You may have heard rumblings in Las Vegas about "participation games". One
group of casinos have gone so far as to promote a bill in the Nevada
legislature to make them illegal. Participation games are games where the
casino doesn't own the slot machine, but is loaned it for free by the
manufacturer in exchange for a share of the profits. The games in question
are usually those with progressive jackpots like Megabucks and Wheel of
Fortune. The way it works is this.For every dollar that goes in the machine,
a percentage, usually 5%, is set aside for the progressive jackpot. The
casino takes this jackpot share from the profits and pays it to the
participation operator. When a jackpot is hit, it's not the casino that pays,
but the operator, which has collected its 5% from many different casinos.
After the jackpot share is taken out, the remaining profit is divided between
the casino and the participator, and this is where the problem arises.
Handing over that big check really hurts.
The casinos claim they don't make enough on participation games. They have to
pay taxes to operate the machine and this comes out of their share of the
profits, while the participator pays nothing. The participators counter that
they need the money to develop new games. Both these claims are straining the
truth somewhat - let's look at them.
From the casino's point of view, participation games are the most profitable
in the house. Last year, when the average Las Vegas slot was making about
$100 a day, the Wheel of Fortune machines were consistently averaging $600 or
more! Even if they had to pay half of this to the participators, AND pay
taxes on top, the casinos were making more than twice as much profit from the
WoF than any other machine in the house. If paying the participators was so
painful, why not just take the machines out? It's obvious, isn't it.
From the participator's point of view, the games contribute half their annual
profits. For example, it doesn't hurt at all to pay those big jackpots.
They're all paid as annuities over 20 or 25 years, so in fact the
participator just pays you the interest - sorry, part of the interest - and
keeps the capital! As for the rest of the profit share, they get to keep it
all, and in at least one case that works out around $60 million a year. The
participators' defence is that they need the money for R&D. R&D? What a joke!
They haven't had an original idea for 15 years. How much does it cost to
think up new graphics for Double Diamond?
The dispute grinds on. The casinos have started a new company to develop
these machines for themselves, and sponsored the above-mentioned legislation.
The participators have countered by obtaining a wide-ranging patent on all
kinds of "secondary" games (those with wheels, etc) to retain their monopoly.
Lawyers all over the country are ordering new Ferraris in anticipation of the
battles to come. So where does this leave you, the player?PS: if you have a few bucks left when you're leaving Las Vegas and want to
take a last chance at the airport, play the Wheel machines. Most of the
airport machines are set as tight as legally possible and this has actually
made the Wheels the best machines in the house. Signed Vegas Vic.
A new feature of Vegas-Express. Mark Pilarski, one of the worlds' premiere writers on Gambling,
has allowed
us to use his material in our Netgambler news letter.
Here is a sample of Mark's quick fire Q and A
- (Q)
What was the exact hand held by "Wild Bill" Hickok when shot in the back by Jack McCall?
- (A)The ace of clubs, ace of diamonds, both black eight's and the queen of hearts.
- (Q)How often will I be dealt a natural blackjack on a single deck game?
-
(A)4.83% of the time.
-
What do the four suits in a card deck represent? Morgan P.
-
They symbolize the medieval classes of man. Hearts-priesthood, Spades-nobility, Clubs-peasantry, Diamonds-the wealthy
merchant class.
-
What is the house edge in baccarat when betting on the bank hand?
-
1.17%. If you bet the player hand, you're at a 1.36% disadvantage. Both are still great wagers for the player.
- (Q)
Who is known as "the Grand Old Man of Poker?"
- (A)
Johnny Moss, who not only was the first world champion crowned at the World Series of Poker, but also a three-time champ.
- (Q)
Using perfect basic strategy in blackjack, when do you split eights?
- (A)
Always! There are two hands that basic strategy dictates you should always split-aces and eights.
- (Q)
What is a cat hop in draw poker?
- (A)
A two-card draw to a straight or a flush.
- (Q)Who was the first big-name entertainer in Vegas?
- (A)
Liberace was first to demand, and get, $50,000 per week in Las Vegas.
- (Q)
Why are the table felts blue in Morocco? Darren S.
- (A)
Because green is the sacred color of Islam; also known as the "Color of the Prophet."
-
(Q)I always bet red on a roulette table. How often can I expect to win? Arlene P.
-
(A)47.37% of the time.
- (Q)
How can the casino afford to give away a 99¢ breakfast?
- (A)
Because they plan on you spending $20.99 before you leave.
- (Q)
Who was the first woman twenty-one dealer in Nevada? Caroline S.
- (A)
Doris Rose, who pitched cards at the Nevada Club in Reno.
- (Q)
How many possible poker hands are there using a 52-card deck?
- (A)
2,598,960.
- (Q)
What is your favorite casino bet?
- (A)Any wager that has less than a 2% house advantage.
- (Q)Any favorite books or movies on gambling?
- (A)
My favorite gambling movie is "Let it Ride" staring Richard Dreyfuss. As for books, two come to mind; "The Gambler" by
Fyodor Dostoevsky and "The Luck Business" by Robert Goodman.
- (Q)
If I hit a hard 16 in blackjack, how often will I bust? Christine H.
- (A)60% of the time.
- (Q)
What is the best advice you would give a first-time gambler?
- (A)
Whether they're a first-timer or a seasoned veteran, my advice remains the same. "The smarter you play, the luckier you'll be."
- You can read more of Mark Pilarski at; http://winner.com/percent.html
Deviations Make the Difference In Craps
By Lawrence Boxer
The vast majority of gamblers have been taught to go with the
probabilities. We know that a
seven will come up roughly one out of every six times the dice are
rolled, and that other numbers
come up correspondingly less frequently, depending on the number of dice
permutations that
add up to that specific number.
We also know that based on a many rolls, usually a thousand, a so-called
normal distribution
curve immerges, so that over time the totals of all the dice numbers
thrown reflect the curve: the
most sevens, slightly fewer sixes and eights, still fewer fives and
nines, very few fours and tens,
fewer still threes and elevens, and only a smattering of twos and
twelves.
And this is the curve on which the odds are based and on which we place our
bets.
But consider this: we players are never at a given table for a thousand
rolls and usually not even
for a hundred. So we never see that normal distributiuon curve. Instead,
we see tiny segments of
the curve which may or may not reflect the normal distribution curve,
and most often don't.
These segments are deviations from the normal curve and are
unpredictable! Only when all the
deviations over time are added up does the normal curve immerge, and
only the casino is there
for the entire process, while individual players come and go, hoping for
a deviation that is lucky
for them.
So it is, after all, a crapshoot.
Lawrence Boxer is a gambling consultant in southern California, who
offers tutorials and
seminars, and writes for several gaming publications. He can be reached
via email at
ljboxer@earthlink.net.
Copywrite laws prohibit the use of this material except by express permission
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