August 2010 Video Poker Kaleidoscope by Linda Boyd When I was a kid I had a real passion for kaleidoscopes. Having a short attention span both then and now I was, and still am, fascinated by the design and color changes as well as the non-Euclidean field of hyperbolic geometry creating these images after each subtle movement of the device. (Okay, so I’m a former math teacher and find contradictions to the parallel line postulate to be interesting, if not everybody’s cup of tea). To me, unique patterns, just like single snowflakes, no two designs identical, are enthralling. I’m sure I would have experienced greater reality alterations if I had ever tried LSD, pot or other substances popular in the 60s. I didn’t, so I asked some former stoners about it. They described visual images and body sensations that were outside the realm of everyday reality. “Trips,” both real and imaginary, remove us from the mundane sameness of our daily routine. Most people, like me, want to play in the safe lane when it comes to our physical and mental health so illegal drugs are out of the question. Gambling is another outside of reality possibility; only unlike mind-altering drugs it’s perfectly legal. As long as you remain within your pre-determined budget limits you can go to “never never” land for a short spell before safely returning to the real world. In fact, several story lines and quotes from my favorite authors demonstrate the lure of gaming using well-written words that are etched on my brain. One that I’ve used before is from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Gambler: “Even as I approach the gambling hall, two rooms away, the jingle of money poured out on the table, I almost go into convulsions.” Colorful patterns and images come to mind as well as a feeling for his surging emotions before this gambler even gets to the gaming room. A frenetic mixture of sounds, vibrant colors and Mardi Gras atmosphere in and of themselves still draw modern-day casino crowds as much as the actual games. It’s just like a 3-D kaleidoscope with psychedelic nuances, made even better when changes create some variety between visits. The good news for both casinos and players is that some appealing innovations don’t cost much but make for a more festive party. Outside The Box: Maybe interest rates are low on the CDs you have in the local bank, but if you’re a casino owner you’re likely to have huge payments due, including jumbo interest rates, on highly leveraged properties. If you want to survive then you must start thinking outside the box. In fact the big brass at major casino-owning corporations have told staff that they must find ways to do more and better on a reduced budget. Is it possible? Absolutely. However, management teams will have to get creative in a hurry to not only trim the fat but to recycle the excess. That’s part of the reason why you’ve seen an increase in the number of mailers from casinos. More promos but reduced cost to the casino. Free for Them, Good for Me: If management takes a fresh look at their casino property then they can’t help but see mountains of food wasted at buffets. Most know the potential liabilities to casinos if they simply give leftovers away to the homeless. Just one person sues and you’re out of luck. In addition, management doesn’t need the aggravation of some drunks and druggies mixed in with the needy hanging outside their kitchen doors. Some casinos cut costs by removing expensive items from their buffet or serving lower grades of meat and produce. Instead of diminishing the quality of their buffet casinos could reduce the waste by offering free or reduced prices to their best customers. I think serving cheaper dishes at a buffet is bad for the overall image of the casino. They’d be surprised at how fast word travels that the buffet is not worth the price anymore. Look for more “early bird” discounts at high end steakhouses, especially during weekdays. These are excellent dining offers even if you’re not a gambler. There are even unadvertised food deals at many casinos. For example, a local Native American business has an upscale resort-style hotel attached to the casino. They have a wonderful coffee shop near the hotel registration desk that gets little traffic, especially during weekdays. Some on-the-ball manager noticed that lots of this well-prepared fare went to waste at the end of the night since they couldn’t serve it the next day. This was true seven days a week since most of their customers are part of a convention group. That translates to regular feasts supplied by their host company or event planner and little need for coffee shop snacks. Long story short, every night of the week between 8 and 10 p.m., all food is half price, even if you use a comp ticket. Fortunately they don’t advertise this perk (not sure why) so my serendipitous find is even better. As a smart player you should ask about food specials by either contacting your host or the food outlet. Recycling Gifts: What happens to the non-perishable gifts leftover at the end of a promotion? In bygone days most found homes with staff members or their BFFs, while others collected dust in a back room. Times have changed. Now I’ve noticed some casinos wait until they have a virtual cornucopia of unrelated promotional gifts carrying a variety of values. This is especially true of properties that have divergent player levels, like HET (Harrah’s Entertainment). After all, if you’re a bottom rung player (low roller) it’s sort of cool to have a chance at a top-rung gift. Here’s a situation that translates to ideal conditions for either a grab bag or treasure chest type of promo. This customer-pleaser doesn’t cost the house anything but tighter controls over disappearing inventory after a give-away event ends. The fact that gamblers love the possibilities of mystery presents, especially if they know some are valuable and coveted, make it a really special event. Non-Alcoholic Beverages: If you’ve read my past features or posted on my free video poker forum (go to www.midwestgamingandtravel.com, press the Boyd’s Eye View icon and follow the sign-up prompts) you already know I never drink alcohol and I’m not recovering from anything. Still, I get impatient waiting for servers even though long waits are mostly not their fault. Management has decreased the cocktail staff to cut back on costs. I much prefer self-serve and have yet to see “softdrinkaholics” abuse the policy. (I bring this up because an employee once told me management worried that non-players would come for the free sodas.) Casinos can have a staff member nearby to make sure the area stays clean, some people are just natural born slobs. Self-serve areas keep customers from griping while they wait and saves the house money. As an added bonus, casinos could add a dash of color to these sections so they can be easily located and will contribute to a celebratory theme that attracts more customers. Inadvertent Atmosphere: At the risk of sounding sexist, it’s my opinion that women respond to and notice color and extraordinary devices more than men. For example, a local casino rolled out a giant wheel that looked much like the one on “Wheel of Fortune” to a spot front and center of their slot club. Although the wheel was placed there in preparation for their next promo, my point is the object itself made the setting more exciting to me and others. Patrons had the same sort of response when a huge PLINKO board was prominently displayed to advertise their next promotion. Just leaving these props out even when they’re not in use brings some colorful changes to the casino. The more interesting the paraphernalia associated with a promo, the better. In addition to visual enhancements, contest props give the silent message that the staff is enthusiastic and the casino is in business to stay. Low Cost/High Value: It’s not too difficult to think of things that cost the casino little or nothing but are valued by customers. Many casinos base the number of tickets you have for a contest on your coin-in during the promotion. The more you play the more equity you have in the give-away, meaning the better your odds of winning. The best part to me is saving myself from tendonitis by not having to fill out real world entry forms. Management usually requests that you check in by sliding your card at a kiosk on the day of the promotion to be eligible. Make sure you ask for a copy of the rules at the slot club desk and read them carefully. I’m surprised at how many people are ineligible because they fail to press the “yes” prompt at the kiosk when asked if they want to be in the drawing, are too far from the contest area to claim prizes in time or fail to meet one of the listed requirements. Slot Club Incentives: Lately I’ve noticed a virtual wheel as part of the graphics on casino kiosks; spin and you’ll receive the prize indicated. I must say I’m incensed when I know the casino is playing with me instead of me playing with the wheel. That’s because they’ve pre-determined the amount of my food comp, prize or point multiple based on past play. It’s okay to just print my bounceback cash and food comps at a kiosk; in fact I like it better than having to lug around and organize a bunch of coupons. I simply want a real chance of winning a variety of amounts if you’re asking me to spin a wheel or select a virtual card. Sometimes casinos offer bonus entry tickets just by running your card through the kiosk each day. It’s a good way to reward frequent players for coming and it’s of no cost to the casino. Slot Choices: There are so many creative new games that I couldn’t even begin to name them all. Instead, I’ll discuss some good and bad attributes about the latest to hit the floor. By updating the slot club games the casino gives a contemporary flair to their establishment. For example, “Sex and the City,” a popular 2010 summer movie, now has a spot on the floor and I’ve noticed lots of players around them. Many younger patrons never heard of “I Dream of Jeanie,” so this was a good move. Management does have to be careful about significantly upping the cost of playing their slot games. I’ve noticed a dramatic increase in the number of lines as well as the minimum bet. For example, when they change a one-cent game to a two-cent game they’ve doubled the minimum bet during an economic recession, bad idea. Keep in mind the so-called penny slots may have a $2.50 per game max bet to begin with and making it a two-cent device increases the bet to $5 per game. Also I’ve noticed some techs working on slots lately and afterwards the ER (expected return) seems to be lower. Management must be careful to allow players some fun for their money if they want customers to be frequent players. The last thing they should be doing is lowering the unseen ER on slots if the goal is to increase the volume of gamblers in their casino. Video Poker Games: I really do understand the reluctance of management to feed the fleas (advantage players) who only play games with a positive (ER). Even though I’ve emphasized the need to play computer-perfect video poker in order to have a long-term edge over the house, few, make that very few, actually do. Right now management lacks the proprietary software necessary to track the long-term strategy of anybody so their guesses would be a stab in the dark. In fact any attempt to single out their advantage players would be a waste of time and resources. This means casinos really do benefit from the data they receive when customers use a slot card. That’s not going to happen if there are no benefits to doing so. As a result of all these conditions, management teams have compromised on the “no incentives” policy for positive video poker plays. They give equity in promotional contests as well as full earned and discretionary (at the discretion of a casino host) comps. Little cost to them and a reason to use a slot card. Technology: Time and time again we’re seeing the latest gizmos replace the need for humans in getting a job done. No more change people with rolls of coins, although you’ll find some floor staff converting hundreds to twenties. Don’t get too attached to TITO machines, (Ticket-in, Ticket-out), slot card kiosks or ticket/cash redemption devices either. All may be replaced by newer multi-task machines in the near future. In a way this adds color to the surroundings for people like me who get a kick out of new gadgets. Now if I could only train others to combine their 24 TITOs of $8.95 or less each into just one, life would be a dream. (As an aside, I used an innovative TITO recently that forced you into combining all tickets into one with easy to follow prompts.) Kiosks: You’ll find several of these computer terminals scattered throughout your local casino. They’re extremely easy to use, but if you’re not sure then ask a member of the casino’s staff for help. Kiosks are used to award food comps, indicate your number of contest entries, drawing eligibility, give account information and specified other purposes. It’s much more efficient and less time consuming than waiting in a long slot club line. You should, however, check the flyers and ask questions at the slot club desk to make sure you fully understand current promos and rules. Server Based: If you’ve played video poker or slots at MGM’s Aria Casino (CityCenter in Las Vegas) then you’ve already experienced the latest bit of technology, that’s server-based devices. When their doors opened in December, 2009 Aria had a 60/40 mixture of machines; 60% were server-based, while 40% were traditional. Be assured that they’re as legitimate as the traditional devices even though management has the ability to change the games or paytables from a remote location off the casino floor. As a player you must be diligent to carefully check both the pay schedule and game name since it may have changed since your last visit. Expect to see the best video poker choices during slow times, like weekdays, and the worst during peak times. Casinos are more apt to install server-based games when the casino is new since it costs less than ripping up the carpet and rewiring the existing devices. Really, it can be a good and convenient thing for players since you can remain glued to your seat and have access to coupons, multiple points and other specials based on your play. No more lines at the slot club or even the kiosks. Also, the device will have the ability to differentiate offers based on your play. Virtual Entries: I can remember promos where a few shysters would intentionally make folds in their entries in order to increase their chances of having it drawn. It got to the point where some casinos actually forbade the practice right in their contest rules. Beyond that, in the old days you had the tedious task of filling out hundreds of entries for casino prize drawings. One individual told me he had filled out over a thousand entries for a promo that disallowed the use of address labels or other short cuts. Thankfully those days are all but gone. Now most casinos use virtual tickets that are entered by computer, and you don’t have a sore wrist with thousands of entries. It’s fair, since the number of entries, representing your equity in the drawing, is based solely on your play. Since both in the past and now you must be present to win, the new system saves time. That’s because before people would unload trash bags of filled out forms in the drum and then not bother to show up for the drawing. Everybody would have to wait the allocated time and then more names would be drawn. The casino lost money while players waited and it was downright frustrating to waste so much time. Make sure you sign in on the day of the drawing by running your slot card through a kiosk; otherwise you won’t be eligible to win. Final Thoughts: The gaming industry will always have a mercurial nature to keep things current (10 years from now American Idol will be old-fashioned) as well as due to changing technological and economic conditions. These updates, in fact, contribute to a kaleidoscopic casino atmosphere and are one reason why casinos will continue to be successful entertainment outlets for many years to come. The worst thing for thrill seekers is stagnation and predictability. Stay tuned for the topsy-turvy innovations that will continue to come to Midwest and Nevada casinos; you’ll find them easy to understand once given an explanation. (Midwest Gaming & Travel will let its readers in on all the latest trends in the business.) By knowing how to use kiosks, checking for promos and specials and paying attention to the latest technology in gaming you will increase your odds of playing longer and have more chances to get lucky. — Linda Boyd, a long-time table game player before turning to video poker, writes for many gaming publications. Her book, The Video Poker Edge, includes free removable pay schedules and her free strategy cards for the most popular games. Available at amazon.com, bookstores or www.squareonepublishers.com.