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Play Where There's Competition
by Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
Two questions, please. Do 25¢ slots pay back more than 5¢ machines?
Also, does Nevada have the best slots? Sharon S. Galesburg, IL
First, Sharon, let's get the easy stuff out of the way. Five-cent slots
return less than 25¢ slots, which return less than $1 slots, and of
course, less than the $5 machines. The reason those 5¢ slots pay you
________ (you fill in the space), is because they take the same amount of
real estate in a casino as the other machines, plus cost as much, if not
more (picture losers beating on them) to maintain. Oh, yes, a brief explanation
of what I mean by "return." For every dollar inserted, the slot's
computer is pre-programmed to give back a certain percentage to you, the
player. It's that simple.
As for where to play, Nevada slots in general give you more cluck-for-the-buck,
but you'll find more coins dropping in your tray anywhere casinos slug it
out for customers. Like anything else, you'll benefit most where there's
competition.
While we're at it, Sharon, let's examine the differences between the boats
where you live, Illinois, and the gambling vessels in Iowa. Starting with
the 5¢ slots, there is no competition. Illinois has only 40 nickel
machines in the entire state compared to 642 in Iowa. Look for an average
return of 87 percent on Iowa's 5¢ machines. As for the quarter circuit,
in Illinois, expect an average payback of 91.6 percent compared to 91.8
percent across the river.
And in Nevada, if you decide to make a gaming pilgrimage out west, your
best play is the 92.2 percent payback on the 5¢ machines in Reno and
the 95.7 percent average return on the 25¢ slots in downtown Las Vegas.
Dear Mark,
Can a casino, or anyone for that matter, mess with the computer chip in
a slot machine so that a jackpot will never appear on the screen? Beth K.
St. Louis, MO
Feel safe, Beth, that in your state, Missouri, gaming operates under the
strict Gaming Commission guidelines, insuring that every chip will deliver
random action each and every time you insert a coin.
In Missouri, the Gaming Commission tests each e-prom chip (erasable programmable
read only memory) when the machines are first installed to verify that the
machine will operate as proposed by the casino. Then when large jackpots
are hit, a Highway Patrol Officer, who is an agent of the Gaming Commission,
"cobotrons" (detects if the chip has been altered) the e-prom
to make sure that it hasn't been tampered with. This can amount to a dozen
cobotron tests per day, per boat. Sorry to bore you with all this nerdy
computer stuff, Beth, but I do plan a column soon on how the slots of today
(computers) work-in layman's lingo that is.
Before I Shuffle:
A "Duke" is a monster hand on a crap game, which all but casino
owners wish would go on until the end of time. "He shot the dice forever
in the name of John Wayne," a dealer would say after a lengthy roll
concludes. Those of us fortunate to work the south end of Lake Tahoe know
a "Duke" as employee Steve Ditchkus, who worked at Bill's Casino.
Unfortunately, our loss is someone else's (players, fellow employee's) gain,
since he's moved on to the "Show Me" state to work as a pit boss
for Harrah's in Kansas City. I wish I had 2,000 words just to share the
fun times we've all had working, playing, gambling, etc. with Steve, but
suffice it to say that if someone were to write a book on gambling at Lake
Tahoe and didn't mention "the Duke," they wouldn't have done their
research.
Got a question about gambling? Write to: Deal Me In, 774 Mays Blvd.
Suite 10, Incline Village, NV 89451 or e-mail:winners@winner.com
· To order Mark Pilarski's "Hooked on Winning" audio cassettes-laminated
win cards package ($12.95 plus $2. S&H) call (800) WINNERS.
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