Play where there's
competition
21 April 2000
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 T.
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?
Morgan P.
Feel safe, Morgan, 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, Morgan, but I do plan a column
soon on how the slots of today (computers)
work-in layman's lingo that is.
Dear Mark,
If you were limited to making just one bet in a
casino and had a limited budget, what would it
be? Bo T.
Too easy, Bo. Since one of my greatest passions
is open wheel racing (CART), my one wager would
be on the Indianapolis 500, sitting in a
sportsbook for three hours sipping free
cocktails and watching grown men (and woman,
Lynn St. James) making left-hand turns wasting
methanol.
The general public may not share the same
fixation for boredom, so I would recommend plan
B, a pass line wager on a craps game. Three
specific reasons come to mind. First, it's a
wager with a small house advantage (1.4
percent). Second, though playing perfect basic
strategy at blackjack or video poker drops that
casino edge even lower, a pass line bet requires
limited (actually zero) knowledge. And finally,
if you ask any craps player, Bo, they'll tell
you craps is truly the fastest, most
exhilarating game in the casino.
With low table minimums and a modest pass line
bet on the layout, I would agree.
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