The "other" portion of my excursion

[DaBurglar]

As I detailed in my Vegas report, I spent the first night going, and the last two night's returning from my Vegas trip with stays in AC by way of Philadelphia (where I flew out of)......The contrast that I have long detailed between Video poker experiences that exists between AC and Vegas (& all of Nevada) became even MORE stark and obvious this trip since it was so close together.......as I said earlier, I will no longer be playing ANy video poker in AC except for the odd free play offer that happens to come my way.....there is just simply no reason any longer for me to play AC video poker games when it is so obvious that the state of New Jersey is content to allow its remaining casinos to essentially do whatever they want in terms of video poker, which clearly includes having a significant portion of its machines and games deal and yield results that do not resemble normal legit RNG programs.in the three (3) days total that I was in AC sandwiched around my Vegas trip, I managed to play about 11 hours total VP (almost all of which was on three 99+% games found out resorts, the Taj and Harrahs respectively....).....I managed to lose a total of $1690.00 bucks on these three machines, which put a dent in my outstanding Vegas trip winnings, and yielded more of the exact same BS I have been seeing for the last 6 years in AC.    I played a total of about 8,000 hands, so my actual return on these three  99% machines was about 83% .....that is actually slightly HIGHER than most of my past AC tripts, but still absurdly awful for such strong games.    No royals, (obviously), no premium quads, so many duds I lost exact count (but most definitely more than 60%)....... I was actually laughing towards the end of my third day in AC on my way home, that the games were so obviously skewed and flawed.Up to now, despite all my rants and reports, I have indeed kept open the possibility that some of those people here were right, that AC is legit and that I am just really really unlucky in AC.    HOGWASH.......not only have my play results totally proved to me that AC video poker is an entirely different animal, I received even MORE verbal confirmation that this is the case, but NOT from anyone in AC or at the now barren Casino Control Commish office on Tennessee Avenue, but from a number of people in VEGAS who have knowledge or experience working in AC (or in the case of a couple people I talked to from CET properties in VEGAS, have learned or heard things from co-workers who work or did work in AC.)I'll share some of these in future posts, but suffice it to say, AC is a total MESS (that's obvious to anyone with eyes), AC application and enforcement of its OWN regs and rules is sketchy (again obvious, especially if you remember what AC used to be like back in the days when Gaming Officials maintained several agents on premise 24/7 at all casinos), and much of AC's woes are not entirely the result of the casinos themselves mismanaging or cheating but are also due to the state of NEW JERSEY being so corrupt and incompetent and inefficient.   

[jetermacaw]

Well that seals it, never going to AC again.

[Carcounter]

DB , stay away from those Boardwalk properties.. I am convinced that the older slant tops at Borgata that have 9/6 Jacks are fair. The newer server based games do run unusually hot and cold though.

[Tedlark]

I'm with jeter; I will NEVER EVER step foot into another casino in Atlantic City and I (and my gambling budget) will be able to thank DaBurglar for this.

What concerns me now are these knowledgeable people from Atlantic City that DaBurglar got this inside information from. Have they been relocated out there by the casinos to disrupt the inner workings of their operations and turn Las Vegas into Atlantic City west? Will paytables be manipulated? RNG's rewired? Computer programs and chips infiltrated? Systems needing to be rebooted? I think this needs to be investigated.

[FAA]

A horrific thread. My condolences, DB. The $154 hourly loss dwarfs even your own prior AC ineptitude. I was shellacked to the tune of $77 in an hour and a half today on two merciless Borgata machines with putatively strong games. I actually won $47 on the boardwalk in seventy minutes. I thought Harrah's might be a relatively safe haven. But I will tread cautiously there as well given your report. Misery has plenty of company. My afternoon would have been better spent running on the beach.

[DaBurglar]

A horrific thread. My condolences, DB. The $154 hourly loss dwarfs even your own prior AC ineptitude. I was shellacked to the tune of $77 in an hour and a half today on two merciless Borgata machines with putatively strong games. I actually won $47 on the boardwalk in seventy minutes. I thought Harrah's might be a relatively safe haven. But I will tread cautiously there as well given your report. Misery has plenty of company. My afternoon would have been better spent running on the beach.sorry to hear that......I encourage you to do some investigating of your own and see that the "AC casino gaming control commisiion/whatever they call themselves this week"   is virtually non-existent in terms of real, actual oversight these days (don't take my word for it, start asking around....you will be both amused and alarmed by the range and hodge podge of responses you get to your questions and inquiries...)     Seriously, why more people are not bothered by this or talking about it is beyond me......I have allowed for the possibility ( I always do) that I could be wrong (indeed I HOPE I AM....I want to be wrong about this) ..... that somehow(?)  the state of NJ is keeping tabs on things and that these games in AC are fuctioning exactly how the STATE of NJ wants them to function......at least that way I would know for certain that my other theory, that NJ allows Video Poker to payout at rates BELOW paytable advertisement INTENTIONALLY like their gaming regs can be interpreted to mean.....otherwise, the casinos are deliberately getting away with stuff they should not.....And yep, borgata is now no longer on my "probably kosher" list......I too have had (or seen others get) too many duds and not enough statistically normal sessions the last few months......I am leaning towards "VP is just another version of SLOTS in AC" theory......after seeing the normal results of Vegas and how I remember video poker used to operate, its obvious AC is way way off base......

[FAA]

I will keep giving Borgata a Kosher seal. Most of it has been sufficiently playable for me. However, I strayed far from the the usual bar and aisles. This ill advised migration led me to plop down on an ancient machine in a quiet nook just outside the high roller room. I simply chose Dud Zone, a non performing  Borgata burg. I know better than to stay on the boardwalk beyond free play time. I cash out and fly once things turn sour. I had somehow convinced myself that each and every nook and cranny of Borgata had some kind of benevolent halo attached to it. That's simply wishful thinking. The more crowded areas are where to sit. People get good bang for the buck.

[FAA]

DB, I must make a copy of your Dec. 19 post and put it with my player cards. Your massive futility at Harrah's must be a lesson. I lost over $100 in three hours today. Reviewing this thread I see the connection. Horrors fleeced us both. One stinking quad in 1500 hands is brutal! I am done with them. I had just put a Harrah's RF on my bucket list to complete the CET trifecta. But I can now readily discern that it is sheer folly, throwing good money after bad. The results can't be aberrations any longer here. It simply sucks. I only came to enter their current $2M promo. The high rollers will take it all anyway based on the entry earning system.