{"id":20398,"date":"2017-10-23T07:15:26","date_gmt":"2017-10-23T15:15:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=20398"},"modified":"2022-11-02T15:39:35","modified_gmt":"2022-11-02T23:39:35","slug":"examining-slot-addiction-dealers-win-in-baltimore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/examining-slot-addiction-dealers-win-in-baltimore\/","title":{"rendered":"Examining slot addiction; Dealers win in Baltimore"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Researchers at the\u00a0<strong>University of Waterloo<\/strong>&#8216;s <strong>Gambling Research Lab<\/strong> are <a href=\"https:\/\/boingboing.net\/2017\/10\/20\/video-vaccination.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"broken_link\">trying to wean gamblers off slot machines<\/a>, or at least <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10103\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/slot-machine-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/slot-machine-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/slot-machine-150x112.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/slot-machine.jpg 654w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>create a more-educated player. They&#8217;re focusing on &#8220;losses disguised as wins&#8221; or LDWs. That&#8217;s when you wager $2 and &#8220;win&#8221; $1.50 back, never mind that you&#8217;re 50 cents in the hole. The educational device is a series of videos. The rate of LDWs boils down to 180 per hour (as opposed to 140 actual wins), a stat the <strong>Total Rewards<\/strong> boys probably don&#8217;t want you to know.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YZMDcTzK3v4\" width=\"450\" height=\"253\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Here at <em>S&amp;G<\/em>, we&#8217;re all for you playing the slots but, if the U of Waterloo boffins create a better-informed class of slot player, that&#8217;d be <!--more-->a good thing indeed. We want you to have a good time &#8212; but not lose your shirt. The Canadian academics said players who watched their videos\u00a0&#8220;not only remembered their actual number of wins more correctly, but they were also more capable of labelling losses disguised as wins during slot machine play.&#8221; Players who didn&#8217;t watch the video mischaracterized LDWs as wins 23% of the time, while who did watch were able to identify actual wins as 12%.<\/p>\n<p>In an unflattering comparison, the professors write, &#8220;Interestingly, intracranial recording in monkeys have shown that phasic activation in dopamine (DA) neurons correspond to <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-12132\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Slot-play-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Slot-play-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Slot-play-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Slot-play.jpg 330w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>the predictability of reward outcome. Specifically, activation is greatest when cue signals predict that rewards will occur on 50% of outcomes &#8230;\u00a0Given that researchers previously showed that non-zero outcomes (i.e. wins and LDWs) can occur on close to 50% of spins on commercially available slot machines, LDWs could potentially activate the DA system if one miscategorizes these outcomes as wins rather than losses.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The bottom line with the Waterloo profs is to prevent players from chasing losses. As research director <strong>Michael Dixon<\/strong> told <em>Science Daily<\/em>,\u00a0&#8220;One of the keys to gambling-harm prevention is to curtail misperceptions before they become ingrained in the minds of gamblers.\u00a0By exposing these outcomes for what they are, our study shows a way in which we can lead slots gamblers to have a more realistic view of their gambling experiences and possibly prevent problems down the road.&#8221; Amen to that.<\/p>\n<p>* While <strong>Las Vegas Metro<\/strong> and <strong>MGM Resorts International<\/strong> wrangle over the timeline of <strong>Stephen Paddock<\/strong>&#8216;s ambush of concertgoers, the <em>New York Times<\/em> has mashed up 30 on-the-scene videos <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/video\/us\/100000005473328\/las-vegas-shooting-timeline-12-bursts.html?emc=edit_ta_20171021&amp;nl=top-stories&amp;nlid=15322375&amp;ref=cta\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">to create its own timeline<\/a> of the horrific event. Expect sobering deconstructions of the event such as this to crop up in litigation related to the shooting.<\/p>\n<p>* A coalition of five unions negotiated an extraordinarily george collective-bargaining pact with <strong>Horseshoe Baltimore<\/strong>. The <em>Baltimore Sun<\/em> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/business\/bs-bz-horseshoe-casino-wage-increases-20171019-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">has all the numbers<\/a>\u00a0(and what dizzying numbers <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10830\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Dealerettes.jpg-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Dealerettes.jpg-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Dealerettes.jpg-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Dealerettes.jpg.jpg 306w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>they are) but what stands out is that table-game dealers, represented by the <strong>UAW<\/strong>, got a piece of the action. Their salaries (not including tips) will climb to $6.30 an hour, plus a $1.75 knowledge bonus for the better-informed dealers. Now, why is it that dealers can be unionized in <strong>Baltimore<\/strong> and not in <strong>Las Vegas?<\/strong> The relegation of Sin City dealers to second-class citizenry is one of the ongoing blotches on the casino industry, especially since one of the worst offenders is <strong>Caesars Entertainment<\/strong>, parent of Horseshoe.<\/p>\n<p>In other Free State news, <strong>Maryland Live<\/strong> is becoming <strong>Live Hotel &amp; Casinos<\/strong> (as opposed to Dead Hotel &amp; Casino?). <strong>Cordish Gaming<\/strong> execs hope, somewhat delusionally, that the addition of a hotel tower <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/local\/trafficandcommuting\/maryland-live-rebrands-itself-and-takes-other-steps-in-effort-to-regain-ground-lost-to-mgm-national-harbor\/2017\/10\/19\/39de9320-b298-11e7-a908-a3470754bbb9_story.html?utm_term=.da11208caa5c&amp;wpisrc=nl_sb_smartbrief\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"broken_link\">will enable them to grab the top spot<\/a> in <strong>Maryland<\/strong> back from <strong>MGM National Harbor<\/strong>. That&#8217;s not in the cards, methinks. Once completed, Live is expected to become the go-to spot for high school graduations.\u00a0\u201cNo longer would those parents have to travel all over creation to see their children cross the stage in a cap and gown,\u201d said County Executive <strong>Steven R. Schuh<\/strong> (R).<\/p>\n<p>* Addition of a convention center to the <strong>Stratosphere<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/lasvegassun.com\/news\/2017\/oct\/19\/gaming-commission-final-hurdle-for-stratosphere-a\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">is all but assured<\/a> once <strong>Golden Entertainment<\/strong> takes over ownership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Researchers at the\u00a0University of Waterloo&#8216;s Gambling Research Lab are trying to wean gamblers off slot machines, or at least create a more-educated player. They&#8217;re focusing on &#8220;losses disguised as wins&#8221; or LDWs. That&#8217;s when you wager $2 and &#8220;win&#8221; $1.50 &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/examining-slot-addiction-dealers-win-in-baltimore\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[70,97,7,22,228,72,11,90,9,196],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20398"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20398"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31857,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20398\/revisions\/31857"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}