They Make You Wait

Author’s note: Sometimes I get criticized for “bragging about my success.” The unusual feature at Dotty’s I’m discussing today is only relevant when you do have success. Like all players, I have good and bad weeks — and this one was a good one. So, if you get annoyed at me talking about one week when I was successful playing the game, better skip this week’s article.

As I write this, my last trip to Dotty’s was less than a week ago. It was a much, much better trip than average. And I still don’t know exactly how well I did! I will know before you read this, so I will note my actual results at the bottom, but this is intended to describe my thought processes before I know. That’s typically when you have to make your decisions.

Most Dotty’s in Las Vegas are closed now. The governor has ordered all bars closed, including bartop machines in all casinos. Most Dotty’s are 15-machine establishments, and most or all of these machines are on bartops. There was a change to this rule in mid-August that will allow some additional Dotty’s to reopen.

The Dotty’s at Green Valley Parkway and Sunset Road in Henderson has many more than 15 machines. I was told that there are 35 machines, but I haven’t actually counted. And none of them are bartops. So, it is classified as a casino rather than a bar and it remains open. It’s three miles from my home, with at least two Dotty’s being closer.  But even when the other Dotty’s are open, this is my go-to Dotty’s because it has four different machines I can play.  One of them is usually available, and this Dotty’s is stocked with a much larger stash of hundred dollar bills to pay off jackpots than most of the others. Trust me, it’s no fun being paid in $5 bills. And at least one of the closer Dotty’s has no playable machines at all for me.

Part of the slot club at Dotty’s is the “Big Bonus Jackpot” where you might receive a bonus for W2gs. Ten percent of your W2gs get a 10% bonus. That is, if you have a $2,000 jackpot, 10% of the time you’re going to get an additional $200 in cash. 

How much this bonus adds depends on the game. In 9/6 Jacks or Better, currently the highest returning game at Dotty’s, the bonus is worth 0.08% if you play between $48 and $130 per hand. Not a large addition to the game, but every little bit helps. My stakes are chosen to make 4-of-a-kinds eligible for W2gs, and full houses and lower not eligible.

They have had looser games in the past, and games that paid more for this promotion, but over time, strong players have hit those games hard enough that 9/6 Jacks is the only one left. And it’s a pretty skinny advantage.

Jacks or Better isn’t found on all machines, but usually about half of their machines include IGT video poker, and Jacks or Better is in the rotation of the games that is sometimes included, although not always 9/6. These are machines you can play for lots of different denominations between five cents and five dollars, and it allows you to play up to 50 coins. I am indifferent as to whether I play 50-coin $1 games, 25-coin $2 games, or 10-coin $5 games.

Although I hadn’t played there since February, I approved of the way they dealt with social distancing (Plexiglas dividers between adjacent machines — areas wiped down after each player), and so I played around 1,600 hands ($80,000 coin-in) on a Thursday morning between about 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. With quads occurring every 427 hands on average, receiving four such jackpots ($1,250 apiece) would be fairly typical. I did that, but I also received two straight flushes ($2,500 each) and a royal ($40,000), which was definitely much better than average. The royal took about an hour to be paid as it required a supervisor to drive in from wherever. Normally, I can average $40,000 coin-in per hour on these machines if I don’t hit a royal. But I always bring a book along in case I do have to wait.

The $50,000 worth of W2gs could be worth up to a $5,000 bonus if they all get chosen — a mere 1-in-10,000,000 chance. Math and experience tell me the two most likely results are $125 and $0, but still, a 1-in-10 shot at $4,000 is pretty cool.

As I said, I played on a Thursday morning with the “Big Bonus Jackpot” winners being posted the following Wednesday. Usually, on the weeks I play, I’m waiting on 1-in-10 chances for a few $125 bonuses. These are worth $12.50 each, on average, and don’t create much anxiety. The 1-in-10 chance at $4,000 is worth $400 on average and is definitely worth thinking about a bit.

Historically, I haven’t done well at winning bonuses for the larger jackpots. I’ve had perhaps 25 jackpots in the $25,000 – $100,000 range, and I’ve collected exactly one $2,500 bonus. It’s too small of a sample to prove that the bigger jackpots get chosen less than 1-in-10-times, but it does make me wonder. The drawing is done in private, so how can I know for sure? If I knew for sure that the big jackpots were called at, say, 1-in-25 times rather than 1-in-10, that might well affect whether or not I play there.

I can pick up the jackpot bonuses, if I’m selected, at any Dotty’s, but I’ll go back to the one where I played, on the Thursday after hitting my W2gs, for four reasons. 

First, it’s one of the few Dotty’s open. 

Second, another feature to their slot club is that ten players a week at each outlet earn $20 in a “Sunny Money” drawing based on play. This must be picked up within a week after the drawing on Sunday or it’s forfeited. My $80,000 coin-in gives me a decent shot at this. This isn’t worth much, and if that’s all I had going and not the drawings, I might blow it off. With everything else though, I’ll show up and see if I’ve won.

Third, I noticed a sign that due to the coin-shortage, Dotty’s will pay face value for all change you have. Bonnie and I throw our change into an empty bucket and we probably have $100 accumulated. Being able to cash that in easily without being charged for the service is convenient.

Finally, across the street from “my” Dotty’s is a Trader Joe’s. I like to keep a few of their frozen chicken burritos on hand for a quick go-to meal that is moderately well-balanced when I don’t have time, energy, or raw materials to cook something. My stockpile of these is gone and it’s time to replenish. This is also a low enough priority for me to not make a special trip. This will allow me to go into Dotty’s for a few minutes during hours that Trader Joe’s is open.

The last two points indicate that, like all of us, some of my gambling decisions include non-gambling elements. Gambling is not a totally separate part of my life, but rather it needs to be integrated into whatever else is going on.

Note:    My scorecard when I went back.

Big Bonus Jackpot: $250

Sunny Money: $0

Coins redeemed: $0
(Turns out they will buy them only if they are in rolls.)

Chicken Burritos: 6

I’ll take it.