Yes, same slots may have varying RNGs

There’s a large subset of my e-mail that comes from slot players who start by saying, “I get that the games are random, but . . . ” Then they tell of a slot experience that doesn’t seem quite right to them. The latest came …

Two publications worth checking out

As a casino value-seeker both by inclination and bankroll, I look forward each year to the Las Vegas Advisor’s member rewards booklet and to the new edition of the American Casino Guide. Both are on my desk now, and I look forward to plotting out …

Random results are the name of the game

A shuffle through the Gaming mailbag:

Q. Do video poker machines with progressive jackpots on royal flushes deal fewer small winners to make up for the bigger jackpots?

Ed, St. Charles

A. No, the programming in video poker doesn’t allow for a lower frequency of …

Majestic Star II bright spot for video poker

The last several years have not been kind to video poker players in the Chicago area, with a decline in pay tables that I lamented a few weeks ago in my best-of-2011 column. But there is a bright spot, as an alert reader pointed out …

Whole lotta Elvis slot play going on

Pop culture has been a fertile field for slot machine designers for a couple of decades now. In any trip to a casino, we expect to see games based on games and game shows (Monopoly, “Wheel of Fortune”), TV shows (“Star Trek,” “The Beverly Hillbillies”) …

Mississippi Stud: When to fold 'em

Any card game that requires decisions by players has its dividing lines. When the dealer has a 10 in blackjack, you hit when you have a hard total of 16 or less, but stand on 17 or higher. In Caribbean Stud Poker, you stay in …

Highs outpaced the lows in 2011 gaming

Amid the usual mix of new games and revamped amenities that happen every year, there was one big, overpowering change that dwarfed all else in the Chicago-area casino scene in 2011: the opening of the Rivers Casino in Des Plaines.

It had been 16 years …

Payback percentage a complex formula

I’ve mostly ignored overall slot payback percentages ever since casinos opened in the Chicago area. Knowing which casinos pay more on dollar slots or which offer the highest returns on penny slots is useful information. The payback percentages on all machines of all coin denominations …

Not all players comped equally

Whether comps come in the form of meals, hotel stays, cash back, free play or anything else, players who are the most valuable to the casino have always been given the most incentive to return. Along with wagering totals, the house edge is taken into …

Three royals in a row astounding

I don’t really believe in beginner’s luck. The odds don’t change just because you’re a newbie. Nonetheless, a father’s tale of his son’s first, second and third times in a casino might make the phrase “beginner’s luck” ring through your brain at megadecibels. The short …

Disparity in baccarat leaves reader puzzled

Those who dabble in baccarat know that the bet on the banker hand is slightly better than the bet on player. Both are among the better bets in the casino, with a house edge of 1.06 percent if you bet on banker, and 1.24 percent …

Area casinos need to rethink game mix

A shuffle through the Gaming mailbag:

Q. I went to an Illinois casino last week for the first time in a few months. It was nearly empty. I could have played just about any game I wanted, but the video poker was awful, they jacked …

Changes just part of the game at Rivers

Casino slot floors are constantly changing as managers keep an eye out for new games and shifts in player tastes. In the case of Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, the first few months of operation were a time of evaluating what customers were and were …

Much to like about Alice slots

There usually is a lag time between my first peek at a hot new slot machine and the time I see the game in action in casinos. Sometimes it’s just because I’m not actively seeking out the game, but there’s usually a matter of months …

7-14-21 table game one of the better bets

Based in Northbrook, Leading Edge design has made its name with its creativity in electronic games. It was Leading Edge who designed the Gems Wild Tiles cascading reels game and Multi-Strike Poker, both licensed and distributed by International Game Technology. But at the beginning of …