How much is enough?
Dear Mark,
If a slot machine pays back with hot coins, does that mean
it's a hot machine? Sly G.
No, Sly, the temperature of the coins has nothing to do
with the machine's payback percentage.
I remember years ago seeing a gentleman heating up his coins
with a hair dryer in the men's bathroom. In questioning his
gaming prowess he replied with unwavering conviction that
inserting hot coins produced more winners because the coins
coming out of his favorite machine were hot. My explanation
that coins falling out hot is due to the close proximity of
lights and other electrical components to the hopper fell
on deaf ears.
Dear Mark,
I work as a dealer on an Indian reservation in northern Michigan.
One of the most common mistakes I see is players getting ahead,
then giving all their winnings back to the casino. Why do
you think so many players are boneheads? Anonymous for job
protection.
One word, GREED. Too many players, when greed sets in, keep
upping the ante on what they want to win. "Enough"
is just over the horizon, and like the horizon, it recedes
when they approach it.
This column always recommends having a predetermined win plan.
All players should set loss limits and win goals. Without
this money management strategy, your typical player generally
becomes a casino statistic called the "hold," a
percentage of chips purchased by the customer and then won
back by the casino. All too often, when the rapacity of a
player goes unchecked, the player's entire bankroll slowly
but surely reverts to the casino.
Dear Mark,
Is there any difference between the crap tables of Nevada
and those in Atlantic City? William B.
Excluding the ability in Nevada to take higher odds on your
line bets, the biggest difference on the craps table layout
in Atlantic City is there is no big 6 or 8. When the player
bets on the big 6 or 8, the payoff is even money, whereas
it is 7-to-6 bet when either the 6 or 8 is wagered as a "place
bet" in either state. The latter is a much smarter wager.
Dear Mark,
I always feel awkward when I see a player playing alone at
blackjack and I want to play on the same game. What do you
suggest? Robin W.
When I see a player playing solo, especially when his bet
exceeds what I plan on wagering, I ask him politely if he
prefers to play head-to-head with the dealer or would he mind
some company. This always seems to work.
Dear Mark,
I buy $50 worth of lottery tickets per week. How long will
it take for me mathematically to finally hit the jackpot?
Jenny S.
If, just if, Jenny, your genetic structure is predisposed
to longevity, you can plan on winning the jackpot once every
7,000 years. Then again, given enough opportunity ($50 per
week), any supernatural occurrence due to chance can happen.
This is what makes the lottery/gambling so attractive.
Dear Mark,
I recently found your column on an internet site in Stockholm,
Sweden. I enjoy your historic questions the most. I am doing
a research paper at the University about the introduction
of casino gambling in the state where you live, Nevada. Can
you tell me when it became a legal enterprise? Stefan E.
A buckaroo politician for Humboldt County named Phil Tobin
presented the assembly bill in 1931 making gambling both legal
and taxable. Governor Fred Balzar, also known as "Friendly
Fred," signed the open gambling law on March 19, 1931.
Coincidentally, on that same day Balzar signed into law a
bill that would drive tourism, he thought, far more than gambling
ever would: the six weeks divorce statute.
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