During a juicy promotion, let’s say I have a deal with “Peter” that I will leave a machine at 5 a.m. and he will take it over. Later on, perhaps noon, he will give it back. But when he arrives at 5 a.m., all of the relevant machines are full, and somebody is hovering — waiting for a machine to open up. How do we handle this situation?

If I know the person hovering and he is reasonable to work with, he already knows Peter is taking over. How? I’ll tell him beforehand. Most professionals have made similar deals in the past and we don’t want some sort of fight where casino employees get involved. That situation rarely ends well.

If players are fighting over a machine, many casinos “solve” the problem by kicking out one or both players or removing the machine. If the players want it that badly, it doesn’t take a genius slot director to conclude that he’s better off without it. 

If the hovering player is a stranger, we try to switch players without incident. I might ask Peter to watch my machine while I use the restroom. When he sits down, I’ll tell him I might be several minutes, and he can play with his own card and money until I return. He cashes out my money and gives it to me along with my card, and he begins to play.

It seems innocent enough. An hour later, when the hovering player realizes that I’m not coming back, the problem has usually gone away. Sometimes that player has found another machine. Sometimes that player has given up on playing on these particular machines during that promotion. (Most of us have “backup” plans in case our first choice of machines isn’t available.) 

Sometimes when a full bank of desirable machines is occupied, another player will ask if anybody is planning on leaving soon. (I do this myself.) The reason to do this is to “get in line.” Usually this is a good time to say words to the effect that, “My machine has somebody already in line.”

Despite your best efforts, sometimes somebody comes looking for a machine and announces that the only way to allocate machines is “first come first served” and he’s first in line for the next available machine. If Peter shows up for his shift while this person is waiting, I’ll whisper to him to let him know the situation. Sooner or later this person will either get a machine or leave the area for a bit. When he does, that’s the time to make the shift.  

One thing to keep in mind is that regardless of whatever is done today, most of us plan on playing for years and “what goes around, comes around.” Sometimes you have the machine and somebody else wants it. Sometimes somebody else has the machine and you want it. 

Treating people fairly is almost always the best policy. It doesn’t always work well, but it gives you the best chance of having good results for years to come.

There is one lady in greater Las Vegas who is known for being a real jerk about these things. She’s made a scene at several casinos where she feels people have not let her have her turn, and casinos have removed machines because of what she’s done. Insofar as I’m concerned, she doesn’t play fair, and I won’t work with her. But with most others, I do,

One last thing to mention is that there are fewer of these great video poker promotions than there used to be. Just a fact of life. Sharing great machines is far less of an issue than it used to be.