Mississippi Gaming Revenue

[ko king]

kk, i have mentioned this before, but i just think that a casino that does not get a lot of play, just does not have as many oportunities for one to get lucky and hit a premium hand. i know there are those who will say this does not matter, but i disagree. i like to play in a place where there is a lot of action and hope that i am the lucky one who just happens to sit at the right machine, at the right time.   i just got back from cherokee, where they have 8/5, 7/5 and 6/5 machines. the math folks have explained how much of a difference a reduced paytable can make, over the long term, but i am playing a machine over a short term and do not accept the fact that all play is continous. i avoid the low paytables like the plague, but this last trip, both my big hits were on the 7/5 and 6/5 machines. the right machine at the right time. just luck. i wonder, do you find your luck is better at casinos that are more active, as opposed to better paytables?  

Most of the casinos in my area are about the same when it comes to pay tables, 9/6 DDB and 9/6 TDB, I found one casino that had 9/7 TDB, played there twice and got destroyed both times. I got brave and went back again and all the vp machines were shut down, I was told it had something to do with the state regulators, don't know if it was true but every vp machine in the place was shut down and had papers attached to them all. After a couple of weeks I went back and they were open again, the 9/7 pay tables were gone and replaced with 9/6. I had a great night, hit everything possible. The next night I decided to play the bar tops and watch the ball game while I played. The bar tops were in horrible condition, non working buttons and graphics so bad you couldn't tell the suit of the cards. I found one machine that was playable and hit quad 2's w/k right away, when the attendant came the machine was messed up and her card wouldn't work so they had to call a machine tech and the shift manager. While the slot tech worked on the machine I ask him why the other machines were in such terrible shape and he had no real answer, what he did say was that the casino had just been fined some major dollars but he couldn't say what the reason was. I thought it was interesting though that all the machines were shut down and then a few weeks later the slot tech says they had just been fined, sure makes me wonder what the problem was.
      As far as playing in an active casino goes now days that's tough to find in this area with one exception, Southland Gaming draws a pretty good crowd. I do hit more jackpots when I play there, but it's a pain in the butt to drive there to play and not get a machine, they only have around 13 machines that offer $1 DDB and only 8 of the offer $2 denomination. For another thing there always seems to be some guy there smoking the nastiest cigars, can't stand the odor. Sam's Town and Gold Strike have the worst pay tables and I avoid them like the plague, Decent pay tables (9/6) for TDB at the $1 denom on the bar tops at The Resorts and Hollywood, never hit a hand pay at either of those casinos playing those machines.   

[Vman96]

Sounds like Lula got downgraded...that sucks. Not shocked though. Did you notice if DDB stayed at 9/6?

As for the fine, who knows, the gaming commission can find a lot of things to fine casinos for. But I would be curious too. And the fines are not insignificant either. I assume one of my locals got hit by the gaming commission hard for underage gambling. I ALWAYS get carded there at 35. The competition 5 minutes away only cards me 50% of the time. They are cracking down in Tunica too, I never got carded there four years ago. Now it's maybe one-third of the time.

Gold Strike has 9/6 DDB for dollars if you know where to find it.

http://www.vpfree2.com/casino/gold-strike-tunica

I don't think those 2 units had TDB on them though. I'm fairly sure all TDB sucks there.

[spxChrome]

do you find your luck is better at casinos that are more active, as opposed to better pay tables? 

Yes I do. When I am in Biloxi I play at the old Grand which was normally dead and could not win a dime. Then I would go the Beau which is usually packed and hit some nice hands even though the paytables are much worse. I have done this many times. Go 3000 hands without a quad at the Grand and walk to the Beau and hit a 2,000 after a few hundred hands. Even got a Royal once at the bar which was shocking since I normally don't play at the bar because of the even worse paytables.

But like KK said these local dump casinos are just dead these days. They used to be packed. I remember not being able to get a seat at the bank of 8 progressives on a weekend night. Now the seats stay empty even Fri and Sat. every now and then somebody may walk buy and put a $20.

The other thing I have noticed is this same bank of progressive normally would always hit around $5,300. On several occasion it would be higher or lower several hundred dollars. For the past 12 years the highest I had EVER seen it was $7,800. In the past 2 years it has been over $10,000 3x.

[Vman96]

The other thing I have noticed is this same bank of progressive normally would always hit around $5,300. On several occasion it would be higher or lower several hundred dollars. For the past 12 years the highest I had EVER seen it was $7,800. In the past 2 years it has been over $10,000 3x.

Barring breaking the law which is possible, but I still hope to God they aren't...

1. They could have upped the meter (unlikely, but possible, especially if they lowered the paytable with the meter increase to balance things out).

My local did the opposite this year, keep the paytable the same, but they gut the hell out of the meter (Bonus Deuces with Deuces, Deuces w/Ace, and RF prog). Now no one really plays the game because 4 Deuces never get above $300 (used to get above $400 sometimes). They should have left the meter the same and downgrade the base paytable from 97.36% to 96.22% if they wanted to be more greedy.

2. There could be a lot more "min coin" players, especially if there is no quarter option available. But I sorta doubt this too unless it's a bartop progressive with the min bet at the bar being $1. But that's more of a Bellagio thing, not a Mississippi thing. But min coiners really do help the progressive increase. The best quarter progressive in Tunica has a good number of min coiners on the weekend, so they can drink and listen to the live band.

3. They possibly have been dumping old slot/VP progressives into that bank. Legally you can't remove a progressive slot without transferring the jackpot to another machine.

[FAA]

When I am in Biloxi I play at the old Grand which was normally dead and
could not win a dime. Then I would go the Beau which is usually packed
and hit some nice hands even though the pay tables are much worse. I
have done this many times. Go 3000 hands without a quad at the Grand and
walk to the Beau and hit a 2,000 after a few hundred hands. Even got a
Royal once at the bar which was shocking since I normally don't play at
the bar because of the even worse paytables.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Yeah, hilarious. That's the counter intuitive, topsy turvy world of VP. I shudder at bar play when I merely glimpse those lame pay tables. But now you've got me starting to wonder what would happen with a $20...

[Vman96]

Yeah, hilarious. That's the counter intuitive, topsy turvy world of VP. I shudder at bar play when I merely glimpse those lame pay tables. But now you've got me starting to wonder what would happen with a $20...



Don't you play in AC? I thought Borgata had 9/6 JoB at the bar...and if the paytables are weaker on other games, it's possible those machines have a higher return for mailers. But of course I'd expect Borgata to be stingy with comps anyway.

I'm considering tunica this weekend and stopping by Sam's Town for a little bartop 9/6 JoB.

[spxChrome]

[QUOTE=spxChrome]
The other thing I have noticed is this same bank of progressive normally would always hit around $5,300. On several occasion it would be higher or lower several hundred dollars. For the past 12 years the highest I had EVER seen it was $7,800. In the past 2 years it has been over $10,000 3x.

Barring breaking the law which is possible, but I still hope to God they aren't...

1. They could have upped the meter (unlikely, but possible, especially if they lowered the paytable with the meter increase to balance things out).

My local did the opposite this year, keep the paytable the same, but they gut the hell out of the meter (Bonus Deuces with Deuces, Deuces w/Ace, and RF prog). Now no one really plays the game because 4 Deuces never get above $300 (used to get above $400 sometimes). They should have left the meter the same and downgrade the base paytable from 97.36% to 96.22% if they wanted to be more greedy.

2. There could be a lot more "min coin" players, especially if there is no quarter option available. But I sorta doubt this too unless it's a bartop progressive with the min bet at the bar being $1. But that's more of a Bellagio thing, not a Mississippi thing. But min coiners really do help the progressive increase. The best quarter progressive in Tunica has a good number of min coiners on the weekend, so they can drink and listen to the live band.

3. They possibly have been dumping old slot/VP progressives into that bank. Legally you can't remove a progressive slot without transferring the jackpot to another machine. [/QUOTE]

The paytable and the meter is the same 9/6 DDB and it moves at .03 cents for every $10 coin in. I know what you mean about moving progessives but that's not the case here as I watched it crawl since I go 2x times a week. They have a slot machine they do that with a triple double diamond. During the remodel 2 years ago they dumped $40,000 worth of progressives on it. Somebody was happy when that hit. It resets at $1,000

Now your other option about not play max credit has probably something do to with it because the .25 and nickel players swear they win more playing $1 credit on the $1 machine than playing max $1.25 on the .25 machines.   

[FAA]

Don't you play in AC? I thought Borgata had 9/6 JoB at the bar..-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I never play at Borgata. Though DB's recommendation, plus the change of scenery, may do me a world of good. We'll see where the wind takes me tomorrow.

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=spxChrome]Now your other option about not play max credit has probably something
do to with it because the .25 and nickel players swear they win more
playing $1 credit on the $1 machine than playing max $1.25 on the .25
machines.[/quote]I hate to say it but this statement has definitely been true where I play.  Makes no sense, but it's a fact.  Also, the odds at $1 are often better than the nickel and quarter odds even with the Royal Flush penalty.

[Vman96]

[quote=spxChrome]Now your other option about not play max credit has probably something
do to with it because the .25 and nickel players swear they win more
playing $1 credit on the $1 machine than playing max $1.25 on the .25
machines.I hate to say it but this statement has definitely been true where I play.  Makes no sense, but it's a fact.  Also, the odds at $1 are often better than the nickel and quarter odds even with the Royal Flush penalty.[/QUOTE]

Given it's a 9/6 game, if the game is 8/5 (or less) for quarters there, it's a better move to play 9/6 DDB for one credit in terms of highest expected return. The conventional wisdom of "always bet max" isn't as sound as it used to be. Nickel/quarter games often have much worse paytables than dollars in recent years. Many casinos still offer full-pay dollars for some games. Quarters...not so much.