Gaming Guru

Why I always have a good answer

I think YOU are part of the gambling people "casinos management" and thats why YOU always have a good answer explaning why they do this and why they do that.

YOU should retire from this chronicle and join these people because YOU belong whit them.

You've figured it out. I'm paid thousands of dollars a month by a consortium of casinos to spread their party line that the machines aren't rigged or manipulated in any way and that every player has an equal chance of winning. If only I could tell you that each morning in every casino the slot director decides if this is going to be a "give" day or a "take" day and either loosens or tightens the machines. I wish I could tell you that the slot directors also maintain a list of favored players and when these people put their players cards in machines, they're almost guaranteed to win. Every time I visit a casino, the slot director and I get together and laugh about how we're able to dupe all you people.

All kidding aside, the reason I always have a good answer — at least I always try to have a good answer — is because I can draw on over 300 years of development in the mathematics of probability and statistics. The machines in casinos may be cutting edge, but the math that governs the way they operate was cutting edge when the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. Today we know a lot about random events and what to expect as they occur.

The casino's revenue model is based on operating random games with probabilities determined by physical objects (e.g., cards, dice) or a virtual representation of a physical object (e.g., the virtual reels in a slot machine's program). It's not based on manipulating games or cheating players.

Unfortunately, I'll never be able to convince many people that there isn't a grand conspiracy among casinos. Conspiracies can only be resolved in the positive. It can be revealed that a conspiracy exists, but it can never be proven that a conspiracy does not exist.

If you don't believe the casinos are giving you a fair shake, then don't play in them.

John

Send your slot and video poker questions to John Robison, Slot Expert, at slotexpert@comcast.net. Because of the volume of mail I receive, I regret that I can't reply to every question.