Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 599

Are Cash Back and Free Play Rebates?

Frank, Since you consider comps as rebates based on your play, and therefore not taxable, what about cashback and free play? Bob Dear Bob: I would guess that cash back and free play are also rebates. However, I am not a tax attorney so that is just my opinion. I am giving you a free month on our members only site at www.goldentouchcraps.com...read more

Should I Jump on the Bandwagon at the Craps Table?

Dear Frank: When I play craps, I typically play the pass line, and buy the 6 and 8. Pretty simple stuff. I have a question about betting etiquette/karma. If a shooter gets on a hot streak and, for example, is rolling a lot of hard ways or 5s, is it bad form to start jumping in on those bets after they hit it several times? Is jumping in on the "bandwagon" considered bard form/karma? Or it is every man for themselves, and I should bet on those numbers, and hope the streak continues? Thanks, Michael Dear Michael: Your normal way of playing craps is actually quite good...read more

"Stingy" slots, "tight" videos, and that ever-trusty pass line

Dear Mark: Are not slot machines programmed to pay off a particular percentage of money bet, and then after a jackpot has been hit the machine will tighten up and not pay out a jackpot until one has not been hit for a long time? Rachael S. Part of your question gets a yes, Rachael, in that a slot machine is programmed to pay off a particular percentage...read more

Heard it on the river

As we move into the New Year, we took a moment to look at the progress of the TUNICA CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU in 2006 and under the aggressive leadership of WEBSTER FRANKLIN; the accomplishments of the CVB were nothing less than phenomenal. Who wouldn't want a paycheck for life? I guess a grand a week would make my life a little better but being an old trooper is not as good as winning this one when you are 21 or so...read more

Is how slots are programmed a well-kept secret?

I have a couple of questions that have plagued me for quite a while. 1. Is there any knowledge out there about how slot machines are programmed, or is this a well-kept secret? (I see the same layout of reels on a repeating basis, some kind of a cycle appears to be present on the way the reels display "almost jackpots"). 2...read more

Playing tight

Craps is a game that is often called the best game in the casino by experts in the know. And they are right. In games with 3X or above odds, you will face a three-tenths of one percent house edge. It doesn't get any better than that unless you learn how to control the dice and capture the edge for yourself. However, what those of us who extol the greatness of craps often overlook is the fact that most of the bets at craps range from awful to even awfuller...read more

Slots are king but tables aren't going away

The reason for the tremendous growth in the number of slot machines in casinos nationwide is simple: money, money, money. Just take a look at these figures from the Chicago area. According to statistics in the 1998 annual report compiled by the Illinois Gaming Board, the 8,047 slots in casinos statewide generated adjusted gross revenue of $846 million from a total handle of $15 billion...read more

Gut feeling gamblers

Dear Mark: I just encountered it again on a Vegas talk board. Posters were talking about how often the number hits of roulette when for some reason they had a hunch and did not play it or have played it for an hour and just quit. Just talking about randomness may not be enough to really explain what is happening...read more

2006 Global Gaming Expo Report - Part 4

Once a year, I travel 1,800 miles to run into some local guys. Or so it seems. One of the pleasures of the annual Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas is seeing the guys from Leading Edge Design --- president and CEO Larry DeMar along with Steven DeMar and Steven Katz --- and seeing what new fun they've cooked up for us on slot machines and video poker. Based in Northbrook, Ill., Leading Edge designs games that then are manufactured and distributed by International Game Technology, the world's largest slotmaker...read more

Can virtual reels on a slot be manipulated?

John: I think we are seeing things the same way, and the RNG does generate the number at that given time that you hit the spin button and then it correlates that given number to the virtual reel that then determines the outcome of the spin...read more