Arizona Gaming Guide Magazine April 2011 by Arizona Gaming Guide

Contents APRIL

FEATURES 14 20 CRAZY CASINO MYTHS Getting down to the truth of the matter

GREAT GAMES 08 SLOT REVIEW WMS’ Kingdom of the Titans®

10 SLOT REVIEW WMS’ Silver Sword® 12 NEW TABLE GAME Triple Attack Blackjack only at Bucky’s Casino

WINNING WAYS 20 SLOT BONUS SECRETS Smart slot players know this important number 21 THREE CARD POKER® Decreasing the house edge 22 HELP SCREEN SECRETS Manufacturers & Casinos hope you don’t read them

FAST FACTS 23 CASINO INDUSTRY NEWS NIGA 2011 tradeshow in Phoenix WMS WAPs are on a hot streak 25 SLOT BONUS PICKS What you pick in the bonus may not matter 27 CASINO NEWS Desert Diamond Casinos have great promotions 28 CASINO BUZZ Classified information

REGULAR RESPINS 04 EDITOR’S NOTE What’s on our mind 06 PLAYERS TALK What’s on your mind 28 FUN & GAMES Sudoku & Jackpot Puzzle to keep your mind sharp! 29 SAMI’S SMACKDOWN Rants, raves & reflections 30 CASINO SPONSOR DIRECTORY

28 azgamingguide.com | April 2011 | Arizona Gaming Guide

EDITOR’S NOTE @

Your Authority On Everything Gaming VOLUME 02 • ISSUE 09 PUBLISHER Chris Hoft chris@azgamingguide.com

I’m So Thrilled To Be Here The casino gaming industry has been my life for nearly 14 years, so it was an absolute honor to be invited to join the Arizona Gaming Guide team! I’m eager to share all my knowledge and experience I’ve acquired over the years with gaming enthusiasts across the state of Arizona. I’m also very excited to be working with the great people who welcomed me so warmly to their group. Thank you! I loved the camaraderie I felt during the production of the April issue. I would also like to thank you, our wonderful readers! As I’ve been getting to know my colleagues, I’ve also been getting to know all of you. I’ve had an amazing time reading your e-mails and letters. And, what I’ve learned is that we all share a common bond; our love for casino games. We all want to know about new games and where we can play them. We also want to know about the best strategies and ways to maximize our chances of winning. And, of course, we all want to be in the loop on the latest casino gossip and industry trends. We promise to deliver all of this and more to you in every issue of the Arizona Gaming Guide. Please visit www.facebook.com/ArizonaGamingGuide, become part of our community and share your thoughts and experiences with others who also love the same casino games you do. Don’t forget that you can also find the current and back issues of the Arizona Gaming Guide on our website at www.azgamingguide.com. For your convenience, we have included the QR codes for both web addresses in our directory. Let me know what you think of our April issue and have fun. Cheers!

Alexandra Lang Editor-in-Chief editor@azgamingguide.com 04 Arizona Gaming Guide | April 2011 | azgamingguide.com

MANAGING DIRECTOR Elizabeth Torma liz@azgamingguide.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Alexandra Lang editor@azgamingguide.com ART DIRECTOR Melanie Mueller CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Mark Novak Alex Stewart Samantha Becker Lana Hartmann Elizabeth Torma ADVERTISING SALES Nina Consiglio nina@azgamingguide.com Alex Stewart alex@azgamingguide.com MAILING INFORMATION Arizona Gaming Guide P.O. Box 20636 Mesa, Arizona 85277 INTERNET INFORMATION www.azgamingguide.com www.facebook.com/ArizonaGamingGuide Copyright © 2011 The Arizona Gaming Guide. All rights reserved. The Arizona Gaming Guide (AGG) presents casino industry and gaming related facts as well as personal opinions and expects the reader to make his or her own decisions. All responses to reader emails and letters are to be considered as advice only. AGG accepts no responsibility and no liability for any actions of our readers based on the articles and advertisements presented within this publication. All pictures, images, logos, trademarks and trade names, etc. are the sole property of their respective owners. You must be 21 or older to gamble. Please play responsibly. Images on pages 3, 16, 20, 23, and 28 are courtesy of WMS. Copyright © WMS. All rights reserved. www.wms.com. Images on pages 14 and 15 are courtesy of IGT. Copyright © IGT. All rights reserved. www.igt.com. Image on page 23 is courtesy of Reed Expos. Copyright © Reed Expos. All rights reserved.

PLAYERS TALK @ Q&A On Everything Gaming Q: BAD LUCK ON THE VIDEO SLOTS I love playing the video slot machines, but I’ve been having really bad luck on them for a while now. I usually bring in between $100 and $200 to the casino and all that money just disappears so quickly! I won $600 on a buffalo game betting 40¢ over a year ago and I can’t remember winning anything since then. I usually go home empty-handed. My husband is always asking me why I play those machines, and I guess I’m starting to ask myself the same question! It’s not fun after a while if you just keep losing all the time. Why can I never win anything anymore? My husband’s going to stop taking me to the casino if I keep losing money like this. Do you have any advice for me? Joan Wiseman – Peoria, AZ A: Joan, sometimes varying your routine and throwing something new in the mix is all it takes to change your luck around! Consider playing a different type of video slot or a completely different casino game for a little while. Since you seem comfortable with a 40¢ bet, why don’t you try playing a 5¢ denomination video poker game where the maximum wager is either 25¢ or 50¢? I guarantee your $100 to $200 will last much, much longer (on average) than on a video reel game and your odds of walking away ahead will be much higher! If you still want to stick to the slots, try playing a classic mechanical stepper game – the kind with the sevens and bars and no fancy graphics or animations. All the casinos in Arizona have these games and you have a very good chance of winning several hundred dollars placing bets between 50¢ and 75¢ on these games. You also have video and live keno, video table games (such as blackjack and roulette), and bingo that are all inexpensive gaming options with the potential of high returns! There are a couple more things you need to keep in mind. One, be aware that penny slots, while the most entertaining, are usually the tightest. In general, the higher the denomination the better the payback percentage is. Two, machines that are hooked up to progressives tend to be more brutal, because anywhere from 1% to 5% of the payback percentage is going towards the progressive meters.

Q: TIGHTER SLOT MACHINES I believe that casinos in Arizona have been making all their slot machines tighter and tighter because of the economy. I just don’t see people winning the big jackpots like they used to! I’d like to hear what you have to say about that. Robert Morrison – Scottsdale, AZ A: Robert, I know for a fact that’s absolutely not true! Casinos are actually going in the other direction and installing new games at higher than average payback percentages. In the past few months, several Arizona Gaming Guide team members have participated in new game installs at Arizona casinos and have personally witnessed what the payback percentages are being set to. Casino slot managers understand that the times are tough and people have less money to spend on entertainment. They know that making machines tighter will only drive players away and hurt the casinos in the long run. Setting machines looser tends to generate repeat business. Keep a close eye on our new section called “The Buzz” in this issue and future issues for insider secrets. In the upcoming months we are going to be working closely with slot managers and slot tech managers during new game installs and letting our readers know where they can play the “loosest” slots. Q: ARISTOCRAT SLOTS I love Aristocrat games. How come Arizona casinos don’t have more of them? I usually don’t have a problem finding Aristocrat slots in Las Vegas. Pat Cunningham – Mesa, AZ A: Pat, we love Aristocrat games too! Just take the beautiful drive up to Payson, Arizona to Mazatzal Hotel & Casino and you will have a nice selection of Aristocrat games to choose from! In fact, they still have one of our all-time favorite Aristocrat slots called Sun and MoonTM which we love to play when we’re up there. The reason there are more Aristocrat slots in Las Vegas is because there are just more slot machines there. Currently, the slot count in Las Vegas is about 200,000 (yes, you read that correctly). So, proportionately speaking, you will have an easier time finding Aristocrat machines there. $

ASK THE EXPERTS and get a $25 gas card if we decide to print your question! Do you have a question for our staff of casino gaming industry professionals and slot experts? Write us with your questions and comments in any area of gaming and we will make every attempt to publish a response in upcoming issues. Space is limited so we are unable to print every letter or e-mail we receive. Please include your name and mailing address with all correspondence. Mail to: Arizona Gaming Guide PO BOX 20636 Mesa, AZ 85277 or E-mail to: editor@azgamingguide.com.

06 Arizona Gaming Guide | April 2011 | azgamingguide.com

GREAT GAMES @ Slot Review By Lana Hartmann Kingdom of the Titans® and its clone John Wayne® by WMS are two slot games that just don’t seem to be as popular as they should be because, in my opinion, players don’t give the games the chance they deserve. What I tend to observe at the casinos is players trying out the games for a short period of time but quickly walking away confused and disgruntled. Although the Spinning Streak® mechanic is a bit intimidating at first, it doesn’t take long to start experiencing the energy and excitement of these great games! So what is the Spinning Streak®? It’s a game play mechanic that I guarantee will have your heart thumping. In short, it’s a re-spin feature. But hold on a second, because it’s not just any old re-spin feature you’ve seen plenty of times in other games. The Spinning Streak ®, as its name implies, keeps re-spinning and re-spinning for as long as additional wins are created! After the initial spin, all symbols in winning combinations lock in place and all other symbols re-spin in an attempt to make additional larger wins. As long as there is at least one symbol added to any existing winning combination, the Spinning Streak ® continues - creating bigger and bigger wins! So, basically, during each Spinning Streak® you are hoping that the symbols fill the screen entirely! And that is the most exciting aspect of this game; sitting back and just watching massive wins created on the screen. The Spinning Streak® even happens with the bonus symbols! All you have to do is collect three bonus symbols scattered anywhere on the screen to trigger the re-spin feature. Then, all you need is at least one more bonus symbol to trigger the next re-spin feature again! The five symbols required to get into the free games bonus aren’t very hard to collect with the extra re-spin boosts! Five bonus symbols gives you 8 free games, 8 bonus symbols awards you 10 free games, landing 10 bonus symbols on the reels rewards you with 25 free games, and if you can get 11 or more bonus symbols on the reels you’ll be basking in the glory of 50 free spins! And, guess what? Winning the 50 free spins is not difficult. I’ve hit them several times and have seen plenty of other players do the same. Those free games in the bonus will have you sitting on the edge of your seat, because all the wins are randomly multiplied by 2X to 10X. And, although seeing a 10X doesn’t happen very often neither does a 2X! Whether you walked by these games and just never considered playing them or you gave them a try once but 08 Arizona Gaming Guide | April 2011 | azgamingguide.com

Slot Review @ GREAT GAMES

Spinning Streak® in free games of Kingdom of the Titans®!

didn’t have the best experience, I strongly encourage you to give these games a shot! You can experience some amazing wins on these games! One member of our staff filled the screen with a medium valued symbol during a bonus on a Kingdom of the Titans® slot at Casino Arizona Talking Stick Resort and ended the bonus with a whopping W2-G hand pay for over $1,500.00!

Steve Shliveck, the Bartending Academy’s Center Director, has seen all kinds of students participate in the various courses offered at the school. From college students to retirees to executives of major corporations to bar managers to bar owners; there is something for everyone at the Bartending Academy! This unique training program contains 40 hours of handson instruction with free class refreshers. This can be completed in one or two weeks and includes your Alcohol Awareness State Certification from The Department of Liquor Licensing & Control. Additional courses are offered in Practical Bar Management, Master Flairtending, and Bar Magic. With Bartending Academy’s lifetime Career Assistance and free Refresher Courses, graduates are equipped with all the tools they need to succeed. Since the Bartending Academy has been educating students for over two decades, the range of job opportunities are practically limitless. The Bartending Academy receives calls from prospective employers all over the State of Arizona and they include lifetime job placement assistance locally and nationwide. So if you are looking for a career change, or an opportunity to make some extra money, contact the Bartending Academy at 480.921.9925 and try them out right now with one free training session just for mentioning this ad!

Here are some hints on how to get the most out of your experience with these slots: 1. Make sure you sit down with the proper bankroll for this game. This means having at least 100X the bet you intend on playing in your wallet for a chance to experience the excitement of the game. These slots are volatile and that means there will be several losing spins in a row. 2. Sit back and enjoy the animations and the sounds of these games. The Spinning Streak® can really extend your spins and therefore your play time. 3. See if you can predict where the symbols need to land in order to initiate the re-spins feature again. This makes it seem as though you’re participating in the game rather than just pressing a button. 4. Play these slots at Casino Arizona Salt River and Casino Arizona Talking Stick Resort, Ft. McDowell Casino, Desert Diamond Casino, and Mazatzal Casino. Our team has had the best results on the games at these casinos! WMS is introducing three new slots in the Spinning Streak® Series, including Bamboozled®, Jewels of AfricaTM, and The MonkeesTM. E-mail us your amazing “Big Win” pictures at editor@azgamingguide.com! $

Slot machine images are courtesy of WMS. Copyright © WMS. All rights reserved. www.wms.com. The Monkees and the Monkees logo are registered trademarks of Rhino Entertainment Company. © 2011 Rhino Entertainment Company. JOHN WAYNE is the exclusive propert y of Wayne Enterprises. All rights reserved. SURVIVOR TM & © 2011 Survivor Productions, LLC. All rights reserved.

azgamingguide.com | April 2011 | Arizona Gaming Guide

GREAT GAMES @ Slot Review

By Mark Novak

When I first saw these games at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas in late 2008, I recall asking myself: why would you play IGT’s Multi-Play® games where you play 4 games at the same time when you can play WMS’ Super Multi-Pay® games and get so much more bang for your buck? With every spin of the reels on these awesome WMS slots, you always have three more chances to improve the result of the main screen! Every Wild symbol landing on the reels in the main screen transfers over to three other smaller reel screens! The transferred Wild symbols are held in place over each one of the other small screens while those reels come to rest. Just imagine how you’ll feel when the main screen and all three of the smaller screens are filled with Wild symbols. The anticipation builds until all four sets of reels have stopped spinning. When I first experienced several groups of stacked Wild symbols moving from the main screen to the smaller ones while playing this slot at Casino Arizona Salt River, my heart just about stopped! The fourth screen wasn’t done spinning and it really didn't matter where it stopped as I knew I was in for a massive reward. The fun doesn't begin and end with the Wild symbols either. The Bonus symbols also transfer from the main screen to the other three screens for some truly lucrative action. Having three more chances to hit the bonus with a game like Silver Sword® is an awesome reward IGT’s Multi-Play® slots don't offer! In order to trigger the 10 free spins bonus you have to get three Bonus symbols scattered in any one screen. Triggering the bonus on more than one screen at the same time increases the total bonus multiplier from 3X to 12X if you trigger the bonus on all four sets of reels! I managed to trigger the free games this way and had several players around me tell me they had done the same thing, so you can too! On a side note, a transferred Bonus symbol and a new Bonus symbol landing on the same reel are counted as one symbol only.

10 Arizona Gaming Guide | April 2011 | azgamingguide.com

Slot Review @ GREAT GAMES Gems Gems Gems® and Silver Sword® are clones so you can count on the exact same game play from both slots! You may see St. Petersburg®, Samurai Master®, Nautilus®, Valiant Knight®, and Rose of Cairo® in Arizona casinos, they are all part of the Super Multi-Pay® family of slots but each game functions in a slightly different way. To the left are examples of how the Wild symbols and Bonus symbols transfer from the main screen to all three of the smaller screens. The top picture demonstrates how two Silver Sword® Wild symbols on the first reel of the main screen and one symbol on the third reel transfer onto the smaller screens. The bottom picture shows how two Bonus symbols on the main screen are transferred onto all other screens. Our team has the best experiences with these games at Ft. McDowell Casino, Casino Arizona Salt River, Casino Arizona Talking Stick Resort, and Desert Diamond Casinos. You can find them available in 1-cent and 2-cent versions. Post your winning pictures on our wall at facebook.com/ ArizonaGamingGuide or write us an e-mail at editor@azgamingguide.com. Best of luck playing these amazing slots! $ Slot machine images are courtesy of WMS. Copyright © WMS. All rights reserved. www.wms.com.

azgamingguide.com | April 2011 | Arizona Gaming Guide

GREAT GAMES @ New Table Game Bucky’s Casino in Prescott, AZ regularly has the latest table games before any other casino in the state has them and Triple Attack Blackjack by Galaxy Gaming is no exception.

Triple Attack Blackjack at Bucky’s Casino in Prescott, AZ By Alex Stewart

Their card room is in a very good position as this version of Blackjack is currently exclusive to Bucky’s casino and will remain that way until Mr. Stratton and his team at the AZ Department of Gaming (see our MVP Spotlight from February of 2011) receive more requests to approve this card game from other tribal gaming agencies for use in the casinos they regulate. Table Games Supervisor Mr. Aquil Patel and Table Games Shift Supervisor Mr. Jeff Cagan of Bucky’s Casino had a lot to say about this game during a recent conversation with our staff. “If you know how to play Blackjack, you’ll be playing this game well in just a few minutes,” said Mr. Cagan noting how positive both dealers and players have been about Triple Attack Blackjack since mid-March when the game went live at Bucky’s Casino. Players have far more control over the game as they decide to make additional bets as their own card and the dealer’s up card are revealed. Players can double down at any point during the game, even after splitting. Since a point total of 21 for a player’s hand guarantees a win, you can imagine how much excitement is generated at the tables. This game has all the basics of Blackjack and a ton of extras to benefit the player, including side bets with some lucrative payoffs! The Suited Royals Bonus Bet applies to the first 2 player cards. A Triple Match Bonus Bet is made towards the first 2 player cards and the dealer’s up card. $ At Bucky’s Casino the Suited Royal Bonus Bet pays: 30 to 1 for suited King & Queen, 12 to 1 for suited Face Cards, and 2 to 1 for suited cards (Overall you’ll win something about every four hands)

At Bucky’s Casino the Triple Match Bonus Bet pays: 50 to 1 for a suited Three-of-a-Kind, 8 to 1 for a Three-of-a-Kind, 6 to 1 for a suited pair, 2 to 1 for any pair (Overall you’ll win something about three in every thirteen hands)

Many thanks to Loreen Vargo, Aquil Patel, and Jeff Cagan at Bucky’s Casino for their help! For more info visit buckyscasino.com or call 1-800-SLOTS-44.

12 Arizona Gaming Guide | April 2011 | azgamingguide.com

Triple Attack Blackjack images on this page and page 3 are courtesy of Bucky’s Casino, an Enterprise of the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe. Copyright © Bucky’s Casino. All rights reserved. www.buckyscasino.com. Triple Attack Blackjack Copyright © Galaxy Gaming. All rights reserved. www.galaxygaming.com.

20 Crazy Casino Myths By Lana Hartmann

There are many misconceptions about the casino gaming industry and I’m here to debunk all those crazy tales! After working for a major slot machine manufacturing company designing, developing and testing slot machine games for nearly 10 years, I’ve acquired industry knowledge that not many people have. I can recite lab regulations by heart, tell you major differences between all the North American jurisdictions, and I know what’s true and what’s not true.

2 Stopping Video Reels Can Affect A Game’s Outcome As soon as the “Spin” button on a slot is pressed, the result is determined by the random number generator (RNG.) The lights and animations that happen are only for entertainment purposes and the outcome of the spin doesn’t change no matter what a player does. The last bonus symbol can’t be “caught” in time by touching the screen before it passes by or a winning combination can’t occur by stopping the reels at precisely the right moment with the stop/spin feature.

1 Casinos Cheat Players Casinos don’t need to cheat players, because they make a profit with the house advantage in every single casino game. Every legal casino in the United States is monitored, at the very least, by a regulatory state agency. Tribal casinos are not only monitored by the state agencies, but by tribal gaming agencies as well. A casino’s gaming license is at risk if they cheat or commit any other crime. No casino will ever want to risk getting their gaming license revoked.

3 Casinos “Tighten” & “Loosen” Their Slots Many players believe that casinos just “tighten” or “loosen” their slots whenever they feel like it. Although this would be quite advantageous for the casino to be able to do this, it’s a very time consuming process that needs to involve a lot of people. When a new slot machine arrives at a casino it is initialized and the payback percentage is selected for the game. This is all done with a member of the overseeing agency recording all the settings of the game. It’s not in the best interest of any casino to change a game’s percentage to make it “tighter” or “looser” after the initial set-up because it requires down time, permission and oversight by a gaming agency, and additional administrative hassle. No slot manager is ever going to want his or her slots off for more than a few minutes, let alone the days it would require to go through the rigorous routine of initializing a slot game! The fact of the matter is that slots are usually removed from the floor with their original settings.

4 Progressive Wins Are Set Up All progressive systems are rigorously tested by an independent laboratory before they make their way on to any casino floor. A progressive hits when the RNG selects the winning combination, so no one has any control or influence over when that will happen. A fact that most players don’t realize is that large progressive amounts (usually over $100,000) are paid by the slot machine manufacturers and not the casinos! When huge progressives hit, representatives from the slot manufacturer will come out and verify the win. 14 Arizona Gaming Guide | April 2011 | azgamingguide.com

5 Cashing Out Resets A Slot Machine The action of cashing out does not “reset” a slot machine, nor does it influence the future outcomes of the game. Each spin on a slot game is completely independent from all previous spins and outcomes. And, for the foreseeable future, gaming regulations will not change in this area. In actuality, each time the “Spin” button is pressed on a slot machine, the game starts over. The RNG has no memory of the previous spin, so the practice of cashing out and placing the ticket back in the machine only creates an additional paper ticket that will have to be tracked and stored by the casino.

7 Free Play Is A Joke 6 The Jackpot Would Have Been Yours You leave a machine, somebody sits down after you and hits a bonus, a large win or, worse yet, a jackpot! Could that have been your luck had you not left the machine? Probably not. The RNG is constantly shuffling through all possible combinations and is perpetually doing so even when the machine is not being played. The RNG stops on a combination only when the player presses the “Spin” button. To say that both you and the person who sat down after you would have pressed the button at the exact same millisecond is very unlikely. Just consider the fact that the RNG can go through 100,000 or more combinations in just one second!

8 The Slot Is Due

9 New Slots Are Hot

Every spin on a slot machine is independent of the spin before. The RNG program that picks which values will be displayed on screen after each spin has no ability to control the future based on past outcomes. All gaming regulations state, at the very minimum, that every single outcome on a slot machine must be random at all times and that no slot game will adjust the likelihood of an event happening based on the history of the previous games and/or payouts. No matter what anyone says, a slot is never “due” for a win, a bonus, or a jackpot! Never, ever, “chase” after anything!

There’s no point in a casino going through the trouble of setting the payback percentage of a game higher when it’s first installed to give the impression that it’s a “looser” slot. Even a slot that has a high payback isn’t guaranteed to be “hot” in the short run. A slot’s payout percentage is a theoretical average over the long run. The time, the effort, and all the people involved in changing payback percentages isn’t worth all the uncertainty surrounding a random event like the performance of a slot machine during a short amount of time.

Your chances of winning or losing using free play money for credits are no different than when you use real currency or tickets for credits. The slot machine does not change its behavior because of the type of credits it is playing with. These are the facts. Since the casino gaming industry is so heavily regulated here in the U.S. and in most other countries around the world, there are many rules in place which ensure free play is fair for all players. Here’s a hint: keep track of how much you are winning with your free play money. Assume you have $10 in free play and you place 50¢ wagers. This mean the free play money will allow you to have 20 free spins. Count the 20 spins, stop playing, look at your credit meter and see how much you’ve won using your free play money! That money is yours. Whether you choose to continue playing or cash out at that point is your decision!

10 Most Players Prefer Blackjack Most casino visitors prefer slots and that is a fact. According to the American Gaming Association’s 2010 annual report, numerous gaming establishments across the U.S. state more than 90% of their gaming revenue comes from the continued on page 16 slots! azgamingguide.com | April 2011 | Arizona Gaming Guide

continued from page 15

11 Always Assume Dealer’s Hole Card Is 10 Wrong! There are 52 cards in a standard deck and 16 of those cards have a value of 10. This means that the picture cards (and tens) make up 31% of the deck. Mathematically speaking, the odds are 3 to 7 that the dealer actually has a 10 in the hole. So, there is basically a 70% chance that the dealer’s hole card is not a 10!

12 Visit The Casi- 13 Visit The Casinos At Busy Times nos At Slow Times

14 Counting The Cards Is Illegal Most gamblers think it’s illegal to count cards, especially when playing blackjack. Although there are no laws against it, the casinos do frown upon it and may ask you to leave if they suspect that’s what you are doing.

Many people believe that visiting a casino during a busy time will increase their likelihood of winning. And, the reason for this theory is because it just seems there are more jackpots, more lights flashing, and altogether more action going on when the casinos are packed. The misconception is that casinos intentionally make the machines pay out more when there are crowds to see the wins. This is false! The RNG in a slot machine doesn’t know how many people are in the casino. It’s just doing its job of picking numbers randomly!

On the flip side, many people believe that the best time to visit a casino is during a weekday when there’s the least amount of people. Monday is a popular day for this myth since “the machines are full of money from all the weekend play and they are ready to pay out.” The other reason some people prefer to play during the week is because they feel casinos intentionally tighten the machines on the weekends. Again, the RNG doesn’t know which day of the week it is, how many people are in a casino at any given moment, or what the weather is like outside!

15 Slot Bonuses Are Set Up To Not Pay Much On average, most math models in slot games are designed to pay out low wins 50% of the time, medium wins 40% of the time, and high wins 10% of the time. Usually it just feels like bonuses don’t pay much when several in a row don’t provide any substantial wins. Mathematically speaking, the chances of winning two low bonus wins in a row is 25% (50% x 50%). On the other hand, the chances of winning high amounts in two consecutive bonuses is only 1% (10% x 10%). What happens the most often, 81% (90% x 90%) of the time, are consecutive low and medium wins.

16 You Can’t Trust The Automatic Card Shuffle Machines Automatic card shufflers guarantee each shuffle is completely random. They also remove any potential mistakes a human dealer might make and they remove unnecessary delays during a game. Automatic shufflers are fair and secure and they can immediately alert a dealer, pit boss, or any other individuals monitoring a table game that a card is missing, has been added or is defective. All gaming regulations state that automatic card shufflers must be inspected each gaming day to ensure that the device is not damaged, is operating properly, and has not been compromised in any manner which might affect the integrity of the continued on page 18 game. 16 Arizona Gaming Guide | April 2011 | azgamingguide.com

continued from page 16

17 Casinos Pump Oxygen Into The Air Pumping oxygen into a casino is illegal and no casino would commit a felony and risk losing their license as a result. Furthermore, oxygen is a highly flammable gas! Almost anything burns like a torch in pure oxygen. Why would the casino employees want to put themselves in harm’s way? The simple truth of the matter is that some casinos inject ozone into the air. Oxidized ozone eliminates tobacco odors and reduces other offensive gases and eye-burning compounds that are usually found in smokefilled environments. Latest statistics show as many as 50% of casino patrons are smokers, so the casinos have no other choice but to do what they can to improve the air quality.

19 You Don’t Get An Advantage At Slot Games If You Bet More

18 Casino Drawings And Promotions Are Set Up All AZ casinos must seek prior approval by the Tribal Gaming Office and the AZ Department of Gaming before they are allowed to conduct any tournaments, drawings, promotions, cash or prize giveaways. If a casino was to “fix” one of their marketing promotions they would be in direct violation of the AZ Tribal-State Gaming Compact. One of the main reasons the AZ Department of Gaming exists is to ensure compliance with the Compacts and that there is no “cheating.” No casino would be foolish enough to jeopardize their gaming license over something as miniscule as a raffle or a drawing!

The simple truth of the matter is that, in many cases, the more you bet the more you increase your chances of winning! Some examples of games that reward players wagering the higher amounts are: Video Poker where max credits played awards a higher paying Royal Flush, Fort Knox Progressives and other randomly triggered Progressive games where higher wagers have an increased chance of triggering the Progressive, Community Games where higher multipliers are offered for larger bettors, and Mechanical Reel Slots where more pays and higher payouts are available only with higher bets. Always read the help screens and pay tables to determine if betting max will give you an advantage!

18 Arizona Gaming Guide | April 2011 | azgamingguide.com

20 All The Games Are Blind Luck At The Casino Blackjack, Poker, Video Poker, and even some slot bonuses involve skill. On any casino visit, luck does play a huge role. However, players can gain an advantage and increase their odds of long term success by learning the best strategy for all their favorite games. $

WINNING WAYS @ Slot Bonus Secrets

Smart Slot Players Know This Important Number By Mark Novak

You don’t have to rely on blind luck when playing the slots. Even though slot machines are based on random behavior, there is a mathematical model behind each game. The average number of spins (called the pulls-to-hit) it takes to trigger a bonus varies from slot to slot, and it’s up to the game’s mathematician to determine how often a player will get into a bonus. Volatile slots can take over 180 spins (on average) to get into a bonus where less volatile slots have much lower pulls-to-hit of between 60 and 80 spins. As a slot enthusiast, you should be able to have a good idea of approximately how many spins it takes to get into your favorite slot bonuses.

Why Is This Number So Important? Knowing the bonus pulls-to-hit, even if it’s just a ballpark figure, for your favorite slot machines is important. First of all, it helps you determine an appropriate amount for your bankroll. Let’s assume, for example, that your favorite slot game has a bonus pulls-to-hit of 120. If you intend on wagering 30¢ per spin and it takes 120 spins to get into the bonus, then you can expect to spend about $36 before you trigger the bonus. Therefore, a reasonable bankroll for this scenario would be $40. This amount of money would, most likely, allow you to experience the game’s bonus at least once. And, as all of us who play the slots know, the bonuses are where the players have the best chance of making a little bit of money. Second of all, knowing a game’s bonus pulls-to-hit provides you with a base value for comparison. In other words, when you are aware of what your typical performance is on a particular slot machine then it allows you to have certain expectations. If you reach your $40 mark but you haven’t gotten into the bonus, then it may be time to end the play session and come back to the machine another time. Don’t ever try to convince yourself that you should put in more money than you intended because the bonus hasn’t happened in a while and “should be around the corner.” $

Calculating The Bonus Pulls-To-Hit

Sit down at your favorite slot machine and as soon as you begin your play session start counting how many spins it takes to get into the bonus.

20 Arizona Gaming Guide | April 2011 | azgamingguide.com

Keep track of each bonus. For example, say it takes 96 spins to hit the bonus the first time, then 158 spins after that, then 57, and then 129.

Add 96+158+57+129 = 440 and then divide by the total number of bonuses played (in this case 4). On average, 110 spins to the bonus!

Three Card Poker @ WINNING WAYS

Three Card Poker® Decreasing The House Edge By Alex Stewart

Three Card Poker® has made its way into most of the casinos in Arizona. As a result, let’s examine some of the major strategy points of the game. When playing against the dealer, the best strategy for the Ante wager is to make the Play bet if your hand meets the following requirements: 1. Your highest card is at least a Queen 2. The next highest card is at least a six 3. The last card is at least a four Following this strategy will reduce the house edge to around 3.37%. Over time, you will win on almost 45% of the hands you play. In the event you come across a table where the casino acknowledges ties going to the player, you should adjust your strategy slightly. Raise as de-

scribed above and raise on the following unsuited cards: 1. Your highest card is at least a Queen 2. The next highest card is at least a six 3. The last card is at least a three If you wager the Pair Plus option, you win if your hand contains a pair or better. Essentially you are betting against a simplified poker pay table. However, when making equal Ante and Pair Plus bets, the house edge can climb to over 10%! While you may be teased by others for not making a Pair Plus wager, the optimal strategy for this game has a very different conclusion. Don’t place a Pair Plus wager! Best of luck playing Three Card Poker ® in casinos around Arizona! $

WINNING WAYS @ Help Screen Secrets

SECRETS HIDDEN IN THE HELP SCREENS Why the slot manufacturers and casinos are hoping you don’t read them By Sami Becker Players rarely take the time to explore the help screen pages. First of all, there is valuable information about the basic functionality of the game such as what the pay lines look like, the hierarchy of the symbols and winning combinations, scatter pays, and what symbols trigger a progressive or activate a bonus. Second of all, and even more importantly, there are oodles of hints and tips disclosed within these pages which people don’t realize! Here are just a few of the many, many secrets hidden in the help screens: 1. Rules for the Progressives and the Bonuses. Nowadays, more and more slot manufacturers are designing games that do not award progressives or bonuses to players that are not playing max bet. Be informed and know what features of the game will be available to you based on the bet you choose to play. 2. Whether or not Bonuses are predetermined. Yes, that’s correct! Sometimes your picks don’t matter and if a regulatory agency feels that a game may be misleading to the players, they

22 Arizona Gaming Guide | April 2011 | azgamingguide.com

will force the manufacturers to include a comment in the help screen. A good example of this is Money to BurnTM by WMS. 3. Picking strategies for Bonuses. Bonuses that involve a player decision such as “keep your win or risk your win for higher rewards” is an example of what can be interpreted as a strategic decision. These types of bonuses are heavily scrutinized by the regulatory agencies and manufacturers are required to disclose the “best strategy” for the game in the help screen. A good example of this is Deep PocketsTM by IGT - an oldie but goodie that can still be found on most casino floors across Arizona! You probably never imagined that the manufacturers would actually include helpful suggestions to players on how to improve their odds! Well, next time you play a slot, take a peek at the help screen and you may be surprised to find what’s there. An informed gambler is a smart gambler. $

Casino Industry News @ FAST FACTS

WMS WAP Slot Machines Are On A

HOT STREA K On March 5, 2011, WMS Gaming Inc., awarded its 200th Wide Area Progressive (WAP) of more than $600,000 on a MONOPOLY ADVANCE TO BOARDWALK™ slot machine to a lucky winner at Harrah’s Casino in North Kansas City, Missouri. This payout came on the heels of the largest jackpot in WMS history of $4,963,819.15 awarded to a lucky winner playing the WIZARD OF OZ™ RUBY SLIPPERS™ WAP penny slot game at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey just weeks earlier. In December, 2010, a jackpot of over $2.9 million was won on the WIZARD OF OZ™ WICKED RICHES® at the Aladdin Casino at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. And in October, 2010, another jackpot over $500,000 was hit on a WIZARD OF OZ™ at the Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, Michigan. These WMS WAPs are on a winning streak, so play them while they’re still HOT! $ booth space for the tradeshow floor. This gives attendees the opportunity to play the latest great games. In major contrast to the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas (frequently focused on the future), the NIGA tradeshow is primarily focused on slots which are ready for sale right now, because most games have already gone through all the appropriate regulatory steps. The tradeshow and convention brings together over 300 Tribal Governments that own over 400 Indian Gaming Facilities across the country. There is an opportunity for gaming industry executives and employees to participate in over 200 hours of workshops, training sessions, and certifications specifically designed for Indian Gaming.

NIGA 2011 Tradeshow & Convention April 3 - 6 in Phoenix! Every year the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) hosts an annual tradeshow and convention here in the southwest. Attendees include tribal leaders, tribal members, Indian gaming executives and employees, and many different vendors who all supply the Indian gaming industry in a variety of ways. Most of the major slot machine manufacturers purchase

As always, we want to give our readers the complete coverage on all the slot games we can find which are heading our way in the very near future. Since it’s a gaming event, you can bet the Arizona Gaming Guide staff will be there! Look for our report and review on NIGA 2011 - Phoenix in the next issue! We’ll be sure to include our list of favorite slots based on what we saw. If we notice any other unique games or casino related technology and products, we’ll mention them as well. For more information on NIGA and the Phoenix tradeshow and convention, visit indiangaming.org. $ azgamingguide.com | April 2011 | Arizona Gaming Guide

Slot Bonus Picks @ FAST FACTS

What You Pick In The Bonus May Not Even Matter By Lana Hartmann

If your favorite slot game’s bonus doesn’t award free games then it probably involves picking one or more objects for credits. The question is: does it matter what you pick in the bonus or has the game already determined the outcome? Well, in some cases the game’s outcome is predetermined and in other cases it’s not. Once you make your selection, the key is to observe what happens afterwards. If the game reveals what is behind the other objects then your pick does determine the outcome of the bonus and if the other prizes are not revealed then the outcome is already predetermined. Say, for instance, you pick one of four treasure chests for a bonus win of 500 credits. If the other three values behind the treasure chests are revealed to you, then you are picking for your bonus

win. Your 500 credit win is a direct result of your pick. That’s the good news! The bad news is that the 5000 credits behind the other treasure chest you were actually contemplating picking, but didn’t, could have been yours if you didn’t change your mind. On the other hand, if the game doesn’t show what was behind the other three treasure chests, then the 500 credit win was chosen by the slot machine’s computer program for you. In this situation, you don’t have to spend five minutes trying to figure out which treasure chest to choose! As soon as the bonus is triggered, the random number generator selects a value from the available options and then waits for you to touch the screen so that it can display your bonus win animation. $

The AZ Gaming Guide’s strategy is to always select the same object every time in bonuses where the picks matter (we always choose the objects on the right)! This way it takes the “Oh, I could have picked, should have picked, would have picked” torment out of the equation. $

azgamingguide.com | April 2011 | Arizona Gaming Guide

Casino News @ FAST FACTS Desert Diamond Casinos Has Great Slot Player Promotions For All Desert Diamond Club Members! Continuing through September 28, 2011, the Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise Desert Diamond Club will hold its “Diamond Sparkle Days (50 & over)” promotion. Desert Diamond Club members (50 years and older), and qualifying guests who sign up to become new members of the Desert Diamond Club, must swipe their Desert Diamond Club cards at the MGT Kiosks to participate in the “Diamond Sparkle Days (50 & over)” promotion. By swiping their card, any points earned through slot play on Wednesdays only at Desert Diamond Casino at Tucson and at Desert Diamond Casino at Sahuarita, and Desert Diamond Casino Why locations are doubled! This promotion is available only for points earned when playing slots with the member’s Desert Diamond Club card inserted in the card reader. Points earned through this promotion will show on the Desert Diamond Club members account the following day.

We are always amazed at the level of activity at all of the Desert Diamond Casinos on Saturday mornings! The casino has a really great offer for all of its Desert Diamond Club slot players. From 8AM to Noon, every Saturday through September 28, 2011, any Desert Diamond Club member can swipe their card at the MGT Kiosks to triple all points earned playing slots that morning. No wonder there are so many people taking advantage of this great offer! If you live in the Phoenix Metro area, the drive down to Tucson is really easy, especially on Saturdays. Make it a day trip, or stay in the luxurious hotel at the Tucson location—The only casino with a hotel in the Tucson area! For more information call 1.866.332.9467 or visit ddcaz.com. $

FAST FACTS @ Casino Buzz

CLASSIFIED INFORMATION HAVE WE GOT A SCOOP FOR YOU! Get ready to “Come On Down!” Brand new slot machines are coming very soon to one of the valley’s favorite casinos, Casino Arizona! Watch for WMS’ The Price Is Right® The Ultimate ShowTM bank of slots. According to our sources, you won’t want to miss out on the excitement when the bank goes live at Casino Arizona around the middle of April. With exciting game play straight from the TV show, there is more than enough action to go around with cash progressives, free games, and chances to spin the Showcase Showdown Wheel. And that’s not all! Watch out for more brand new slots at Casino Arizona with WMS’ 2-in-1 Attack from MarsTM and Revenge from Mars where you decide to defend Earth or destroy it! Let us know what you think of them. Preview The Price Is Right® The Ultimate ShowTM online at our website azgamingguide.com or our facebook at: facebook.com/ArizonaGamingGuide. $

SUDOKU

JACKPOT PUZZLE

Each of the columns, rows, and nine 3x3 grids must contain all of the digits 1 - 9. None of the digits may appear more than once in each column, row, and 3x3 grid.

After your daily visit to the mailbox, you find a flyer for a really interesting promotion at a local casino.

(Solution on page 30)

The promotion rules allow you to place 100 gold coins and 100 silver coins into two different bowls. You will then be blindfolded and asked to draw one coin out of one bowl. Obviously you will not be able to tell the difference between bowls or coins. If you select a gold coin, you receive $50 in free play. If you pick a silver coin, you get $5 in free play.

2 9 6

4 2 9 8

2 1

7 4

3 7

How should you arrange the coins in the bowls in order to have the best chance at picking a gold coin? (Solution on page 30)

28 Arizona Gaming Guide | April 2011 | azgamingguide.com

@ SAMI’S SMACKDOWN

Come On…Be Realistic By Sami Becker

Wow! Some casino visitors really don’t understand what casino gaming is all about! During one of my casino trips recently, I was absolutely flabbergasted by what I observed. Several slot players were inserting $1 bills into the machines, grimacing during their inevitably miserable 5 second play sessions and then stomping away (all the while mumbling obscenities under their breath). Here’s a newsflash—you cannot put a $1 bill into a slot machine and expect much to happen! You can, however, pick up a lottery ticket while filling up your gas tank on the way to work, tuck it away, and forget about it until it’s time for the drawing. And, although highly unlikely, your $1 ticket could turn you into a millionaire. Then, you can spend your days leading up to the drawing daydreaming about how you’re going to spend the money if you win. Playing a slot machine is not like playing the lottery!! Gambling at a casino is all about the experience. You are playing a game, placing a wager, immersing yourself in the excitement and feeling the energy. Ultimately, it’s not about winning or losing, it’s about the entertainment aspect. Although all of us hope to bring some money home after our casino visits, what’s really the most important is having a good time while we’re there. You can’t go to a casino unless you go prepared or you just won’t have any fun. The key is to be realistic. If you’re going to play casino games, make sure you bring at least 100 times your intended bet for each play session. Find lower denomination slots and stick to them if you have a small bankroll. Make sure you play all the lines on your favorite video slots. Don’t ever play one line on a multi-line game. Stay away from progressive games that reward max bet players if you’re going to be playing the minimum bet. Consider visiting the casino less frequently in order to save up to build your bankroll. If you’re not walking away from the casino with a smile on your face, regardless of whether you won or lost, then you need to think about ways that will help create a more enjoyable experience for yourself during your casino visits. $ Do YOU have something to rant about? Write me at:

sami@azgamingguide.com azgamingguide.com | April 2011 | Arizona Gaming Guide

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30 Arizona Gaming Guide | April 2011 | azgamingguide.com

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Solution to the Jackpot Puzzle Place 1 gold coin in the first bowl. Place the remaining 99 gold coins in the second bowl. Place the 100 silver coins in the second bowl. The chances of picking either bowl are 1 in 2 (50%). Picking the first bowl gets a gold coin (50% x 1 = 50%). Picking the second bowl gets a 99 in 199 chance for a gold coin. (50% x 99/199 = 24.87%) This approach increases the chance of getting a gold coin from the obvious 50% to a better situation of 50% + 24.87% = 74.87%. (essentially 75%)

Solution to the Sudoku