The "Stevie Wonder" guy I saw playing two machines at a combined 1700-1800 hands per hour was on FPDW for quarters at the Palms. Speed would matter on a game like that as long as you weren't making many mistakes. I didn't see many errors from him, but there was one every once in a while.

As for "small edges surviving variance," one would have to ask the casinos that to put reality in perspective, one would think.