Questions. We get lots and lots of questions.

In a discussion on a Las Vegas group on Facebook, someone claimed that one can tell the payback percentage of a slot machine by looking at the pay table. This person said that it has to reflect the percentage by law. I know slot machines are purchased with a certain payback percentage, but I was unaware, if it is true, that one can figure out what that percentage is from the pay table. Is this true?

No. Whoever claimed that you can discern the payback percentage of a slot machine by looking at the payoffs is confusing slots with video poker. The only way to know the payback percentage of a slot machine is if it's posted somewhere nearby by the casino. Video poker machines are different; you can look at the posted paytables, then compare them to the exact payback percentages that are widely available for all the different VP versions.

Is the Golden Nugget showroom still in existence?

Sure is. Impressionist-comedian-musician-showman Gordie Brown headlines the Golden Nugget Showroom every Thursday and Saturday. It's also turned into something of a classic-rock venue, with upcoming shows by Lita Ford, Blue Oyster Cult, the Guess Who, Grand Funk Railroad, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, the Grass Roots, Tommy James and the Shondells, and Night Ranger. The first week of December, the showroom is all country during NFR (Dec. 1-10). Lots of good entertainment in the big showroom downtown.

Why do video poker machines "hesitate" every few dozen hands? When you hit the Deal button, the machine lapses for long enough to notice. What's happening when it does this?

The machine is simply processing information, generally updating its memory, so that no data about the machine's operation is lost. Of course, that begs the question: Does the pause affect the outcome? The answer is yes. The random number generator will start from a different place than it would have without the pause. Whether the outcome from the pause is better or worse than it would've been without the pause is impossible to know. It's no different than if you yourself paused for the same duration at the same time. The result remains random.

When Lake Mead's water level is listed at so many feet (currently 1,042 feet, I believe), what does that mean? Is it the depth of water in the reservoir? Does it have something to do with acre-feet?

Neither. Lake levels are expressed in altitude above sea level, not the depth of the reservoir or any other kind of feet. Currently, the water level in Lake Mead is, as you say, 1,042 feet, which means that high above sea level, the same as a 1,042-foot cliff above the ocean somewhere. Lake Mead's level is forecast to drop to 1,016 feet by September 2023 and 1,013 feet by July 2024, but in the extreme, it could fall below 1,000 feet by then.

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Comments

Sandra Ritter Sep-02-2022

For your info

I really dig these 'We get lots and lots of questions' QODs.

Kevin Lewis Sep-02-2022

The pause

Every seasoned video poker player knows that when a machine pauses, it's just dealt you a really good hand and it's saying "oh, shit!" and hurriedly revealing. The only reason you get dealt any good hands that don't get wiped away is, sometimes the machine is thinking how to put the moves on that hot Buffalo slot across the aisle and isn't paying attention (and yes, all VP machines are female).

Dan McGlasson Sep-02-2022

Got it!

Kevin, thanks for bringing that to our attention.  Now I got it!  I will hold pushing the deal button on a VP machine until the Buffalo Slots scream "BUFFALO"!  That will distract my VP machine and a good hand will be dealt.  

So, will the same distraction hold true when the Willy Wonka slots starts playing its music????

rocks2oldies Sep-02-2022

Kevin Lewis

Your comment is hilarious!  I would agree that the machines are female...all slots are female, always wanting money!  I am female and get into a lot of arguments with the slots, and I never win.  I also love the QoD's. Not being able to afford Vegas like I would like, it keeps me current on the happenings there, and I learn something each and every post.

AL Sep-02-2022

Hesitations

Relating to the question about machine hesitations, the Answer text says: "Whether the outcome from the pause is better or worse than it would've been without the pause is impossible to know." Actually, we DO know.  YES, the outcome after a pause WILL be better or worse; we just don't know which it will be.

AL Sep-02-2022

Slots are female?

I'm not so sure that slot machines are female.  A large percentage of slots players will swear that a slot machine has really f**ked them over, and it sort of takes a [certain male sex organ] to accomplish that. But I guess a female slot machine could deploy a fake one to achieve the same result.

Question of the Day - 02 September 2022

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