Ask the Slot Expert: Advice for playing Class II slot machines

Dear John,

I've been reading your column, and some things you say are very interesting, however, there is a huge "Ponzi Scheme" going on at a New York Casino. The machines are definitely being influenced and controlled by someone.

There are too many complaints, and it's no joke, people are losing thousands of dollars and maxing out there bank accounts to try and win some of their cash back.

The only machine we get money out of, is the ATM machine, and the lines are long at the ATM Machines.

The people complain that they feel like the machines are hypnotizing them.

The tech's know when the machines are going to hit, and they send their family members to the casino to collect on them.

This is a New York State Casino run casino! It's a cash business, and the taxpayers know that the real numbers are not being recorded.

These machines are being compromised by someone and that is happening while people are playing them.

The New York Gamblers Commission has gotten a lot of complaints, they're all involved in covering up the truth about this casino ponzi scheme.

They're all making money off the scam, it's a cash business and the invoices are just a piece of paper with some bogus numbers written on them.

How do you explain that? Please give us your opinion we want to hear it.

If five people went into a New York Casino with $1000.00 each, and they spent every penny playing max bet, and they got a bonus and each won between $3.50 and $20.00 for their bonus round. Please can you explain that!

The investigator

Barbara Ricci
The Westchester News

Dear Barbara,

I reprinted your letter without any editing. Let me address some of your points.

How many complaints are too many? The casino business is a business that generates more complaints than other businesses. Players grumble every time they lose money. Formal complaints, I think, are few and far between because in the end players accept losing as a part of the game and the inevitable outcome if they play long enough.

I agree that it is no joke when players drain their bank accounts trying to win their money back. I always tell players that no machine is ever due and the odds are the same on every spin. Chasing your losses usually only leads to greater losses.

The machines are not literally hypnotizing players, but they are designed to make playing them fun and to entice players to keep playing. An intermittent, unpredictable reward is a very powerful way to get people to repeat a behavior. Many times I have heard players (myself included) say that they'll keep playing until they hit the bonus round one more time.

You make a number of statements that are begging for some examples and proof. What evidence do you have that techs know when machines will hit and send family members to play them? What are some examples of machines being compromised while being played? What happened that shouldn't have happened or what didn't happen that should have happened? What evidence do you have that "bogus numbers" are being recorded and reported? Referring to your first "explain that," I need more details about what exactly "that" is.

I don't see any problem in your bonus round example. I've had playing sessions in which the bonus rounds were few and far between and then I won next to nothing -- and even nothing -- when I finally got to the bonus round. The explanation is that they didn't do well in their bonus rounds. Not winning a lot in a bonus round is not an indication that something is wrong with a machine or that the machine is being manipulated.

Finally, I think it is highly unlikely that the State of New York is complicit in a vast conspiracy to run crooked casinos. I'd really like some examples and concrete proof for your statement that "the machines are definitely being influenced and controlled by someone. "

John

I am from California and most of the casinos here are on Indian reservations which have Class II machines. However, we have a Casino here in Emeryville that has slot machines with Bingo boards attached to them to legalize the play on the slots. I know you have plenty advice for Class III Vegas style machines, My question to you is what suggestion would you give for Class II machines and slots that have the Bingo boards attached?

I have the same advice as for Class III machines: Play with money earmarked for entertainment and that you can afford to lose; use money management techniques to ensure your money lasts for as long as you want to play; use your players card to ensure you get the comps your play has earned; and don't play more just to get a comp.

The primary difference between a Class II and a Class III slot machine is how their results are determined. In the end, a 90 percent payback slot is a 90 percent payback slot, regardless of whether it is Class II or Class III.

The only different advice I have is for video poker. A Class II video poker machine is a slot machine, not a true video poker machine. Don't bother playing with a strategy; it's useless. The machine isn't dealing cards from a deck. The central system has already determined the result of your hand -- regardless of what you do!

Jackpots for all,
John

Send your slot and video poker questions to John Robison, Slot Expert™, at slotexpert@slotexpert.com. Because of the volume of mail I receive, I regret that I can't reply to every question.

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