SAMI

ALWAYS CHECK A CASINO’S PAY TABLES

And Don’t Forget To Check Their Food & Drink Prices Too!

Our magazine has always advocated our readers be informed gamblers. In most cases, a lot of very valuable information can be found about the slot you’d like to play in the help screen. Accessing the help screen is usually only a button press or touch away. We’ve always instructed you to read though all the pages available to you.

If you are a video poker player, the help screen displays not only the rules of the game but the pay table as well. Looking at the pay table provides us all with the knowledge of the exact long run expectation (house hold) for the game offered by the casino. Always check to see the differences in video poker pay tables across denominations and on all the games at a casino. Every now and then, you’ll find a true gem where the house hold is really small (less than 1%) or may even be in your favor. For video poker, finding a pay table in your favor can easily happen if the game is connected to a progressive.

The same is true for video keno. The pay table tells the whole story. And, we’ve found differences between games and between denominations even on the same unit! Not to mention looking at different units in different areas of the casino (say the bar as opposed to near the buffet)!

The importance of checking pay tables and rules may also apply to electronic blackjack, roulette, craps, and other table games. Although it is much less likely to occur as casinos tend to have a fewer number of these electronic games available on their floor.

In any event, I think I’ve made my point! Check the pay tables on video poker, video keno, and electronic table games, at each casino and between casinos to gain any advantage you can.

But, did you ever think to check the food and drink menus? We didn’t! Until recently, when a reader tipped us off that a casino they play at was selling domestic drafts for $6 at one bar and the same domestic drafts for $5 at another bar!

Seriously???!!! We asked a few employees about the snafu, and they just laughed saying the food and beverage sales system was configured differently at each bar. Apparently the casino fixed their mistake now so you can’t order a cheaper beer at one end of the casino than at the other. Too bad! I’m not a big beer drinker to begin with, but differences in wine prices, let me know!

I understand why there are differences between pay tables on video poker, video keno, and even electronic table games. The higher the denomination, the more money is on the line for players and the casino. A video poker game with a $5 wager at a 1% house hold over time averages out to $0.05 (five cents) per bet for the casino. In order to get those same five cents on a quarter video poker game (a $1.25 wager), the house hold has to be 4%. This makes sense for an entertainment company designed around loyalty. Spend more, get more back.

There are variations on the theme of different pay tables across the casino on different units. Every now and then a Slot Director leaves and a new one comes on board. That new person’s philosophy on house hold now has to be absorbed into the existing casino’s management style. Maybe the new Slot Director can implement their own decisions for video poker pay tables and that’s why you may see a difference between games. There may also have been some time since a new video poker unit was bought or leased and installed. Once the new game goes live, the pay table may be different simply because no one bothered to check what was already out there on the old games.

In any event, start adding alcohol, snacks, and other common food items to your list of items to price check at a casino! Have fun and drop me a note at Sami@AZGamingGuide.com if you have something to share or there’s a topic you’d like me to discuss! $