Following Your Rules

[Alan Mendelson]

Learning2Cashout wrote: the casinos understand something that maybe Rob singer has really hit upon, that short term play matters.

You are absolutely correct about this. Short term play matters because the longer you play, the more you will lose and the more the casinos will win. This is why casinos give free rooms, free meals, show tickets, and other perks to get you there and to keep you there. They know that the more you play, the more you will lose over time.

I am surprised that you found higher limit games with lesser paytables than lower limit machines. The casinos will make a profit from 8/5 Bonus whether its at the $100 per coin level or the $5 per coin level or the 5-cent per coin level. I'd really like to be the fly on the wall in the slot manager's office when that decision was made to try to understand the reasoning for that.

In most casinos when it comes to true slots, the higher denomination machines have the better paybacks. So why they would reverse that for video poker with a house edge surprises me.

[redietz]

I have also seen lower payouts in the high roller area in a number of places -- I will keep tabs and note them in the future. It is not uncommon.

[Alan Mendelson]

Well, come to think of it, at Harrah's Rincon you will find full pay machines on certain video poker games at the 25-cent thru $1 levels in their "video poker section" but the same games have lower pay tables on some of the machines in their high limit room.

Case in point: Bonus Poker. In the Video Poker Section which is where the poker room used to be near their sports bar, you will find a full array of full pay machines including 9/6 Jacks, 8/5 Bonus, as low as the 25-cent per coin level. In the high limit room where there are $1 up to $100 games some of the machines are full pay and some have lesser pay tables, so you have to look.

And on the main gaming floor at Rincon you will find pay tables as bad as 6/5 Bonus at the 25 cent level. So the bottom line is you have to look around.

My biggest gripe about the paytables at Rincon is that they are lowest for video poker in their NON SMOKING area. This is where you will find 6/5 Bonus. It's as if non smokers and those who want to be away from the smoke are penalized. The non smoking areas are in front of the restaurants on the casino floor.

[Vegas Vic]

My biggest gripe about the paytables at Rincon is that they are lowest for video poker in their NON SMOKING area. This is where you will find 6/5 Bonus. It's as if non smokers and those who want to be away from the smoke are penalized. The non smoking areas are in front of the restaurants on the casino floor.

At MGM Detroit, they have a very small enclosed area (except for the walk thru entrances) for non-smoking. The pay tables in there are the lowest in the entire casino. If I were king, the smokers would be in the small enclosed room and the rest of the casino would be non-smoking. After playing there for a few hours, you come home smelling like an ash tray.

[Alan Mendelson]

I haven't flown in to Vegas in several years (can't stand flying because of the new security checks) but I remember that the airport was non-smoking and there were these small, closed in areas for smokers and slot machines. Are they still like that and there is a difference in paytables on VP if they even have it in those "gas chambers"??

[redietz]

I believe the gas chambers are gone, thankfully. I remember them -- really bad.

Speaking of the security checks, I refused the new X-ray machines last time flying out of Knoxville, and it took probably 10 minutes for them to get someone to search me. I'm not sure most people are even aware they can opt out. If you fly a lot, getting X-rayed 200 times a year for no reason can't be a good thing, no matter the dose.