Until I read this year's American Casino Guide, I hadn't thought to ask this question. Basically, I would like to know if pay tables of video poker at Cherokee mean anything.

Here's why I ask. The casino guide makes clear in its Cherokee summary that the tribe does not have to tell anyone the payout percentage of individual machines or machines as a group other than the fact that all machines must return between 83% and 98%. Elsewhere in the ACG, the video poker author warns that returns on video poker on non-regulated land do not necessarily follow Nevada rules and that the technology exists to reduce certain hand probabilities and payouts.

Cherokee features "Raffle Wheels" and "skill-based" machines that require a decision in a two-part process for reel slots. Is it possible their video poker machines are not "normal" video poker machines with "normal" payouts?

A couple of years back, Bob Dancer wrote about his trip to Cherokee and reported no irregularities or debate, but that does not necessarily rule out what I'm asking.

Any thoughts?