a good ‘Pot’ that I hit in the High Limit Slot Section."That led to an intriguing discussion about Jackpots, and where the term Jackpot originated.When we got home, I did a quick Internet search and found a lot of agreement that the term Jackpot originated from a poker game in the late 1800's called Jack-Pots.You had to have "Jacks or Better" to open the bid...read more