Originally Posted by
Dan Druff
The multiplay 9/6 JoB machine at $0.25 actually has the least variance of them. However, you can still lose like $3k if you run bad.
The good thing with that machine is that it takes out some of the royal variance, which is the biggest source of variance in video poker.
If you play a single play or 3-play machine and don't hit a royal, your expected loss is about $1250 in earning 5000 tiers, even if you run totally average otherwise. This is because the royal makes up about 2% of the payout.
If you just want diamond, you may want to consider other options.
Do you have a high tier card at other properties? They will do status matching. I can direct you to the thread here about that, if you want.
You can also buy the Founders Card for like $495, which will give you automatic Diamond.
Keep in mind you won't have access to the Diamond lounges, but you will have everything else.
Also, FAB posted a link in the Total Rewards forum here to opt in to double (base) tiers, which will get you to 20k if you earn 5000 base tiers in one day. Then you can earn 2500 base tiers on day 2, and have enough for the Diamond lounge for that year.
Personally I don't care much about the Diamond lounges, though.