Category: Advice for Players

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Bobby Vegas — Welcome to NoResortFeeNation

Bobby Vegas: Friends Don’t Let Friends Play Triple-Zero Roulette

Ya know what I love about Vegas? Casino competition. When they sweat, we win.

A couple corporate casino number crunchers are sitting around at the bar, cooking up short con schemes, and wondering, “So! How can we squeeze another couple of bucks — No, wait! How can we really hose these yahoos out of as many of their hard-earned scheckels as (in)humanly possible? Let’s add a resort fee and charge ’em for things they’re already getting! And a parking fee! And raise prices on everything, even coffee, and make it real hard to cash TITOs, and even charge for plates and tableware on room-service deliveries. And while we’re at it, let’s keep laying off employees to save on the expense side.”

Well, that worked like a charm, to the tune of a billion smackolas a month for a few years and you’re all fat and happy. But you know what? The regulars aren’t just grumbling, but are finally downright PISSED. “Vegas ain’t what it used ta be. Where’s value gone? I’m bein’ hosed six ways thru Sunday.”

A lot of them got their revenge. How? They stopped coming.

Empty rooms. Shows closing. Gross gaming revenue down 10 months in a row. International tourism down 20%. Corporate shills sweating. What to do? Sober up? Fuggedabouddit.

Lightbulb moment. “Let’s drop resort fees!” Brilliant.

Now, I don’t hate to say I told you so. I’m glad I said, “The trickle of No Resort Fees this spring is gonna turn into a river.”

I reported many no resort fee deals (call it NRF), like Treasure Island and Fontainebleau. And just last month Golden Nugget and just this week Resorts World. Ka-ching. Next!

Oh, and a shout out to Four Queens and Binion’s, which are always NRF (plus great video poker and points promos).

I’ve already written about the awesome $125-a-day package at the Plaza: 2 nights, 2 meals a day, unlimited drinks, NRF, and free parking. (Or try their bingo deal.)

Now Downtown Grand is running to catch up: two weekend nights, $100 food an beverage credit, 4 drink tix, upgraded room, free parking (that’s a given) NRF for (drumroll) 250 smackers. Add the food-bev credits, toss in the $50 matchplay at checkin, and you’re talking a Hilton-quality room for $50 a night. On the weekend.
(Use code SMRWEMD. During the week SMRWDAY.)

This is the Vegas I love. Great quality, low cost, gamble till dawn.

And here are a couple of other cool your ***off freebies. $2 ice cream cones at Baskin Robbins right now and my new favorite, at Tiffs Treats, 45 days of a dozen cookies delivered to you or a friend for $99! A $1,000 value. Yummy! And no Red Robin burger debacle either; I already bought it, but Summer Passes are limited, so if you have the munchies or just a sweet tooth, as David Lee Roth sings, JUMP!

Special Announcement: My next, and hopefully last, surgery is Wednesday July 2. Please say a prayer. Whether you believe or not, it helps. Well wishes, sacrificial goats, vestal virgins, it’s all good. Except what exactly is a vestal virgin anyway?

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Bobby Vegas—Stacking

Bobby Vegas: Friends Don’t Let Friends Play Triple-Zero Roulette

Maximizing offers and coupons by “stacking” is a treasure hunt. Played right, you’ll maximize value through smart sourcing, combining offers and coupons. It almost always results in stretching your gambling, food, entertainment, and hotel dollars, reducing expenses to very low, free, or even cash back.

Playing on their dime on their time tilts the advantage, turning the edge in your favor. That’s what stacking is for — helping you win.

Ever heard the grocery store coupon stories about folks getting hundreds of dollars in free groceries or having rooms full of free food and housewares? Stacking is the key.

For example, you take coupons and one chain offers 2x, 3x, 5x or more on certain days or in certain categories or age groups. In the weekly circular, they list all their discounts and BOGOs. I add Senior Day discounts too. You stack them for maximum value.

On a recent grocery trip, I bought crab legs at $9/lb, jumbo shrimp, etc., on sale totaling $150. I paid $100. Stacking.

In Vegas combine birthday, sign-up, and come-back bonuses, LVA MRB coupons, etc., for a Fremont run. You’ll earn $20 an hour or more to visit casinos. How?

1) Use offers from casinos online and always sign up. Check the Plaza deals.

2) Learn to utilize your LVA MRB coupons. I get $500 a year minimum. That’s 10-to-1. At the Rio, I stayed four nights with no resort fee, saving $228.

3) Check LVA announcements for special offers like free parking, no resort fee, veteran or birthday specials. (See my post on these subjects and coupon runs as well.)

4) Do you have other coupon sources? Share your discoveries here in the comments.

I like the Las Vegas magazine newsletter, currently showing no resort fee at Treasure Island ($79/night) and the ongoing Westgate Sports Book play $100 get $100 (better for locals). Just saved you another $125 easy.

5) Plan a trip with a coupon/promo/BOGO or birthday run to maximize value and fun. I love stacking runs, like playing 9/6 JoB at Rainbow during a high-points earning period (50x, 75x, even 100x!), then using points and an LVA coupon to have a meal at 50% off or a 2-for-1 on points! That’s stacking. When I used to do this at Ellis Island, I called it “Free Steaks Forever.”

Another important way to maximize value is do the offers in order. Take come-back and LVA coupon free play offers. Play them first, concentrating on full-pay VP. Then use that money for matchplays. You’re using their money to place a 50/50 bet that pays 2-1. And that’s as good as it gets. Get matchplays from the LVA MRB, signups, monthly offers, and downtown using your Southwest ticket. Some offer it for other airlines or mentioning an influencer.

When things slow down and many signs indicate that they’re starting to, the opportunities will increase and … the adventure continues. Stack!

Note that many offers state, “Not allowed to be combined with any other offer.” You know what? I’ve never encountered a problem. And doing offers “in order” is impossible to track.

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An Interesting Slot Club Plus Other Thoughts

Bob Dancer

I received a strange email from a reader. I’m not 100% positive what I’m telling him is correct, but it’s what makes sense to me. Here it is:

I play slots and get weekly free play from MGM Grand and related properties in Las Vegas. If I redeem the free play at the MGM itself, it’s $100. If I redeem it at Park MGM, Aria, or any other MGM property on the west side of Las Vegas Boulevard, it’s $125. What gives?

The most likely explanation for this, in my opinion, is that the MGM Grand itself has looser slots than the other MGM properties. Assuming you’re going to play $20,000 or so through the machine when you come in (in order to keep getting the mailer), they’d rather you do it at the casinos with the tighter slots — so they reward you for doing so.

If you know about beating slots, shade your strike numbers depending on which side of the street you’re playing on. That is, if there was a game where you normally look for the minor being at least 17 before you play, use that number at the MGM Grand and 18 or 19 across the street.

Depending on how much you value your time, it’s probably best if you cash your free play on the west side of the Strip and do the vast majority of your playing at the MGM Grand itself. Even though the properties are right across the street from each other, the casinos are so large it can be a 10- or 15-minute walk to get from one to the other.

So Long to an Old Friend

At the South Point, I’ve played 9/6 Jacks or Better on the Five Play Multi Strike machines for years. Denominated in quarters, it was a 100-coin game, so it took $25 to fully load. It was a 99.8% game. In early April they downgraded these machines to 9/5 Jacks or Better, which makes them too tight to be interesting to me.

Even when they had the good pay schedules, they had nickel and dime games on the same boxes that were much tighter, and even the quarter games other than Jacks or Better were pretty tight. 

There are plenty of other games to play at South Point, but I’m sorry to see these particular ones go.

So Long to Another Old Friend

At the Four Queens in downtown Las Vegas, the dollar 10-7 Double Bonus machines are now gone. They’ve been a fixture at this casino for at least 30 years. Playing 50 cent 9/6 Jacks single line may be the best video poker alternative. It’s still slightly positive with the slot club, mailers, and promotions.

A Seven Stars Perk

One of the benefits of being Seven Stars in the Caesars/Harrah’s/Eldorado system, at least if you’re in Nevada, is that you get a monthly $150 free bet from Caesars Sports Book when you bet $100 or more. You used to be able to use Reward Credits to qualify for this free bet, but no longer.

The free bet is set up so regardless if you win or lose, you do not get the initial wager back. That is, if you bet at -200, which means you should win two-thirds of the time (not counting for the vig), you’ll collect a total of $75 for that $150 free bet. If you only collect that bet two-thirds of the time, that means your free bet is worth $50.

If you bet at +200, which means you should win one-third of the time (not counting for the vig), you’ll collect $300. Collecting $300 one-third of the time means your free bet is worth $100. Much better! And it’s easy to conclude that betting underdogs using free bets is better than betting favorites. I generally find a bet between +250 and +350 for my free bet.

For my initial bet, I find a bet around -200. I’m not sure why, but a sports bettor I respect told me I give up the least vig that way. 

Since these bets are a relatively small part of my monthly betting budget, I can use these quick rules of thumb without knowing a lot about successful sports betting. These markets are efficient enough that, so long as I get the bonus bet, it’s basically a certainty that I’ll profit over time. While I did learn a little about successful sports betting from co-hosting the podcast where we interviewed a number of successful sports bettors, my “expertise” is limited and the rules of thumb presented here are satisfactory enough for me.

If they stop giving away the bonus bet, I’ll continue using RCs to bet. Since I get to bet the RCs at face value, even if I’m only playing a 94% game at the sports book, that’s much better than playing a 50% game by redeeming the RCs for free play. 

When I stay at a Caesars property, which I do when I’m out of town, the hosts must use my accumulated RCs before they are allowed to comp anything. Since I play enough to merit being comped, I zero out my RCs at the sports book before I leave because the RCs would disappear if I didn’t. Some of the bets will win, so I’m virtually guaranteed to profit over time if I do this.

An NSU Puzzler

You’re playing NSU Deuces Wild, and the first four cards dealt on a hand are a deuce, a four, a five, and a king —- all spades. Of the 48 equally likely cards that could be dealt as the fifth card, how many are there where the correct hold is deuce, four, five? 

Rather than give you the answer immediately, I’ll spend an entire column on this puzzler soon.

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Bobby Vegas: Give ‘Em Good Gamble

Bobby Vegas: Friends Don’t Let Friends Play Triple-Zero Roulette

Not too long ago, I was feted by a “mid- to high roller” who took me to dinner at Le Cirque at Bellagio. Though we weren’t next to the window with a direct view of the Fountains, it was a very nice corner table. The waiters, sommeliers, and staff all fawned over us. We chose the basic four-course meal and each had one drink. My buddy told me the folks at the next able were drinking a Champagne that was $180 per glass.

The meal was fine—elegant and tasteful. I thought they were a bit stingy on the bread, which wasn’t warm. My guy had a $500 comp and the bill came to more than $750.

Was this better than a meal at Rainbow’s Triple B Diner where just about everything is homemade, entrees are under $12, and I paid with points at half-price using an LVA MRB coupon?

Well, not $740 better, not for me, no. And frankly, I’m a bit uncomfortable with all the fawning and obsequiousness. I’d rather “rock the block” on Fremont, play FP VP and stop in for a slice at Pizza Rock. Or a great prime rib.

Look, it’s Vegas. You can have any fantasy you want. ANY FANTASY — if you’re willing to pay. My fantasy is the one where I pay as little as possible. As my Carolina friends would say, “I got no truck with you doing what you do. It just ain’t what I want to do.” You want to live the high life? It’s your money. For my money, I’d rather stay at the Rio for four nights for $107 total. Walk right into the Pinky Ring. Get a smokin’ bingo deal at the Plaza.

As Jack Black said in School of Rock: “ Stickin’ it to the man.” THAT’S what I love.

Writing this blog today, I’ve had an epiphany. More than an advantage player, I’m a value player. While the casinos work to extract everything they can from us, I work to extract as much as I can from them. Smart. Legal. Well thought out. And then I get to share it with you, what Malcolm Gladwell in The Tipping Point calls an “information maven.”

And maybe now, as the hold on the Strip continues to drop, they’re starting to reconsider hosing everybody on resort fees, parking fees, etc. fees, etc. Okay, maybe not Caesars or MGM at least right away, but I believe we are starting to see cracks in their greed.

Most of us will be coming back and most of us understand it ain’t for free. Exactly like taxes, I’m willing to pay, but I want to pay as little as is legally allowed. And if we give our hard earned shekels to the Plazas, Downtown Grands, Four Queens, and others giving us good gamble, then the give-good-gamble houses will prosper. We “give-us-good-gamble gamblers” will keep coming back again and again.

So if dropping $750 on dinner rocks your world, go for it. As for us, we do our best to have a good time, get a good deal, and as Benny Binion would say, get a good gamble.

Because we love Vegas.

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Bobby Vegas: Crazy for 4 OAKs — ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS Play Max Coin

Bobby Vegas: Friends Don’t Let Friends Play Triple-Zero Roulette

Here’s why it pays to investigate video poker.

Checking out the new VP inventory at Downtown Grand, I came across two side-by-side machines with wildly different pay schedules. When I say wild, I mean like 1,200 coins for 4 aces!

Okay, that’s with a max bet 18 coins, so even at the lowest denom, that’s a $4.25 max bet. But checking it out on VPfree2, the max bet in this configuration is 99.63%, which for the Grand is pretty golden. (This game can be found at the Rio as well.)

Also, I wanted to pump up my points activity, being the end of the quarter (my host told me they reassess every quarter). I really wanted to hold on to my two comped nights a month, along with my max casino 50% room discount and $20 resort fee. So I was looking for a good play and lo and behold, the VP gods shined on me.

I’ve come to the realization I really play for 4-of-a-kinds more than royal flushes. It’s not like I don’t want RFs; it’s just they’re so rare, that I don’t play expecting them. Statistically, I’m “way overdue,” but in the meantime, I’m happy with my self-anointed King of 4 OAKS crown, with 16 of the little beauties in eight days — for me a new record.

And when playing a game with huge extra bonuses for 4 OAKS, yes, I’m tilting my strategy in their favor. Oh boy, did that work out well.

So what’s the game, Bobby? Come on! Shake the tree! The game is Triple Play Draw Poker on machines that say “Four of a Kind pays big with 6 coins bet per hand!” That’s how, with the max bet, you bet 18 coins.

That caught my eye and when I saw the pay schedules, I was flabbergasted.

I started playing JoB and hit a 4 OAK. Switched to Bonus Poker, hit another. Then went on to the golden moment on DDB and this is the payoff.

I’d started out the day taking my advantage protégé on an LVA MRB Fremont coupon run starting at El Cortez. There was some good free play in the back room and, well, I screwed up running my $10 FP through and did not do max bet, so of course I hit 4 OAK losing the additional $50. And on FP no less. GRRRR (hand slapping forehead “Bobby, you bonehead!”). Anyway, this lesson paid off big.

Later, I was playing the Triple Play machine at the Grand and was running out of money. So I fed a dollar in to make the max bet. I won a little, but needed to insert another dollar. BOOM! Not just 4OAK but 4 aces for the 1,200-coin payout.

Lesson learned. Always play max bet. Always.

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So Damn Cheap

Bob Dancer

Not long ago I wrote about a time I was in Reno when there was a power outage at the Eldorado, the hotel where I was staying and playing. After calling the Peppermill to make sure they were open, Bonnie and I, along with one other player, took a Lyft to that casino (maybe two miles away) and paid retail for a meal at Café Milano. I commented that it was a novel experience for me to pay for a meal in a casino.

One reader commented: “Does it bother you in the least that you’re so damn cheap that you won’t pay for a meal outside of a casino?”

Another reader came to my “rescue,” if that’s the appropriate term, but I thought the subject was worth exploring a bit. So here we are.

Since I moved to Las Vegas in 1993, I’ve received more than $1 million dollars in “free” food. I put the quotation marks around the word “free” because I always tip on meals, comped or not. 

This doesn’t mean I’ve saved $1 million dollars on food. On some of the more expensive meals, the tip was more than I would have paid for a meal that wasn’t comped. Still, I’m sure I’ve saved several hundred thousand dollars over that time period by this practice.

I don’t consider this “cheap.” (Or “damn cheap” or even “damned cheap,” which I believed is better English). I consider this as part of the slot club benefits that result from my decision to gamble at a particular game in a particular casino at a particular time. Food comps are part of the equation when I decide whether a game is positive enough to play.

There are times I pay for food in a casino. If I’m playing at the South Point on a Monday, I’ll often eat there using points because on Mondays, seniors get half price meals if they use their points. That makes their breakfast buffet cost $8 worth of points rather than $16 worth of cash.

I have essentially unlimited food comps at a casino 15 miles away from the South Point, but driving 30 miles roundtrip (and spending more than one extra hour traveling) to save $8 is a stupid type of economy, in my opinion.

Let’s say I have a $40 food comp at a casino. I check to see if the sales tax goes away when you use the comps. If I only want $20 worth of food and it’s a “use it or lose it” comp, I’ll sometimes take food home. Not always, though. If I’ll be driving around Las Vegas in the summertime and don’t have an ice chest in the car, I won’t take food to go because it will spoil before I arrive home.

If I spend more than the comp for a meal, I’ll usually pay with points (if I have them) in those casinos where sales tax disappears when you pay with comps and points.

When I’m playing and all food is free, it’s smart to take advantage of that food — saving both time and money. There are casinos I’ve played at where I don’t take advantage of food comps because the quality of the meals is sub-par. 

I play less in casinos than I used to, so Bonnie and I eat at home more than occasionally. I don’t usually have comps at grocery stores.

Near the end of the month, Bonnie and I take inventory of what unused food comps we have that will expire. Sometimes there’s no way we can use up all the comps. Often, we’ll go out to eat at casinos more in the last week of the month than the first week.

The original question asked if it bothers me in the least to be so damn cheap. The simple answer is no, it doesn’t bother me at all. One of the “secrets” of obtaining and keeping a bankroll is not to spend money on things I don’t need. And if I have food for free, I don’t need to pay for a meal somewhere.

But if Bonnie and/or I are hungry and no food comp is available, I pay for meals.

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End-of-the-Year Wrap up

Bobby Vegas: Friends Don’t Let Friends Play Triple-Zero Roulette

Gather round, my advantage player scuffling children (“Please, sir! More coupons!”) and let me tell you the tales of Santa Vegas and Coupon Karma.

I’ve already encouraged you to use all your Member Rewards coupons before they expire, but what if you still have some left?

Here are two stories to warm your hard-boiled EV-calculating hearts. The purpose — nay! hey gift —is to keep an open mind. Don’t assume you know everything. More will be revealed!

I mean, does prayer work? Is God a good bet? Duke University did a double-blind study praying for two cancer groups. The group that was prayed for (unbeknownst to them) did statistically significantly better than those that weren’t. Hunh.

Now, I’m not making any assumptions about exactly what’s going on, but it’s very interesting, isn’t it?

So there I was, flying into Vegas with an extra unused MRB. The lady sitting next to me on the plane turned out not only to be a video poker player with her own MRB, but she was meeting family and was thrilled when I gave her my extra MRB for her clan.

Coincidentally, and many of you math freaks may call this unrelated correlation, it just so happens that was the trip I hit 14 four-of-a-kinds. Kinda cool, eh?

Then there was the time pre-COVID when there still were hard-copy American Casino Guide coupon books and I’d double stack coupon runs with both the MRB and ACG.

I’m up at Rampart and realize I have an unused matchplay. I HAVE To go back in for another roll of the dice. It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it.

I’d also been distributing unused coupons everywhere I went. Texas Station, Four Queens (where the slot booth lady, seeing me give away a Magnolia coupon while waiting in line, reminded me to check my ACG and let me use both the MRB and ACG free-play coupons. “Well, thank you ma’am!” As Jean says, you catch more bees with honey than vinegar.)

So back to Rampart. I go back to the crap table and the guy I’d left there has turned his original $100 buy-in into a row of blacks and greens. He makes another point and I place my $10 with the $10 matchplay on the pass line.

“That’s it?” he asks me.

“That’s all I got.”

Shaking his head, he mumbles something to the dealer, lays down some chips, rolls an 8 for the point, then a hard 8.

The dealer pushes $200 over to me.

“Whoa! What just happened?”

“Oh, he just threw some green on hard 8 for you.”

Now that’s why my favorite movie is not The Cooler though I do love that one), but It’s A Wonderful Life.

I’ve run out of word count here, but for good cheap pasta, I just have six words:
Sign up for Buca di Beppo! More on that in my next post.

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A New Scam?

Bob Dancer

I recently received an authentic-looking text from the United States Postal Service. I was told that a letter addressed to me had the incorrect zip code. Please type “Y,” close the message, and then re-open it. I did.

I came across a link asking for me to fill out my name, address, zip code, and phone number. I was dubious. An unrequested message asking me for all of this information was a prescription for identity theft. I gave my correct address (post office box), and intentionally made some typos to my email address and phone number.

After I entered this information, the next screen told me there was a small charge for the redelivery. A charge of $0.3. It didn’t say $0.30, or 30 cents, but $0.3. And in order to pay this fund it asked for my credit card information.

Now I was more than 99% certain that this was not what it appeared to be. I closed the link and was glad I hadn’t given correct information previously.

When I closed the link, the original text message deleted itself. Very strange.

While I’m used to several scams, this was a new one, at least to me. If I’m getting these texts, probably some of you are too. It doesn’t have anything to do with gambling per se, but not losing money to identity theft counts as bankroll just as much as hitting a royal flush. 

Since my first “blog” this time was too short, I’m adding another short one.

A Certain Aptitude is Required

Bonnie and her daughter Susan went on a seven-day Mexican Riviera cruise aboard the Norwegian Bliss over Thanksgiving. Bonnie and I had gone on a five-day version of the same cruise aboard the same vessel about one month earlier.

Because she’s cruised a lot since we married 10 years ago, Bonnie has a Sapphire card. This is a tier level possessed by fewer than 10% of the passengers. And, just like in casinos, higher tier levels get more benefits than lower tier levels. Since Susan has not cruised a lot on Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) vessels, she gets fewer benefits. After Bonnie’s and my cruise, I emailed both ladies instructions as to how to work the NCL system. 

Even though she has been on a lot of cruises. Bonnie lets me do all the arranging on the cruises. She trusts that I will take care of her, which I do. Susan was an appropriate caregiver on the cruise but doesn’t have the experience to get the most benefits. She could wing it, and they’d have a good time, but my goal was to educate them on the ins and outs so they could have an even better time.

One of the benefits Bonnie is entitled to and Susan isn’t is a 90-minute “Behind the Scenes” tour that usually begins at 9 a.m. on the first sea day. It varies, but often includes the laundry, the galley, and dressing rooms backstage of the main theater. Bonnie and I both went a month previously and thought Susan would enjoy it. I think they offer a similar tour for everybody at $150 per person later in the cruise.

So, in my email I explained that when they boarded the ship they should go to the CruiseNext desk and sign Bonnie up for the tour. Once Bonnie presented herself at the CruiseNext desk on the day of the tour, they would give Bonnie a sticker to put on her shirt or jacket. Bonnie should take that sticker, go somewhere out of view of the people at the desk, and have Susan affix it to her own shirt or jacket. Then Bonnie can occupy herself for an hour and a half while Susan takes the tour. I told both ladies to make sure they had closed-toe shoes, which are required for the tour. I also told them how to sign up for specialty dinners, shows, and the officers’ dinner.

On the Sunday they got to the ship, they called me to let me know that they arrived, were aboard, and happily looking forward to their adventure. They told me they did everything I listed in my instructional email except they couldn’t get Susan on the tour.

“Why not?” I asked.

“When I asked them if I could get a sticker and then give it to Susan, they said ”No,” Bonnie replied.

“You weren’t supposed to ask them. You were just supposed to do it. That’s why I told you to give the sticker to Susan out of the sight of the employees at the desk.”

“I guess we didn’t completely understand that part.”

In casinos, I have “worked the system” for decades. It’s a necessary part of succeeding at gambling. While I’m sure my instructions would have been very clear to most readers of this blog, neither Bonnie nor Susan think like a winning player does. When in doubt, they simply tell the truth and ask permission for everything.  Oh well. Susan likes to sleep in on vacations, so she considered the loss of the tour to be no big deal.

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Use Your MRBs, Great Point Multipliers, and a Trick EV Question

Bobby Vegas: Friends Don’t Let Friends Play Triple-Zero Roulette

Happy ChanuKwanSolstMas. There. I think I got everybody covered.

Now onto my other religion, advantage video poker.

I’m coming in for the Plaza Bingo NYE Bash. Due to my medical misadventures, I haven’t been back since (OMG) August and I notice some of my unused MRBs expire BEFORE 12/31. Like the 27th and I arrive the 29th. Wannnh !

Have you used all your MRB coupons? Check the dates. It’s really tough seeing a valuable unused coupon expire. I mean it hurts! I might have to talk with my therapist about it. I’m kidding. Kind of.

Also want to alert you to specials at Four Queens and Rainbow.

The 4Q December offer of an extra $40 in free-play and $20 in comps for 600 points got me thinking.
4Q offers both cash and comps. Very nice. So (VP math nerd alert!), I found the following information on VPFree2.

The 9/6 JOB (99.54%) points adder for cash and comps is .9375% combined or $7.50 per $1,000 coin in. Total EV 100.48%. Niiiice!

The 10/7 DB (100.17%) adder is .4683% combined or $5.71 per $1,000 coin in for a total EV of 100.68% (.2% better than 9/6 JOB).

Here’s the trick question. Which game would you play?

I’d play 9/6 JOB and here’s why.

If I’m strictly playing long term for a total cash return, then 10/7 DB with a higher EV and a .2% higher total EV makes sense. But I don’t play that long. And I like the extra comps, $7.50 over $5.71 per $1,000 in. I’ll use them in combination with 2-for-1 Magnolia coupon, doubling their value to $15.

I also like the steady play of lower volatility: two coins for two pair at Jacks or Better over one at Double Bonus.

Again, this is a STYLE of playing choice. I’m just not a high-volatility guy.

And why am I playing? I’m coming to the realization that I win a lot in the short term and often don’t have the fortitude to play through the peaks and valleys of higher volatility to reach royal flush heaven. And I’m the king of 4-of-a-kinds, so there ya go. Your choice, just saying.

Now at Rainbow, they’ve announced their January 28 and 29 barrel drawing. Start earning tickets now. It’s for a Rolex ($6,500) Diamond Date Just watch, one each over four Drawings. Five second prizes at each drawing for steak knives. Just kidding. They’re actually for $100.

Add their amazing point multipliers and play between 4 and 6 p.m. EVERY DAY one hour each at Rainbow, then Emerald Island, to earn 75x points for extra comps, gifts, and cash. That’s adding an amazing 5% on your return making ANY VP over 100%

The drawing trick is you earn only one ticket PER DAY PER location. But it’s just $200 coin-in to earn a ticket. Obviously, they want you to come in every day. Go for it. And dine at Triple B on your comps.

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Are Video Poker Machines Actually Random?

This post is syndicated by the Las Vegas Advisor for the 888 casino group. Anthony Curtis comments on the 888 article introduced and linked to on this page.

AC says:

Are video poker hands dealt randomly? A debate over this comes up from time to time, due to the true meaning of “random.” The cards video poker players receive are determined by a “random number generator” (RNG), but purists point out that true randomness cannot be created by a computer algorithm. The argument can go on, but the reality is that the video poker machines you play in Nevada, and presumably in any legal and licensed casino in the U.S. (and mostly beyond), are random enough, given the game’s procedural objective. This article correctly makes that point, while also imparting bonus information many players want to know (even though it doesn’t affect their outcomes) about how the cards are dealt on a video poker machine.

This article was written by Jerry Stich in association with 888Casino.

Are Video Poker Machines Actually Random?

I doubt many video poker players even consider this question. They head to the casino (or play online) hoping their luck will bring them riches – or at least buy them some decent time playing their favorite video poker game.

Serious video poker players – those who learn and practice perfect video poker playing strategy for the specific game and pay table they will play are betting on the game being random. Each line of playing strategy assumes that video poker games are random. If the game is not random, the strategy is flawed and perhaps worthless.

So, what is the truth? Are video poker machines actually random? Will playing strategy based on a random game have the desired results? This article addresses these topics.

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