Месяц: Март 2014

The Orleans recently made a local resident a millionaire as Tamara P. of Las Vegas won a progressive jackpot of more than $2.2 million on a Wheel of Fortune slot machine.
Tamara, a regular at The Orleans for nearly 10 years, had been playing her favorite Wheel of Fortune penny machine for more than three hours before the life-altering jackpot.
As she prepared to leave she decided to give the machine a few final pulls – and soon became an instant millionaire, winning the top progressive prize of $2,256,246.45.

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Station Casinos became the first gaming company in Vegas to link properties to a single progressive blackjack jackpot.
Station linked Shuffle Master’s Hit and Run $1 side bet at nine of its properties: Boulder Station, Fiesta Henderson, Fiesta Rancho, Green Valley Ranch Resort, Palace Station, Red Rock Resort, Santa Fe Station, Sunset Station and Texas Station.
To become eligible for the progressive, players may make a $1 side bet when they place their main wager. The Hit and Run progressive bet is based solely on the dealer’s hand.
Players win if the dealer hits blackjack or the dealer’s hand consists of five or more cards (including if the last card busts the dealer’s hand).
When the progressive is hit, and multiple players placed the side bet, the pot is split among the players at the winning table.

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In last week’s column I analyzed a particular hand that could be played multiple ways. The hand was: J spades, 8 diamonds, Q diamonds, 3 hearts, 9 diamonds.
From a quick glance, one might think to play the hand as a 4-card Inside Straight with two high cards, a 3-card Double Inside Straight Flush with one high card or simply as Two High Cards. As always, the decision comes down to which of the hands has the highest Expected Value (EV).
In last week’s column, instead of simply relying on the EV in a strategy table, I used a program I created that allows me to put in the exact five cards and tell it which ones I’m holding and which ones I’m discarding. It then gives me the exact EV of the hand in question. Why do this instead of just using the value in the strategy table?
The values in the strategy tables are averages of all hands of that particular type. The accuracy is thus dependent on a few factors, ranging from the nature of the specific hand to the specificity of that hand. For example, we list the Expected Value of a 4-card Flush as 1.22. In reality, there is not a single 4-card Flush that has that EV.
While there is always the same number of possible ways to draw the Flush (9), the number of High Cards in the hand will impact the exact expected value because it changes the number of ways we can pick up a High Pair. If we have zero High Cards, the EV is 1.15. With one High Card it is 1.21 and with two High Cards it is 1.28.
We could just as easily list these three hands separately on the strategy table, but it wouldn’t change the strategy we would employ at all. There are no other hands that have an EV between 1.15 and 1.28. So, in this case we lump all the 4-card Flushes together and show the average EV for all 85,512.
In a similar fashion we have a single entry on our strategy table called the 4-card Royal, which has an expected value of 18.66, but not all 4-card Royals are created equal. We might have 10-J-Q-K, which allows for pulling the suited 9 and picking up a Straight Flush. Or we can pick up an unsuited 9 for a Straight. However, we also only have nine ways to pick up a High Pair.
Thus the EV of this hand is rather different from that of J-Q-K-A, which has no way to pick up a Straight Flush and also has only one way to pick up a Straight (both ends are NOT open). But, we get three additional cards that will give us the High Pair.
But, there is another item that can affect the specific Expected Value. What happens if we are dealt a Flush 3-J-Q-K-A. The Flush has an EV of 6.00 while the 4-card Royal has an EV of 18.66. But, when we discard the 3, we lose one opportunity to draw the Flush.
This will certainly not drop the EV of the 4-card Royal to below that of a Flush, but we should recognize the impact of the specific card we discard. When we discard a card that could help improve the final hand, it is called a “penalty card.” In this particular case, there is no impact to our strategy as a result of discarding the 3, so we are safe to lump all 4-card Royals together.
However, as we go down further on our strategy table, we begin to break apart the hands into smaller groupings. We don’t have all the 4-card Straights listed together the way we do the 4-card Flushes. Because a Straight only pays 4 and there are only eight ways to complete them, the EV of Straights drops to the point where it is very close to many 3-card Straight Flushes, 2-card Royals and even High Card hands. Many of these hands also tend to overlap a lot, as in the example at the beginning of this article.
The hand is 2 High Cards, a 3-card Straight Flush and a 4-card Inside Straight all at the same time. Slight changes in the hand make up could make it other hands all at the same time.
When a hand overlaps as this one does, there are usually at least some penalty card situations. In this case, if we choose to play the hand as 2 High Cards, discarding the 8 and 9 create the penalty card situation. We wouldn’t want to draw an 8, 9 and 3, but we wouldn’t mind drawing an 8, 9 and 10.
While this may not be the most common outcome, it is one that would complete the Straight and give us one of the highest possible payouts for the 2 High Cards. So, discarding them may reduce the ACTUAL Expected Value slightly from the one we may find under 2 High Cards in the strategy table.
Likewise, when we hold the 8, 9 and Q, we are discarding the Jack which is a penalty card. It can be used to complete a Straight or we might pick up another Jack to make a High Pair. So, I calculated the exact Expected Value in last week’s column to make sure the result was 100% accurate.
As I’ve said many times in my column, you don’t need to memorize the Expected Value of any hand because the value itself is meaningless. What matters is the relative value. You need to know which hand has the higher EV.
Once in a while, a penalty card situation will cause a hand as it is shown on the strategy table to have an Actual Expected Value that actually drops it to below that of another playable hand from that same 5-card draw. This in essence creates an exception condition to how the hand should be played when using a strategy table.
The hand should still be played according to which has the higher Expected Value, but because we are using the “average” shown on a strategy table, we don’t actually do this.
When my father, Lenny Frome, developed Expert Strategy, he was well aware of this situation. He felt the impact on the payback of these exceptions was too small to be concerned with relative to the idea of listing out what could be several to dozens more lines on the strategy table.
Learning Expert Strategy can be enough of a challenge. He didn’t want to complicate it further by trying to list out hands that might look something like this:
4-card Straight with 2 high cards, EXCEPT if there is a 3-card Straight Flush, but ONLY if the 2 high cards are part of the 3-card Straight Flush.
I tend to agree with my father. Learning these extra rules is only for diehards, and even then the risk of error might be more than the extra 0.001% it might yield in payback.

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Cantor Gaming has now reached beyond Nevada, announcing Friday that they have reached an agreement to provide a complete mobile casino gaming solution at the Colusa (CA) Casino Resort.
Cantor, which partners with casinos to provide the latest and most innovative mobile gaming technology, plans to offer a wide selection of casino style games to Colusa’s customers on its proprietary gaming system. These will include Xtra Odds Blackjack and Xtra Odds Baccarat, as well as new games that Cantor is preparing to release within the next three months.
In addition, a selection of slots, table games and video poker will be available to Colusa customers on Cantor Gaming’s mobile gaming platform.
“We are delighted to enter the California market with Colusa Casino Resort and be the exclusive provider of mobile gaming at their resort,” said Lee Amaitis, president and CEO of Cantor Gaming. “By offering our unique proprietary gaming content that combines pioneering technology and entertaining content with the ease and flexibility of our popular mobile devices, we are confident that we will provide Colusa customers with an extraordinary gaming experience.”
Colusa Casino Resort is a Las Vegas-style gaming, entertainment, and recreation destination in northern California. The resort has 1,273 state of the art slot machines, mobile gaming, table games, poker and bingo.
“California represents a tremendous opportunity for our business and we look forward to exploring further opportunities within this market,” Amaitis said.

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Look for great buffet deals this month at many of your favorite locals’ casinos.
RED ROCK
Red Rock Casino Resort is running a 2-for-1 buffet offer with no play or any other purchase necessary. Just swipe your Boarding Pass player’s card at any kiosk to print out your voucher and take it to the buffet. The offer is available Monday through Thursday only through June 28, limited to one offer per day per Boarding Pass.
SUNCOAST
Sapphire and Emerald card holders (the top two levels of Boyd’s B Connected) can swipe their player’s card at any kiosk on Mondays and Wednesdays this month and print out a 2-for-1 St. Tropez buffet voucher valid that day. There is a limit of one voucher per person per promotional day, but no play is necessary.
TERRIBLE’S
Play here Sundays in June to earn 300 points and collect a free breakfast or lunch buffet. Players can also earn 600 points for a free dinner buffet or up to two buffets per Sunday. Buffet vouchers are valid for seven days.
ALIANTE
The Station Casinos locale has a 2-for-1 Prime Rib Dinner offer available every Monday and Thursday in June at MRKT Sea & Land. You must purchase a beverage and ask your server for the special.
TUSCANY
Players can earn a variety of gift cards every Sunday and Monday. Every 1,000 base points earns one $10 gift card. There is a maximum four gift cards per day. If you play on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays you’ll earn 10x points instead of gift cards. Player’s Club members earn 10x points on most machines. For those who play late at night, you can get 5x points from midnight – 5 a.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
HARD ROCK
“Pick your Poison” every Wednesday through July. Earn 250 points and receive a free kiosk swipe to pick a shot glass and win a prize including free slot play, dining credits and casino merchandise. Players can earn up to five prizes per day.
LVH
There is a Shopping Spree Giveaway in progress now through Aug. 20. Receive $1 in Spree Bucks for every $1 in comps earned playing slots. The more you play, the more Spree Bucks you earn. Spree Bucks will be awarded Tuesday, Aug. 21 so you can shop till you drop! Visit the players club to check out gifts available during the spree and for complete details about the promotion.
ORLEANS
Through July 4 all B Connected Club members are eligible to participate in the Blackjack Beach Towel Madness table games promotion. For every 18 blackjacks within a 24-hour period, winners will receive a custom Orleans Beach Towel. Each time the player is dealt a blackjack, the dealer will validate the player’s card.
Once a player has 18 validated blackjacks within a 24-hour period, the player will present their punch card to a table games supervisor who will verify. There is a limit of one towel per B Connected Club account per day.
JERRY’S NUGGET
On Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in June, MoreClub players in North Las Vegas can get $20 of promo chips for only $10. Promo consists of four $5 chips and can be wagered during any live table game action. Players can swipe their MoreClub card to receive the promo chips offer at any kiosk.
Until next week…good gaming and good luck!

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I finally discovered something that has a lower payback than slot machines – New Jersey Turnpike tolls! As I write this, we’re back on the East Coast for personal business.
After landing at Newark, we had to drive up to the Boston area. I couldn’t believe the toll from Newark airport to the northern end of the Turnpike. It was $3.60 to go about 20 miles. Throw in the $12 toll to cross the George Washington Bridge into New York and I was out more than $15 after only being on the road for 25 minutes!
It takes quite a bankroll to drive on these roads, and with no chance of winning! We had only left NJ less than a year ago and all these tolls had gone up considerably since we left!
On a more serious note regarding slots, I received a very good question from a reader this past week. He acknowledged what I had written several weeks ago that the average slot machines paid only 92-93% and that video poker generally paid 97-100+%.
more poker betting tip articlesHe asked, given that casino gambling is just a form of entertainment, what is so bad about the idea of taking $100 of your bankroll to go for a huge jackpot on a slot machine, especially given that winning a similar amount at video poker would take a long time with smaller wins along the way. I have to admit, it took a little while for me to come up with a response.
I think the best I can come up with is if you go in with your eyes open as to what you are doing then I can’t really say there is anything wrong with it. Gambling is entertainment and if it brings you enjoyment to take part of your bankroll and put it into a low-payback slot machine with a jumbo-size jackpot that is your choice.
If I have any issue with the concept it is that it is very hard, if not impossible to go into this with your eyes truly open. Yes, you can know the size of the jackpot, but you don’t know the probability of actually hitting it.
The other issue is that it is standard practice in casino gaming if the game has a huge jackpot (usually Progressive) the payback of the game tends to be even lower. This is true for slot machines and even table-game side bets. Outside the casino, this is even truer for things like Lotto. Most state lotteries have paybacks in the 50-60% range. Players are willing to play games with very low paybacks in hope of winning that life altering prize.
Again, however, in the case of Lotto, we are able to compute the probability of winning the top prize. This is not the case for slots.
While the low payback of regular slots is concerning, and the presumed even lower payback of a progressive slot is even more concerning, the biggest concern still belongs to the notion there is no way to know anything about a slot machine.
We don’t know the probability of the jackpot spin or any other result. We have no way of knowing the overall payback of the machine by a simple glance at the glass. In a place like Nevada, the payback can be no less than 75% so that is about all we really know.
So, all that said, if you feel you want to play a game that has a life-changing jackpot with a portion of your bankroll, I can understand the desire to try your hand at a slot machine. It is probably the only chance you have for a multi-million dollar prize.
If you are looking for a gigantic jackpot, I would personally recommend a Pai Gow Poker sidebet or the Six-Card sidebet for Three Card Poker. The prizes will only be in the few hundred thousand to $1 million range, but you’ll still be playing games with higher paybacks.
In the end, it is your money and you have to decide how you want to spend it and what provides you the most enjoyment. If chasing a mega jackpot on a low paying machines with a portion of your bankroll is what brings you joy, I won’t stop you.

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