Articles - Miscellaneous

March is a good time to visit Las Vegas. The chill that is sometimes in the winter air is gone, and the oppressive summer heat is still a few months off. I was particularly anxious to get back to Las Vegas this time. The major casino operators had gone through another round of consolidation and reshuffling of properties a few years ago and I was going to stay at the first new casino to open after all the reorganizations.

The London Inn is part of a new company, The Europa Casino Group, which consists of the London Inn, Caesars Palace, Bellagio, Excalibur, Paris, and Monte Carlo. To celebrate the new alliance, Europa installed a state-of-the-art player tracking/casino management/customer service system that promises to be the most powerful and convenient system in any casino in the world. I couldn't wait to try out the new system.

My first introduction to the new system occurred when I was checking in. The agent said, "I see that you haven't joined our players club yet. If you'd like, I can enroll you in the club right now and save you the trouble of enrolling at the club booth.'

"Sounds like a good idea to me,' I said. "You already have all of my contact information in my reservations record. Why should I have to wait in line at the club booth just to give the same information again? Will you give me a players club card?'

"You have a couple of options there,' she said. "I can give you an all-in-one card that acts as a multi-purpose ID card. In addition to opening your room door, it functions as your players card and you can use it to charge purchases to your room. We think you'll find it convenient because you have fewer cards to carry around, but if you want I can make a card that will only open up your room and another card that is only used for the players club.'

"What happens if I lose the all-in-one card?' I asked.

"It's no different from losing a typical room keycard or your slot club card or an ATM card. There's nothing on the card that identifies which room you're in and your room number is not encoded on the magnetic stripe. Someone would have to know what room you were in to use the card to get in your room. Same as a regular keycard. Once you check out, the card will no longer open a room door, but it will still work as a players club card.

"No one can use the card to charge purchases to your room,' she continued, "because all of our retail outlets ask for your name and room number when you use the card. In addition, no one will be able to use the card for players club transactions because we use a biometric security system. We take a scan of your thumbprint when you enroll in the club. We then compare the thumbprint of the person making the transaction with the thumbprint we have on file to make sure that it is indeed you making the transaction.

"Finally, each all-in-one-card carries a unique code. If you do happen to lose a card, come to us as soon as you realize it's missing and we'll deactivate the card and issue you a new one.'

I decided that there were enough security features on the all-in-one card that I wouldn't be giving up any security in exchange for the convenience of having fewer cards to carry. I asked for two all-in-one cards, then I took the lift to my room in the Westminster tower to drop off my luggage. Next it was off to the casino.

My original plan was to head for the players club booth to enroll first, but now I didn't have to go there because I was able to enroll when I checked in. So, my first stop was one of the many customer service kiosks on the casino floor.

The first thing that struck me was the high-resolution display in the kiosk. Text was very clear and the images looked like photographs. The screen showed a menu of options to get more information about the property.

I touched the Dining Options button on the screen. The kiosk displayed all of the restaurants at the London Inn, from the bargain buffet called Leicester Square, to the moderately priced McGonagall's Pub, all the way to the ultra-high-priced Mayfair. I pressed the button for Mayfair to check it out. The restaurant looked spectacular in the pictures, but I could tell from the prices on the online menu that I would not be eating there. Still, I could have made a reservation at the kiosk if I wanted to treat myself.

Back to the main menu to check out the stores. All of the clothing stores are located in a section called Savile Row. Sundries are available at the Apothecary and souvenirs at 221B Baker Street. I wanted to get a London Inn T-shirt, so I followed the on-screen prompts to display a map of the property with the route from where I was to the souvenir shop highlighted. I printed the map for a future shopping trip.

My goal for now was to explore the casino floor. I went back to the main screen and pressed the Featured Machines button. The screen listed the recently released slot machines on the London Inn's slot floor. I saw that they had the machine based on the latest Austin Powers movie, You Only Live Two and a Half or So Times. I touched the button for that machine on the screen. The display showed a map of the casino floor along with arrows indicating where I was and the bank that contained the machine. I printed that map for future reference.

New machines are fun, but I also want to play my old favorites. I went back to the main screen and pressed the button marked Slot Finder. The screen showed a list of the machines on the slot floor along with checkboxes so I could control the denominations and types (video slot, reel-spinning slot, video poker) of machines listed. I found my 9/6 Jacks or Better in the list. The kiosk said that the London Inn had it in $1, $5, $10 , and $100 machines. I went to the floor display screen again and the kiosk highlighted the banks that had 9/6 Jacks machines. I printed that map and went back to the main screen.

There was another finder button on the main screen. This one was called Player Finder. This feature let me enter the name of a person I wanted to find on the casino floor. If that person was playing with his or her players card, the system would tell me at which table or slot bank the person was playing. Back to the main screen again.

The main screen said to insert my players club card in order to access my players club account. I inserted my card. The screen asked me to place my thumb on the scanner built into the kiosk in order to verify my identity. I put my thumb on the scanner and the screen then displayed a message welcoming me to the London Inn.

The next screen gave me the opportunity to fill out a questionnaire so they could serve me better. Along with the usual questions about the games I like to play, the tournaments I'd be interested in playing in, and my hobbies, there were some questions I didn't expect. For example, one question asked me about my favorite cocktails and soft drinks. Another asked me whether I usually request a smoking or non-smoking room, and a high or low room.

I found out the reasons they asked these questions later in my trip. They asked about my room preference so they wouldn't have to keep asking me those questions every time I made a reservation. The reason they asked about my drink preferences was for a really slick feature they have available at their machines. More on that later.

The kiosk then asked me to choose my PIN. I found out later that it was too expensive to install thumb scanners on the thousands of slot machines on the casino floor, so PINs were still needed to conduct transactions from the slot machines.

If I had had any cashback dollars available, I would have been able to print a ticket for all or a portion of the cashback I had available. (All of the machines at the London Inn were ticket-in/ticket-out machines.) And if I had had any comps available, I could have arranged my own comps from the kiosk. I didn't have any cashback or comps available, of course, because I hadn't played in the casino yet. Now it was time to go play and earn some cashback and comps. Next stop: the cage. I had to go to the cage to activate my line of credit. I had to verify my information and show my ID again. Because the casino would be handing over serious amounts of cash to me whenever I took out a marker, the cage has stricter ID requirements than the players club. They also scanned my thumb again. Now that they were convinced that I was who I said I was and that the thumb print they had on file was indeed from my thumb, I could now use my all-in-one card and thumb scan to prove my identity at the cage.

I asked to take out a marker and the cashier suggested that I deposit the money into my cage account instead of taking the cash. I said that I didn't know that I had a cage account.

"Everyone who has a line of credit automatically gets a cage account and anyone who has a players club card can open up a cage account,' the cashier said. "With a cage account, you can use your players club card and PIN to transfer money from your account to a slot machine. When you're finished playing, you can transfer any credits you have on the machine back to your account. In fact, if you transferred money to the machine, you would not be able to cash them out. You have to transfer them back to your account. This is to prevent someone from cashing out any credits you accidentally leave on a machine. They can play them off, but they can't cash them out.'

"Can I access the account at the tables too?' I asked.

"Yes. Each table has a thumb scanner. Just tell the dealer how much you want. He or she will swipe your card, we'll scan your thumb, and if you have the cash available the system will approve the withdrawal and the dealer will give you your money. There's some paperwork involved too, but it's faster than getting a marker.'

I used a similar system when Caesars Palace had it. I liked not having to carry around cash. I took out a marker and had the cash deposited directly into my account.

I then followed the map to the $100 9/6 Jacks machines. Just kidding. I went to the $1 machines. The machines at the London Inn looked like the machines in any other casino except for one thing. These machines had miniature high-resolution touchscreen displays next to the slot for the players club cards. These displays showed promos for the players club, the restaurants, and the shops. Some of them also showed short animations specific to the machine. All of the Diamond machines 

(Double Diamond, Triple Diamond, etc.), for instance, occasionally ran an animation that showed a dazzling diamond that slowly rotated. The Little Green Men machines showed, well, little green men marching across the screen. The Austin Powers machines showed quick clips of Mike Myers in his various characters plugging the machines.

I found a generous-looking 9/6 Jacks machine and sat down to play. I put my all-in-one card in the card reader slot and the screen showed a message welcoming me by name. Then the screen switched to a display that showed my session points and total points, plus some action buttons. There was a button to access the funds transfer system to move funds back and forth between my cage account and the machine. Another button brought me to the players club info screens, where I could find out the cashback available in my account and even transfer the cashback to my credit meter.

Another button was marked Service. I pressed that button and the next screen displayed three buttons. I could call for a slot technician, a slot host, or a cocktail waitress. I was pretty thirsty at this point, so I pressed the cocktail waitress button. The screen then displayed a menu of the drinks I had entered at the kiosk earlier. If I pressed one of those drinks, the order would be sent directly to the bar. There was another option marked Other. If I pressed that button, I would have to wait for the waitress to come by so I could tell her what I wanted.

While I was playing, one of my favorite hosts from the old Desert Inn dropped by to say hello. She said she was now working at the London Inn. I asked her about the pocket PC, or personal digital assistant (PDA), that she was carrying.

"All of the hosts carry these PDAs. We can access the player tracking system from the slot floor using them and the system can also send messages to us on them. I found out you were here by using the PDA to get a list of the hot players on the slot floor. Now that I know you're a member, I can have the system send me an alert to let me know when you're in the casino. If you call me over while you're at a machine, I can check your account and issue comps all without having to leave you.

"And you won't believe the number of different bonus programs we can implement with this system,' she continued. "I don't know how many of these features we'll use, but the system can do all of them.

"First, we can load free credits into your account and they'll appear on your credit meter when you put your card in a machine. They're like free pulls. You can't cash them out, but you keep anything you win from them. We can even set up the system to automatically give free credits to you on your next trip based on how much you play on this trip.

"We can also set up your account with a progressive that only you can win. It grows as you play and you win it when it hits a certain value.

"Another thing we can do is create a casino-wide progressive. It's sort of like a millionth customer promotion, only the person who wins is the one who plays the millionth coin. We can also award credits or free pulls to everyone playing at the time the progressive is hit, like a consolation prize for not having hit the big one.

"There are two other features I especially like. The first lets us set up the system to multiply all your winning combinations by up to nine times for a period of time. It's like having a Double Diamond or better symbol in every winner. The other feature I really like lets us refund all your non-winning bets for a specific period of time. Can you imagine having a no-losses guaranty while playing a slot machine?'

‹ Author's note: The features I described in this future casino visit are not just flights of fancy on my part. All of the features I described are either possible now with currently available software and hardware; possible with an upcoming release of new software or hardware; or possible with the appropriate software or hardware, but not scheduled to be implemented yet.

A hot topic in business today is Customer Relationship Management. All businesses are taking a close look at what they can do to improve their relationships with their customers. The casinos and the companies that supply the hardware and software that they use to run the players club, the hotel, the retail outlets, etc., have been talking for years about what can be done once all the separate systems running in the casino can talk to and share information with one another.

In the last few years, we have seen the merger of slot clubs and table clubs into general players clubs, and the widespread adoption of one club that encompasses all of a company's properties. We've also seen self-service kiosks. These changes are just the tip of the iceberg in what casinos have planned to improve their relationships with their players. r

- John Robison is an expert video poker player and author of The Slot Experts Guide to Playing Slots by Huntington Press. He is the managing editor of the gaming pages at rgtgaming.com. Email: slotexpert@comcast.net. 

Amarillo Slim: The Greatest Gambler by Candace Miller

If there's anything worth arguing about, I'll either bet on it or shut up. And since it's not very becoming for a cowboy to be arguing, I've made a few wagers in my day. But, in my humble opinion, I'm no ordinary hustler. You see, neighbor, I never go looking for a sucker; I look for a champion and make a sucker out of him."
- Quote by Amarillo Slim Preston

Perhaps you've seen Thomas Austin Preston, Jr., in a Las Vegas casino. If you have, hopefully you weren't looking at him from across a poker table. 

Amarillo ŒSlim' Preston is arguably the greatest gambler who ever lived. He is, without question, the world's most famous professional poker player. The lanky 74-year-old "venture capitalist" stands 6'4" and is so skinny that a friend once told him that he looks like the advance man for a famine. He's a fast-talking, flamboyant character who won the World Series of Poker in 1972 and appeared on The Tonight Show 11 times. His customary attire is a snakeskin-wrapped Stetson and custom-designed ostrich boots engraved with spades, clubs, diamonds, hearts, and "Slim." 

You can read about the life and times of the man who brought more attention and respectability to the game of poker than any player alive, in a new book, Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People: The Memoirs of the Greatest Gambler Who Ever Lived (HarperCollins, May 2003; ISBN: 0060542357). This book is penned by Amarillo Slim himself, along with Card Player columnist Greg Dinkin, who is also the author of the critically acclaimed The Poker MBA. 

Willie Nelson said: "Every one of Slim's tall tales about his gambling exploits had me in stitches, except, of course, the time that country cowboy took me for a pretty penny playing dominoes. I would never make another bet with Slim, but I'd bet everything that Slim's memoir is the best I've ever read." The book includes tales of Slim's life as a pool hustler, cardsharp, and proposition bettor mixed in with age-old wisdom and poker secrets. Slim describes some of his greatest gambling exploits, from winning the World Series of Poker, to creating proposition bets that rivaled the great Titanic Thompson's, to running the biggest black market in Europe during the war while giving pool exhibitions (read: hustling) on military bases for Uncle Sam. Among Slim's most famous bets, he beat Bobby Riggs in ping-pong with a skillet, took a handsome sum from a Hall-of-Fame basketball coach shooting free throws with a football, and hustled Bob Stupak out of $65,000 pitching coins. 

You might find it odd that Slim, who is still an active gambler and plays in the World Series of Poker every year, would give away his secrets. He said "Now, ordinarily, I'd rather see early frost on my peach trees than write some book giving away my secrets to success, but I've got seven grandbabies and it's about time they learned my life story. I'm fixing to tell you a few things that I've been keeping to myself for a lot of years. If you're not careful, you just might learn how to get rich without ever having a job."

The legendary gambler was born in Johnson, Arkansas, in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. The town's one distinction was its lime kiln, which, he said, "turned out a product that was put in urinals to kill the smell." Slim delights in poking fun at his native Arkansas and considers himself a dyed-in-the-wool Texan. On being born in Arkansas he said, "it didn't take long for my folks to see the error of their ways, and when I was just nine months old, we moved to Turkey, Texas, and later Amarillo. And it's a good thing they did, because Amarillo Slim sounds a heckuva lot better than Turkey Tom or Arkansas Austin. Amarillo's a good town where the population has been 173,000 for the past 50 years, never varies ‹ every time some woman gets pregnant, some man leaves town." 

Perhaps not so coincidentally, Slim was born in a town just 17 miles from Rogers, Arkansas, the birthplace of legendary proposition bettor Titanic Thompson. "Quite a few folks have noted that the three slickest men this country has ever known were born in Arkansas. You figure out who the third one is, partner, but I'll give you a hint: It rhymes with Minton."

Like Titanic did, Slim likes to bet on anything, as long as the odds are in his favor. "In past years I've bet big money that I could pick any 50 people at random and two of them would have the same birthday; that a stray cat could carry an empty Coke bottle across the room; and that I could hold on to a horse's tail for a quarter of a mile. I even wagered $37,500 that a fly would land on a particular sugar cube. At the fanciest casino in Marrakech, Morocco, I bet that I could ride a camel right through the middle of it. I won every one of those bets, and, in this here memoir I wrote, you'll see how."

As his legend grew, you'd think people would have avoided gambling with him, but the opposite was true. "The more I won," Slim said, "the more people wanted to beat me, and let me tell you partner, the bigger they come the harder their money falls. I beat Willie Nelson for $300,000 playing dominoes right on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas. I took Minnesota Fats for big money playing pool, with a broom. And I won too many wagers from Evel Knievel to remember, but the one everyone likes to talk about is the time I beat that old daredevil in golf when I played with a carpenter's hammer."

Over the years, Slim's nemesis was a man named Demetrius Synodinos, aka Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder. After Slim won a large sum of money betting the Greek on a golf tournament, the Greek threatened to welsh, creating friction between two men who, for different reasons, were putting Las Vegas on the map. As the Greek's jealousy intensified, he set the Texas cowboy up for disaster by betting him that he couldn't raft down the "River of No Return," a 29-mile stretch of rapids in northern Idaho, in the heart of winter no less. But with his life on the line, Slim got resourceful. "I had Jacques Cousteau make me a special wet suit to keep from freezing to death, but even that wasn't enough to convince Lloyds of London to insure me, and they insure anything." Fortunately for Slim, he didn't need the insurance as he delighted in taking $31,000 from his nemesis. 

By the mid-seventies, spurred on by his appearances on The Tonight Show, Slim became an international celebrity. In 1978, Kenny Rogers approached him with the hit song The Gambler, and the two sat down right in the poker room at the Golden Nugget in downtown Las Vegas to practice. Soon after, country singer John Lutz Ritter wrote a song about him: Do You Dare Make a Bet with Amarillo Slim? He also appeared on the big screen in 1974 when Robert Altman made California Split, a great gambling movie with Elliott Gould and George Segal. Slim, of course, played the gambling character he knew best: Amarillo Slim.

He has played poker with presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon; and George Bush, Sr., considers him a friend. And while he's never taken a drug in his life, he has rubbed elbows, for better or worse, with Texas drug king Jimmy Chagra and Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. In his memoir, you'll see how a fun gambling trip to Colombia in the early Œ90s nearly got him killed by Pablo himself. If you make it to the World Series of Poker this year, be sure to say hello to the engaging Texan and living American icon. But be careful, because as Slim likes to say, "I like you, son, but I'll put a rattlesnake in your pocket and ask you for a match." 

- Amarillo Slim Preston and Greg Dinkin are the coauthors of Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People: The Greatest Gambler Who Ever Lived (HarperCollins, May 2003). To learn more about Slim, visit www.thepokermba.com/amarilloslim. Greg can be reached at greg@ventureliterary.com.

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When Good Games Go Bad by John Grochowski

Table pits are full of games that are basically good. They are easy to learn, fun to play and with house edges that are low enough to give you a decent run for your money. But sometimes these good games can deviate from the path of righteousness and go bad. That happens when some casino operators aren't satisfied with the steady flow of chips from your side of the table to theirs. So, they toughen the rules, shorten the payouts and turn these otherwise good and friendly games into bankroll muggers.

What then? What do you do when your good game has transformed into its evil twin? Well, first you have to recognize what has gone wrong. Then you'll have to implement some tough love. You have to stay away. Let's take a look at the rap sheets of some good games gone bad.

THREE CARD POKER: In its original version, this stud poker-based game seems mild-mannered enough. On play against the dealer, the house edge is 3.37% of the ante or 2.01% of total action, taking into consideration the bet equal to the ante made by players who like their cards. In the Pair Plus bet, which pays off whenever the player has a pair or better, the house edge is 2.32%. That's pretty good by standards of new games. The house edge is higher than those on baccarat, the best bets in craps, and blackjack against a basic strategy player. But then again, house edges on some craps bets are as high as 16.67%, and an average blackjack player faces a house edge of 2% to 2.5%. That's right in the ballpark with the edge on Three Card Poker. 

It's a friendly little game, one just about anyone can pick up in a hand or three. Pair Plus takes no strategy, and strategy on play against the dealer is about as easy as it gets. You follow your ante with a bet any time you have queen-6-4 or better, and fold lesser hands. So what can turn this easy-going test of luck and skill into a money-grubbing monster?

It starts with the bonus payoffs on play versus the dealer. In the original version of Three Card Poker, not only do you win even money on your ante-bet combination if your hand beats a dealer's qualifying hand, or on the ante if the dealer failed to qualify with a queen or better, but there is bonus payoff of five times your ante if you're dealt a straight flush, four times your ante for three of a kind, and equal to your ante on a straight. Casinos that want your money a little bit quicker reduce payoffs to 4-1 on straight flushes and 3-1 on three of a kind, increasing their edge to 2.28% of the ante and 3.83% of total action. Others take it down another notch, paying only 3-1 on straight flushes and 2-1 on three of a kind, raising their edge to 2.56% of the ante and 4.28% of total action.

That's really small potatoes, kind of a misdemeanor bankroll assault. The full-scale attack comes in Pair Plus. The original paytable designed by Englishman Derek Webb pays 40-1 on a straight flush, 30-1 on three of a kind, 6-1 on a straight, 4-1 on a flush and even money on a pair. Since Shufflemaster has taken over the game from Webb, several new paytables have popped up. One drops three of a kind payoffs to 25-1, raising the house edge to 3.49%. Another drops straight flushes to 35-1 to go with the reduced pay on three of a kind. That ups the house edge to 4.58%.

But the real bad boy of Three Card Poker is a Pair Plus paytable that leaves the straight flush and three of a kind pays at their maximum level, but reduces flushes to 3-1. Three-card flushes occur about once per 20 hands, compared with once per 460 hands for straight flushes and once per 425 hands for three of a kind. A reduced payoff on flushes affects far more hands than reduced payoffs on straight flushes and three of a kinds combined. And that magnifies the effect on the house edge, sending it soaring to a whopping 7.28%.

Instead of the house taking an average of $2.32 per $100 wagered, it takes $7.28. Instead of average losses for a $5 bettor playing 50 hands an hour being $5.80, they're $18.18. That's no misdemeanor assault. That's full-scale bankroll battery.

LET IT RIDE: Many of the newer table games were designed to entice players with the promise of a big jackpot, a promise that works so well in attracting players to slot machines. But the thought of actually paying a big jackpot makes some operators twitchy. That's why Let It Ride often is an "aggregate limit" game, which unfortunately seems to closely resemble a bait-and-switch. What happens is that the table felt will show a 1,000-1 payoff on a royal flush, the same as at almost any other Let It Ride table. But if you bet too much, you'll not get the full payoff.

Let's say the casino places a $15,000 aggregate limit on payoffs, a situation I've personally seen. If you bet $5 on each of the three spots and wind up with a royal flush, you get paid your $15,000. But what if you bet $10 on each spot? According to the payoff listed on the table felt, you should get $30,000. But you don't. You get only $15,000. To compound the problem, not every casino that uses an aggregate limit advertises the fact. It's not always on the sign with betting limits and house rules. If you ask if there's an aggregate limit, they have to tell you. But if you don't, you'll never know unless you hit the big one and find yourself the bait-and-switch victim.

Your best defense for this is to ask if there's an aggregate limit before you play. If there is, keep your bets small enough that you'll get the full payoff should you be lucky enough to hit a royal.

The aggregate limit isn't the only tool of mayhem toward your bankroll in Let It Ride. There's also the side bet in the Bonus version of the game. Players make a $1 side bet in addition to their bets on the regular game, then get paid a bonus if their hands are good enough. Bonus Let It Ride comes with a confusing array of paytables. Some pay $20,000 on a royal flush, some only $10,000. Some pay $6 on two pair, some pay $4, some pay $3 and some don't pay anything at all. Two pair is where most versions start payoffs, but a few start with a high pair, and a few start at three of a kind. Straights are stable with $25 payoffs, and flushes are stable at $50, but otherwise there is confusion, with differing payoffs on every possible winning hand. When all the confusion clears, one fact is left standing. There's not just one pickpocket here. Every single version is ready to lighten your wallet.

In the best version of the bonus bet, payoffs are $20,000 for a royal flush, $2,000 for a straight flush, $100 for four of a kind, $75 for a full house, $50 for a flush, $25 for a straight, $9 for three of a kind and $6 for two pair. The house edge is 13.77%. Got that? The house keeps $13.77 out of every $100 you bet, and that's the good version.

How bad can it get? One paytable starts with $20,000 for a royal, then goes to $1,000 for a straight flush, $300 for four of a kind, $150 for a full house, $50 for a flush, $25 for a straight, just $5 for three of a kind and nothing ‹ not a dime - for two pair. The house edge: 36.52%. You might as well write the casino a check and make better use of your time. Compare that to the house edges of 3.5% of one bet or 2.8% of the ante on the basic Let It Ride game. Your best strategy to avoid a bankroll beating? Skip the bonus bets, and play the basic game after you've determined there is no aggregate limit.

BLACKJACK: Any experienced blackjack player knows about the main weapons the casino has in its arsenal. Anytime the casino hits soft 17, limits the hands on which the player can double down or prohibits doubling down after splitting pairs, it siphons off the cash a little faster.

The give-and-take of good/bad house rules has been with us for decades. But in recent years, table games managers have become edgy over their blackjack profits. There are enough customers who play reasonably well that casinos don't make their money as fast off blackjack as they do off Caribbean Stud, Let It Ride, Three Card Poker and other games in which player strategy can't take as big a bite out of the house edge. With table game space ever shrinking as slot machines continue to gain in popularity, casino operators look to put a little more green on their side of the felt in their most popular table game.

Take continuous shufflers. Please. These don't change the odds of the game. A player won't lose any more money per $100 wagered with continuous shufflers than with hand-shuffles or automatic shufflers that are not continuous. Continuous shufflers make a more insidious attack on your wallet. They speed up the game. With no breaks for shuffles, you play more hands per hour, bet more money per hour and give the house edge extra time to work against you.

Casinos take a more direct approach with a recent wrinkle. Some houses are now paying only 6-5 on blackjacks instead of the traditional 3-2. If you wager $5 and are are dealt a blackjack, your payoff would be only $6 instead of the traditional $7.50. That makes a bigger difference than you might think. Blackjacks occur about once per 21 hands, meaning the rule comes into play about two to three times per hour for each player at a full table, and up to 10 times an hour for a customer playing head-to-head with the dealer. 

That adds about 1.4% to the house edge, and in blackjack, that's huge. With the 6-5 rule, the average player faces a house edge of 3.4% to 3.9%, instead of the usual 2% to 2.5%. This single rule quadruples, or more, the house edge against a basic strategy player. Using basic strategy can cut the house edge to .2% or so on many single-deck or double-deck games and .5%, plus or minus a tenth or two, on six-deck games.

If you think that's a holdup, well, beware of games bearing gifts. A blackjack variation called Super Fun 21 looks like a dream game at first glance:

• Cards are dealt from a single deck.
• Players may double down on any number of cards, including after splitting pairs.
• After the dealer has checked for blackjack, a player may surrender half the bet instead of finishing the hand, even after hitting, splitting or doubling down.
• Any hand totaling 20 or less with six cards pays even money instantly, unless the player has doubled down. 
• Any hand totaling 21 with five or more cards pays 2-1 instantly, unless the player has doubled down.
• Player blackjacks always win, even if the dealer also has a blackjack.
• Player blackjacks in diamonds pay 2-1.

Those are extras that'll make a player's eyes light up, even though the dealer hits soft 17. If all else was normal there would be a big player edge at Super Fun. But while holding out the carton of candy in one hand, this game holds a sledgehammer in the other.
** Player blackjacks, except those with two diamonds, pay even money instead of the usual 3-2.

The positive rules limit the carnage, but even so, Super Fun has a house edge of .77%. That's roughly quadruple the edge on most single-deck games, and 1.5 to twice as high as that on most six-deck games. 

If that's not enough to entice you away from regular blackjack games, there's always the array of side bets casinos sometimes use to distract you while taking a little extra cash from you.

21 Madness: The player makes a $1 wager in addition to the regular blackjack bet. Then, if the player is dealt a two-card 21, he or she gets to push a button to start a lighted display, which stops to reveal a bonus payoff from $5 to $1,000. This would be a break-even bet if the average payoff was $21. We don't know for sure what the average is; the lighted display is governed by a slot machine-like random number generator. But observation by a team in Australia suggests the average is $16, which would leave a house edge of 23.8%. That's not necessarily the case here. The average payoff could be higher or lower. Still, this looks like a bet to leave alone.

Progressive Blackjack: Mikohn Gaming, which distributes Caribbean Stud, Caribbean Draw and other table games with progressive jackpots, developed this side bet that pays off according to the number of aces in the player's hand. It involves a $1 bet in addition to a regular blackjack wager. The player is paid $3 if the hand includes one ace, $15 for two aces of different suits, $50 for two suited aces, $200 for three unsuited aces, $1,000 for three suited aces, $2,000 for four unsuited aces and the progressive jackpot, which starts at $25,000 for four red or four black aces. At the beginning jackpot of $25,000, the house edge is a lofty 53%. Ouch.

Royal Match: The side bet pays off if the player's first two cards are of the same suit, with a larger payoff for king-queen of the same suit, which is a "Royal Match." The most common version pays 2.5-1 on most matches, and 25-1 on a royal match. Suited hands are more common with more decks in play, so the house edge at Royal Match actually decreases as the number of decks increase. With six decks, the edge is 6.7%. In a single-deck game, the house edge is 10.9%.

There are other side bets, but you get the idea. They exist to take your focus off the better game, regular blackjack, and switch it onto the fool's gold of promised riches. To your self-defense kit in protecting yourself from the casino arsenal, add "skip the side bets." Watch the Three Card Poker paytables. Ask about aggregate limits in Let It Ride. Stick to regular blackjack. Skip the side bets. And don't fall victim to good games gone bad. 

- John Grochowski is the author of The Casino Answer Book, The Slot Machine Answer Book, The Video Poker Answer Book and the Craps Answer Book, available through Bonus Books, Inc. at (800) 225-3775. 

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Feeling Lucky Is Not All Bad by Jean Scott

It has been four and a half years since my name appeared in this magazine, back in 1998 when I was interviewed soon after my first book, "The Frugal Gambler," came out. But it seems more like a lifetime has passed, so much has changed.

After 16 years of commuting to Vegas, staying longer and longer each time, once Brad retired from the federal government, we decided to sell our home in Indianapolis, Indiana, and continue our retirement in Las Vegas. So here we are, living comfortably in a condo just two miles from the famed Strip, collecting our Social Security, and less retired than we have ever been.

I still churn out an endless number of frugal words which end up in hard copy or on the Internet. I have finished my second book, "More Frugal Gambling," which should be out in the next month or so, and I'm working on a couple more. I have frequent speaking engagements, both for players, with advice for smarter gambling, and also for casino executives, with advice for better customer service. I have a website where I am marketing my books and a new VP software program. TV crews, especially from the Travel Channel, are always coming to town and wanting to film our "lifestyle." And once in awhile I find time to play video poker ‹ I have to do research for my writing, you know.

I threaten to retire from writing ‹ almost weekly ‹ but until I finally make good on my threat, I will contribute some frugal thoughts to these pages every other month. This month I thought I would choose a subject that might surprise you.

I have long advocated choosing casino games that involve skill, such as blackjack and video poker, because you can study and improve your chances of winning. But the vast majority of players take comfort in the much more convenient and much less strenuous concept of luck. And that's not necessarily always a bad thing; I have seen some benefits of appealing to that capricious beauty Lady Luck.

Some players like to ask a change person to point them to a lucky machine, that is, one that will hit a jackpot soon. Now, no casino employee knows that information, but many will give you their guess. And if you take their advice and lose? Well, you now have someone to blame for your bad luck. Some people feel better when they can think of a reason, valid or not, for why they lost.

Often players don special clothes in which to gamble. Maybe you wore a particular shirt the last time you had a big win. If you feel lucky in that shirt, what's the harm? I have a pair of gold tennis shoes I wear when playing in home poker games. I certainly don't believe my shoes are responsible for wins and losses. But it sometimes psyches out the other players when I tell them my golden shoes make me unbeatable.

I occasionally see people pushing the single credit button on a slot machine two or three or five times, rather than hitting the max-coin button once. Pure superstition, of course, that this will help you win. But it's actually a good idea if you're playing a machine with a high house edge. Anything that slows down your play will cut down on your losses, and the less you lose, the "luckier" for you. The same is true of pulling a slot handle instead of pushing the spin button.

I've seen players try to "control" slot machines by certain actions. They'll get up and walk around their machine to "disturb the aura," rub the machine to "massage" out a jackpot, peck on the glass to "wake up" the wild cards, even kiss the machine (I advise against this for reasons of hygiene). A friend of mine uses one of the funniest techniques. She "punishes" naughty machines by putting them in "time out" while she plays an adjoining one. None of this fazes the mindless machine, but it seems to relieve player tension.

I'm fascinated by all the rabbits' feet, four-leaf clovers, trolls, pictures, tiger's teeth, prosperity potions, and assorted talismans that decorate, for example, the tables of any bingo hall. I don't have to wonder why everyone seems to be having a good time‹it's because there's so much "luck in the air."

And that's the point. If your good-luck frog on top of a video poker machine or a picture of your grandchildren behind the coin slot makes you feel good, then it's valuable, because that's one of the goals of gambling - entertainment. Using "lucky" charms or rituals is harmless as long as you realize they're just something to relieve the mental stress when you're on the losing side of a gambling session. Only when you believe that they can change the odds of a game and you depend on them for luck, instead of developing your skills, does it become a harmful thing. Did you ever notice that you don't need them so much when you're winning? 

Jean Scott, dubbed the Queen of Comps by Dan Rather, is the author of The Frugal Gambler and More Frugal Gambling. She frequently appears on the Travel Channel telling players how to stretch their gaming dollars. Visit Jean at: www.frugalgambler.biz 

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The Do's and Don'ts Of Good Behavior  by Tom Hawks

Many novice casino patrons experience a little culture shock when entering a casino for the first time. The casino world is a strange and foreign environment that can confuse and overwhelm a newcomer. Casino players and employees can seem, to the uninitiated, to have their own separate subculture, distinct from the rest of society. In order to feel at ease and accepted in these new surroundings, an inexperienced patron needs to become schooled in the often-time unwritten rules, regulations, laws and accepted behaviors that are commonly practiced in a casino. In other words, a newly initiated patron needs to learn the do's and don'ts for playing well with others in the casino community. 

The purpose of this article is to expose and explain some of the more common do's and don''s that occur inside a casino, so you can improve your chances of staying out of trouble and having an enjoyable experience.

In General

Don't ask for "chips" when buying in at a table game. The dealer may think you want a snack. In a casino, the form of money used at table games is called checks (sometimes spelled cheques).

Do learn the different denominations of checks. The majority of casinos in the United States use the same color-coded system for their "house" checks: White = $1, Pink = $2.50, Red = $5, Green = $25, Black = $100, Purple = $500 and Orange = $1,000. Many casinos have higher denomination checks than $1,000, however, they can be any color and are not universal. 

Don't stiff the cocktail waitress who brings your drink. These employees work long and hard to make your visit enjoyable and frequently put up with a lot of rude, obnoxious drunks. And their base hourly pay is usually below minimum wage, which means they rely on customer tips to make a living. It's proper etiquette to tip (called "toke" in a casino) at least $1 for each round.

Do toke the casino staff (table game dealers, slot attendants, etc.) if you feel you've received good service. But don't try to tip a supervisor or manager, as it is against casino policy for a member of the supervisory staff to accept a gratuity. 

Don't blow cigarette smoke in other players' faces. It's flat-out rude, and you're liable to get smacked. Many casinos now provide smoke-free slot areas and table game pits for non-smokers to enjoy. 

Don't argue with other players or casino staff. You'll get 86'd (kicked out) before you can count to three. Mind your manners and play nice like your mother taught you, so you can avoid an embarrassing confrontation with the security staff.

Speaking of the security staff, if you are not feeling well or have an unfortunate accident while visiting a casino, do request assistance from the security department. All casinos have a team of well-trained officers who are experienced in first aid and emergency treatment. However, don't ask a security employee for aspirin if you have a splitting headache from splitting those 10s at the blackjack table. A casino will not dispense any kind of pain reliever to its patrons. 

An old poker superstition advises, "Don't play poker with anyone named after a city." Sounds like good advice to me. I remember too many times playing poker with (and getting taken to the cleaners by) guys with nick-names like Dallas or Reno. 

Don't stand over another player's shoulder and watch him gamble. It's considered bad luck. It also tends to make players a tad nervous when some stranger is hovering over them and their bankroll.

Don't try to use house checks from another casino. They're called "foreign" checks and most casinos will not accept them at their tables. In order to cash them in for good ole' U.S. currency, you'll have to take them back to the casino that originally issued them to you. 

If you bring your 35mm camera or your video recorder, don't attempt to film or take photos with these devices once you are on the casino floor. Taking pictures in a casino is strictly forbidden for two reasons. First off, casino management does not want anyone using these devices in ways that could assist a cheater in gaining an unfair advantage over the games. Secondly, management would like to ensure their guests the right to privacy while spending time gambling in their casino.

Blackjack

Don't sit at third base (the last seat on the dealer's right) if you are a new player and don't know proper Basic Strategy. Many gamblers are superstitious, whether or not it's true, that the hitting and standing strategy of the person sitting in this seat affects whether or not the dealer will bust his hand. Do learn basic strategy if you don't want to receive dirty looks and long lectures from other players at the table. Wallet-sized Basic Strategy cards are available at most casino gift shops and may be freely used at the tables. 

Don't touch the cards in a shoe game. The cards are dealt face up on the layout, and players are not allowed to touch them. Normally, the cards are only allowed to be picked up and touched by players in single- and double-deck dealer pitch games. In games where you are allowed to handle the cards, don't attempt to pick them up with two hands, as this is against game protection procedure. The casino wants to ensure that no cards are illegally switched into or out of the game, so the dealer will insist that you only touch the cards with one hand. 

Don't say "hit me" when requesting additional cards. Someone just may oblige you and knock you on your butt. Do learn proper hand signals for making playing decisions on your hand. Your hand signals are how you communicate your intentions to casino staff who may be observing the game from out of earshot, such as the floor supervisor, pit boss and the eye in the sky (casino surveillance). If you want the dealer to give you another card, scratch or tap the table layout with your finger. If you don't want another card, wave your hand from side to side behind your bet. In hand-held games, scratch the cards gently on the felt to request a hit. Tuck the cards underneath your bet to indicate that you want to stand.

If you split pairs or double down, place your additional bet next to your original wager. Don't place these wagers on top of your original bet, as the dealer may think you are "bet capping" (illegally adding extra checks to a wager that has already won or is in favor of winning). 

Don't be a "Chatty Cathy." You'll get on other players' nerves. Save the socializing for roulette, Caribbean Stud or other such games where you don't have to think. Blackjack is a thinking player's game.

Do check the table limit sign prior to sitting down at a table. It can be quite embarrassing to place a $5 check in the betting circle, not realizing that you've just sat down at a $100 minimum table. You'll then have to politely excuse yourself and endure the stares and chuckles from the other players as you wander off in search of the low-limit pit.

Do ask the dealer specific questions on rules of the game. However, don't ask for advice on playing your hand. Giving advice on playing decisions is against the casino rules and can quickly get a dealer in hot water with upper management.

Don't touch your wager once the cards have begun to be dealt. The casino staff may think you are attempting to illegally add or subtract from your initial bet.

Don't split 10s. The pit boss may think you are a card counter. Everyone else will just think you're an idiot.

Don't attempt to keep your purse or other personal belongings on the table. It's not allowed. Only small items are allowed on the table layout, such as drinks, cigarettes, lighters, eyeglasses, etc. Don't put personal belongings on the floor either. There are too many people walking around with sticky fingers who would gladly remove these items from your possession. 

Craps

Don't say the word "seven" out loud at a craps table. It's considered bad luck. Nothing will get you in an argument or altercation with other dice players faster than uttering this taboo word. If you want to bet on the any seven combination, do toss your money to the stickperson and say you want to bet on "big red."

When it's your turn to throw the dice, don't take the dice out of the dealer's or boxperson's view. This includes switching the dice from one hand to the other or bringing the dice below the table rail. This is a violation of the casino's game protection procedures and will earn you a stern warning from the floor supervisor or pit boss. The casino is serious about enforcing this procedure to prevent a cheater from switching out the casino dice and switching in gaffed (altered to facilitate cheating) dice.

When throwing the dice, do make sure you throw them far enough to hit the wall on the other end of the table. Again, this is a casino procedure that is in place to ensure a fair and proper roll of the dice so no cheating can take place. A player who doesn't hit the back wall will usually be given a polite warning, along with proper instruction on throwing the dice. The roll may also be called a "no roll" by the stickperson, which means that the roll is invalid and will not count. Repeat offenders of this policy will lose their right to roll the dice altogether.

To buy house checks at the game, do place your money on the table in between rolls while the stickperson keeps the dice in the center of the table. Don't attempt to place money directly into a dealer's hand, as casino rules forbid a dealer from taking anything directly from a player's hand. After you buy in, make sure to place all of your checks in the wooden check rack in the rail of the table. Don't leave any checks on the layout unless you are betting them. 

Don't attempt to engage the dealers or boxperson in long-running conversations; they have a job to do and can't do it very well if they are distracted by constant idle chit-chat. However, do feel free to ask them short, direct questions about specifics of the game, such as, proper betting amounts, proper bet placement, odds and payouts. Members of the dice crew will be more than happy to answer these questions.

Don't put your hands past the rail when another player is throwing the dice. Do keep your hands off the layout and resting on the rail. It's considered bad luck if the dice hit another player as they are thrown. If you don't follow this unwritten rule, you will be forced to endure the snide comments and steely-eyed glares from other players at the table, which can make for an unpleasant experience.

Do try to throw the dice in such a way that both dice land on the table. If a die is thrown off the table, it is considered by many to be bad luck. Many dice players feel that if one or both dice are thrown off the table, the next roll will be a seven out (a loser for pass line and come bettors). 

Roulette

Don't attempt to remove the different colored roulette checks from the table. These non-denominational colored checks are commonly referred to as "wheel" checks in casino parlance. Many patrons like to take these checks as souvenirs, but fail to realize that these checks are accounted for by the casino just as if they were regular currency. Wheel checks need to be exchanged for house checks prior to leaving the table. If you mistakenly remove them from the table and try to cash them in later at the cage, they are worth nothing; and that's exactly what you'll get. Wheel checks only maintain their value while they are in use at the roulette table. 

Do place your bets before the dealer waves her hand across the layout and verbally states, "no more bets." Don't attempt to place a bet after this point. If you do, you'll likely be labeled a "shot taker" and "cheater" by the casino staff and treated as such. Also, don't try to place a bet for the next spin until all winning bets from the previous spin have been paid, and the dealer removes the dolly (the instrument the dealer uses to mark the winning number) from the layout. Only after this point are you allowed to place bets for the next spin. It can be quite embarrassing for a new player to be admonished by the dealer in front of a crowd of other players for disobeying this unwritten casino rule.

Caribbean Stud / Let It Ride / 3 Card Poker

Don't remove your cards past the table rail while looking at your hand. This is a casino game protection violation and the dealer and floor supervisor will not allow it. 

Don't show your cards to other players at the table. It's illegal, and you may be asked to leave the casino for attempting to cheat. The casino staff believes that if a player shows his cards to another player at the table, this may lead to the players attempting to illegally switch their cards for the purpose of turning a losing hand into a winner.

Baccarat and Mini-Baccarat

Do learn how to correctly pronounce the word baccarat. It is pronounced "bah-ka-rah," not "back-a-rat." Nothing will identify you faster as a casino greenhorn than mispronouncing the name of this game.

Don't attempt to sit in the 13th spot on the layout because there isn't one; it's considered bad luck.

Don't wear the color purple at a baccarat or mini-baccarat table. Baccarat and mini-baccarat are very popular with the Asian community, and in Asian countries the color purple is considered bad luck. While you're at it, don't clear your throat while gambling at these tables either. Many Asian players feel this is also a sign of bad luck. 

Slot Machines

Don't attempt to play more than one machine at the same time during busy periods; it's not polite. In fact, many casinos have signs posted in their slot sections informing players that only one machine may be played per guest during busy times. 

On the other hand, if you want to avoid an unpleasant encounter with slot players who play multiple machines at the same time, do make sure no one else is playing a machine before you sit down and begin to play. To be polite, just ask any person sitting next to what appears to be an open machine if they or anyone else are playing that machine. If anyone is playing it, they will let you know in no uncertain terms. If not, sit down and have at it. 

Don't try to play at a machine that has an empty slot coin cup placed over the handle. Also, don't try to play a machine where the slot chair is propped up against the front of the machine. These are both signals that regular players often use to "mark" a machine as theirs while they use the restroom or go to the bar to get a drink. Many slot employees will also use this system to "hold" a slot machine for a known and rated player while they take a break. This is just another example of how high rollers get preferential treatment from the casino staff. 

Don't place "lucky" foreign substances on a machine or in the coin acceptor. These substances make the housekeeping staff and slot technicians angry when they have to continually clean the machines.

Do pay attention that you are putting the correct denomination of tokens into a machine, or you might be suspected of being a cheat. Many professional slot cheats search the casino floor attempting to find higher denomination machines that, due to a malfunction, accept lower denomination tokens. These malfunctioning machines will accept the incorrect denomination of token and count them as legitimate credits. The cheater will then build up these credits and cash them out; in effect getting all higher denomination coins in return for his low denomination tokens.

Every slot machine has posted on the front of it the denomination token that it accepts. However, another quick way to scout out the denomination of machine you are looking for is to look at the candle on top of the machine. Every slot machine in every casino has a light positioned on top of it. In casino language, this light is called a candle. These candles are color-coded by denomination. Nickel machines are always red in color. Quarter machines are always yellow. Dollar machines are always blue. Five dollar machines are always purple. These colors are universal throughout the casino industry, so every casino will be the same no matter what jurisdiction you play in throughout the country. So the next time you are visiting a casino, do take a look across the slot floor, and you will see how easy it is to identify banks of slot machines by denomination even at a distance. 

Now that you have been schooled in the most common do's and don'ts, it's time to head out to the casino for a field trip and continue your education. Come on, remember how much fun field trips used to be when you were a grade school kid? Well, they can be just as much fun now that you're an adult. And if you remember to follow the tips I've given you, you'll be well on your way to having an enjoyable experience and becoming a model citizen in the wild and wacky casino subculture. And who knows, if lady luck is smiling upon you, you may even win some money. 

Tom Hawks is the director of surveillance at a Midwestern casino, and a frequent contributor to Midwest Gaming & Travel. 

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Tournaments: Competition For Fun And Profit by Bill Burton

Tournaments are fun, especially for those of us with a competitive spirit. In a tournament, you are competing against other players. This means that, depending on the number of entrants, your odds may be better for winning a large amount of money than if you were playing against the house. If you enter a tournament with a grand prize of $5,000 and there are 300 participants, your chances are one-in-300. These are great odds compared to the normal return for slot machines or table games. 

Some players enjoy playing tournaments because they know their potential losses ahead of time. Since tournaments have a set entry fee, the participants know how much it will cost them to play. They can only lose the amount of their entry fee. Run correctly, tournaments present a win-win situation for the player and the casino. 

The main reason a casino holds a tournament is to attract players in order to generate additional business. They figure that while you are there waiting to play in the tournament, you will probably be doing a little playing on the side. That is the reason most tournaments are held during the week rather than on weekends. Casinos often hold tournaments for slots, video poker, blackjack and craps. By far the most abundant are the slot and video poker tournaments because they are easy to run and can accommodate a large number of players. No matter which game is played, you should analyze every tournament before entering. There are certain elements that are common to all tournaments that you'll want to consider. 

Not all tournaments are created equal. You will have to look at the prize structure and read the rules closely to determine if a tournament is a good deal for you. 

Free Tournaments
Some casinos offer free tournaments that are open to the general public. They hold weekly or sometimes daily tournaments as a way to attract players to the casino. If you have never played in a slot tournament before, these free tournaments are an excellent way to find out if tournament play interests you. Some of the free tournaments are a great value. Whenever you can spend time in a casino playing slots for free with the chance of taking home a prize, it has to be a positive experience. If you don't win, you have had the opportunity to enjoy yourself for a few hours without risking any of your own money. 

Full Equity Tournaments
Many tournaments require the participants to pay an entry fee. The best paid tournaments to enter are the ones that give back all the entry fees in the form of prizes. Casinos post the tournament rules and will list the prize structure with them. You can take a look at the prize structure of a tournament and determine how much is being returned to the players. 

If the entry fee is $100 per player and the prizes are based on a total of 200 players you can expect the prizes to total $10,000 if all the money is returned. If all the money is not returned, you will want to evaluate what additional benefits you are getting in return for your money. 

Some casinos offer a tournament package that will include additional incentives, freebies and discounts. These can include discount or free hotel rooms, welcome party, awards banquet, door prizes and raffles. You can figure these additional benefits into your evaluation of the tournament. 

Let's look at one way of evaluating an overnight tournament that includes a free room and an awards dinner. You enter a tournament for $100 and the rules state they are returning 90% in prizes. This means they are taking $10 per person from the prize pool. With your entry you receive a free room and awards dinner. The hotel room is normally $50 a night and the dinner may be a $20 value. You are getting $70 worth of benefits for the $10 they are taking from your entry fee. This is a good value for the player so be sure to consider all of the extras when you analyze the tournament. I have entered tournaments where the price of the benefits and freebies actually exceeded the price of the tournament. 

Bad Tournaments
A bad tournament is one that the casino runs just to make a profit. They take a big portion of the entry fee but offer little or no incentives in return for the player. If the casino takes any percentage of the entry fee but does not give you anything in return, you should pass on the tournament and look for one that offers you a fair return on your investment. Since there is a great deal of luck involved in winning tournaments, you want to make sure you are getting enough entertainment and value for your money. Shop around and find one that you will enjoy. If you are entering with a spouse, check to see if there is a discount for two players. 

Invitational Tournaments
Invitational tournaments are usually held as a reward or comp for loyal players. These are by invitation only and not open to the general public. Usually the tournament kicks off with a welcome party and wraps up with an awards banquet. In between the players get a chance to compete for cash and prizes that can even include a new car or some other luxury item. This is the ultimate comp for a slot player, as everyone usually walks away with some sort of prize. Some of these last as long as two or three days and include free lodging. 

How Much Time is Involved
Most tournaments have several qualifying rounds with the final event being held for all the players who advanced from the earlier rounds. You should look at the session times for the entire tournament before entering to determine if it fits into your schedule. During a tournament the time between the qualifying rounds and the final round can be several hours. This means that if you qualify you are committed to staying at the casino while you wait for the final round. 

Some free tournaments have the qualifying rounds early in the morning with the final round being held in the evening. If you are not planning on spending the whole day at the casino, it may not be worthwhile to enter this type of tournament. 

If a tournament has multiple sessions, you may have to play in a morning session and then again in an afternoon session. This is common for tournaments that span more than one day. If you miss a session you may be disqualified. Even if you are not disqualified, you will have a severe handicap if you miss a round. 

How are the Finalists Selected?
Before you enter, check to see how the finalists are selected. If the top scorers for the round advance to the finals, you will know immediately if you qualify. If a tournament is taking the top scores from all the rounds you may find yourself knocked out by a player in the final round. If that happens, you have spent a few hours hanging around for nothing. 

Your time is valuable so make sure you want to commit the time before you enter a tournament. If you are on vacation and are planning on taking part in other activities, you may not want to get involved in tournament. 

How a Slot Tournament Is Played
Slot tournaments have a simple format. When you sign up for the tournament you will be assigned a slot machine number and a session time to play. When it is your time, you find the machine with your number and have a seat. Wait for the official to tell you to start. All players are given a set amount of credits that must be played within a certain amount of time. 

A common format is to give each player 1,000 credits with 20 minutes to play them. Each time you hit the spin button the amount of credits for a maximum bet (usually three credits) are deducted from your starting credits. Any credits you win are shown on a separate meter. You don't get to play any credits that you win. When your time is up the machine will lock up and play is over. Any credits that you have not played will be lost. The score on your meter will be compared to those of the other players to determine the winner. 

After you finish playing you wait at your machine until the official comes by and records your score. They will usually have you initial the results to verify that your score was recorded correctly. After your score is recorded, you will leave the machine. Most casinos only have a limited number of machines set aside for the tournament. Therefore, there will usually be several sessions to accommodate all the players. Most of the time they will update the list showing the leaders after each round. This allows you to judge how you are doing compared to the other players. 

PLAYING STRATEGY TIPS
Slots - Luck plays the biggest part in winning a slot tournament, however speed and concentration are the two most important "skills" you will need. Since you must play all your credits within a certain time period, you must play fast enough to use all of them. Each winning spin will increase your total score. Any unused credits are lost and you will be at a disadvantage because you did not take as many spins as your opponents. To help increase your speed, keep your fingers on the spin button and lightly tap it. You don't need to pound the spin button. By leaving your fingers on it you will save a few split seconds that you would have lost by taking your hand off the button. 

You will need to concentrate when you are playing in the tournament. Before you start, you want to look at the paytable of the machine. When the machine is adding winning credits to your score it will not spin until all the credits have been tallied. If you hit a big win it will take a few seconds to do this. You can take a quick break, but you must be prepared to start tapping as soon as this is done. Don't be distracted or spend time celebrating if you have a big hit. I was playing in a tournament and a young lady sitting next to me kept jumping up and hollering each time she had a big win. After the time was up she had only played about half her credits. 

Some players get bored or tired while they are playing in a tournament causing them to slow down. This has been the downfall of many players who suddenly find that time has run out and they still have unused credits on their machines. Many new players remark that the 20 minutes seemed like an hour when they were playing. Make sure you are alert and well rested before entering a tournament. If you are not at your best, your score could suffer. 

Curiosity can also affect the outcome of your score. It is human nature to want to know how you are doing compared to the other players. I see many tournament players looking around trying to see the score of the other players. The time to find out is after your session, not while you are playing. Just keep your mind on your own score and concentrate on using all your credits. 

As you play in more tournaments you will find that your speed increases and you will have time left on your meter after you play your credits. Until you reach this point, it is advisable not to bring your soda, coffee or water to the machine with you. You don't want to waste precious time sipping on a drink. The simple slot tournament strategy is to play fast, stay focused and have fun. 

Video Poker - The format for video poker tournaments is similar to those of slot tournaments. The machines are set with a certain number of credits and you have a set amount of time to play them. There will usually be several sessions. Finalists will either advance to the finals by having the highest score for their session or they may keep a running total from all the sessions and take the players with the highest scores from all the sessions. One casino where I play in a weekly video poker tournament takes the players with the highest scores from each session. If you don't qualify during your session, you are allowed to pay another entry fee and play in a later session. You can play in as many sessions as you wish, but each entry fee diminishes your return if you should place in the money. 

The difference between video poker and slots is that you need a playing strategy for video poker. This means that you will have to do more than just press buttons at a high rate of speed. The tournaments are usually played on a standard Jacks or Better or Double Bonus poker machine. Many players may know the correct basic strategy for these games, but you will need to vary it a little for tournament play. 

When you play a video poker tournament you will always be making the maximum bet of five coins. When you start with 1,000 credits, you will actually only be playing 200 hands. This means that the short-term luck factor will have a great influence on deciding the winner. 

You will need to go for the highest paying hands. A player getting a royal flush will most likely win the session. Aside from the royal flush, the players getting the most four-of-a-kinds and straight flushes will probably win the session. 

• Hold all five cards if you get a four-of-a-kind. (It will speed things up since you can't improve the hand).
• Hold a single pair or three-of-a-kind. 
• Break a flush if you have a one card draw to a royal or straight flush. 
• Hold two or more cards to a royal or straight flush. 
• Throw away one pair if you are dealt two pairs. (Keep the high pair if it is jacks or better).
• Hold a single 10. (Instead of drawing five new cards. The 10 could make a miracle royal flush). 
• Don't take too long making your decisions. You want to make sure you use all your credits. If you do make a mistake, it will not matter as you are deviating from basic strategy, and luck will be a factor. 

Finding a Slot Tournament
If you have never played in a tournament, it is best to start with a small daily tournament. Look for one of the free tournaments or one with a very small entry fee. The best place to find out about tournaments at your favorite casino is to inquire at the Player's Club booth. You can also find some tournaments listed monthly in Midwest Gaming & Travel.

Why not give tournaments a try? They're fun, and exciting. And if Lady Luck smiles on you, they can be very profitable. Good luck. 

Bill Burton is the Casino Gambling Guide and columnist for About.com. He also writes for several national gambling publications. He is the author of "Get the Edge at Low Limit Texas Hold'em." Website: www.casinogambling.about.com 

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POP CASINO QUIZ by Tom Hawks

As my wife and I approach the craps table to settle in for a night of "rolling them bones," the rather attractive female stickperson barks out, "Little Joe from Kokomo," as she maneuvers her stick to retrieve the dice from our end of the table. The friendly stickperson flashes us a welcoming smile. My wife, being a rather new student of the game, gives me an odd, somewhat annoyed look and says, "Did she just call you Little Joe? Does she know you?"

Not wanting to start a fight so early in the evening, I smile and quietly explain to her that I don't have an alter ego by the name of Joe, and I don't run around telling people I'm from Kokomo (Indiana, that is). I further explain that the stickperson is not speaking directly to me but calling the roll of the dice. "Little Joe from Kokomo" means that the number four combination just rolled.

Walking into a casino for the first time must seem for some people like walking into a foreign country. Casino players and employees seem to have their own unique, off-beat and colorful language. Did you ever overhear a conversation between players or been asked a question by a dealer and not have a clue as to what they were talking about because they were using casino lingo, slang or jargon you didn't understand? Would you like to learn the meanings behind some of these colorful words and phrases?

 Whether you believe you are a gaming expert, a gaming neophyte or somewhere in between, take the following quiz to see how well your casino gaming vocabulary measures up. Learn how to use some of this strange and funny language to amaze your family, friends and neighbors, not to mention that old cigar-chomping know-it-all at the craps table, with your command of casinoese.

Answer the following questions and give yourself one point for each correct answer.

1.) This term is sometimes used to indicate the hand of blackjack (an ace and a 10-value card):
A. Stripper
B. Snapper
C. Snooker
D. Flapper    

2.) The term used to describe a casino employee who plays to generate business for a casino is a:
A. Mechanic
B. Bomber
C. Technician
D. Shill

3.) A term used by dealers to indicate a non-tipping player is:
A. Tom
B. Dick
C. Harry
D. Bob

4.) The part of a slot machine that holds the tokens for jackpot payouts and the mechanism for releasing these tokens into the token tray is called a:
A. Bowl
B. Hopper
C. Retainer
D. Transformer

5.) The money that the casino charges for each hand of poker (usually a percentage or a flat fee that is taken from the pot after each round of betting) is called the:
A. Flush
B. Kitty
C. Rake
D. Hold

6.) The act of a dealer performing a mixing of the cards face down in a circular motion with both hands prior to the shuffle is called:
A. Mixing the cards
B. Stripping the cards
C. Washing the cards
D. Cleaning the cards

7.) A card or dice cheat (player or dealer) who specializes in the use of sleight of hand is called a:
A. Stiff
B. Past poster
C. Spook
D. Mechanic

8.) The instrument that the dealer uses to mark the winning number in roulette is called a:
A. Dolly
B. Puck
C. Stone    
D. Paddle

9.) The amount of money (usually stated as a percentage) kept by the casino that is dropped down the slot of the gaming table drop boxes is called the:
A. Handle
B. Win
C. Bank
D. Hold

10.) The device that holds the balls in the game of Keno is called the:
A. Duck
B. Bowl
C. Goose
D. Dish

11.) A non-player who stands near a table and watches the game (sometimes with the intention of stealing chips from other players) is called a:
A. Hawk
B. Pigeon
C. Railbird
D. Wife

12.) The proper term for chips used at a gaming table is:
A. Token
B. Tokes    
C. Cheques
D. Slugs

13.) A stack of cheques in which more than one denomination is included is called a:
A. Barber pole
B. Fire plug
C. Case bet
D. Natural

14.) The location of the casino cashier is called the:
A. Shoe
B. Bank
C. Currency exchange
D. Cage

15.) The initial three board cards that are dealt in the center of the table in Hold'em poker are called the:
A. Rake
B. Flop
C. Drop
D. River

16.) Another term for the number eight combination on a pair of dice is:
A. Crazy eight
B. Eighter from Decatur
C. Big John
D. Big red

17.) The term used to describe the casino surveillance department is:
A. Snoopers
B. Kodak kids
C. Eye in the sky
D. Gaming enforcement

18.) A bet that has been forgotten in the betting area by the player and dealer is called a:
A. Bleeder
B. Sleeper
C. Toke
D. Crimp

19.) In blackjack, when a player's first two cards are face cards, this is called:
A. Cold duck
B. Hot ham and cheese
C. Cold turkey
D. Insurance

20.) In craps, a pass line, come, don't pass or don't come bet without any odds is called a:
A. Hardway
B. Barefoot bet
C. Shoeless Joe
D. Hop bet

21.) A form of blackjack cheating in which a subject is able to catch a glimpse of the dealer's hole card from the rear and signal this information to a player at the dealer's table is called:
A. Crapping out
B. Wonging
C. Spooking
D. Front loading

22.) In blackjack, an inexperienced player who doesn't use proper basic strategy and makes poor strategy decisions but tries to tell everyone else at the table what to do is called a:
A. Steamer
B. Sweater
C. George
D. Ploppy

23.) Cheques from another casino are called:
A. Canadian
B. Mexican
C. Souvenirs
D. Foreign

24.) The French word for dealer is:
A. Souffle
B. Croupier
C. Bustier
D. Buoy

25.) When dealers talk to one another on a live game about something that is not game related, this is called:
A. Hustling
B. Crossfire
C. Dice talk
D. Floating

26.) Making consistent or calculated bets based on the mathematical probabilities of the game is called a:
A. Grind    
B. Comp    
C. Flash
D. Parlay

27.) The casino practice of excluding, evicting or barring undesirable patrons and players is called:
A. First basing
B. Ninety-nine (99)
C. Fade
D. Eighty-six (86)

28.) A player's wager that consists of all of the remaining cheques in his/her possession is called a:
A. Barber pole
B. Clean bet
C. Place bet
D. Case bet

29.) A player working with a dealer for the purpose of cheating the casino is called a:
A. Shill
B. Shiner
C. Agent
D. Bob

30.) Losing bets that are picked up by the dealer are called:
A. Prop bets
B. House bets
C. Dirty money
D. Drop

31.) In craps, a player that bets on the don't pass and don't come is called a:
A. Witch    
B. Wrong better
C. Devil
D. High roller

32.) In craps, the number 10 combination on a pair of dice is called:
A. Big Dick
B. Ten spot
C. Hamilton
D. Full boat

33.) In blackjack, a jack, queen or king (a picture card) is called:
A. Wax
B. Color    
C. Royalty
D. Paint

34.) A player who discreetly pockets cheques during a game to make it appear like he isn't winning is called a:
A. Sink hole
B. Rat hole
C. Stiff
D. Grifter

35.) In poker, the discard pile is referred to as the:
A. Muck    
B. Drop
C. River
D. Fourth street

36.) A marker that is used to indicate the point that has been established on a craps game is called the:
A. Lammer
B. Puck
C. Dolly
D. Stick

37.) The fee or commission taken by the house on certain bets in craps and baccarat is called:
A. Spread
B. Insurance
C. Hold
D. Vigorish

38.) Observing the value of the dealer's hole card as it is inadvertently exposed during the process of dealing by an inexperienced or careless dealer is called:
A. Back counting
B. Spooking
C. Front loading
D. Daubing

39.) An unglamorous casino with low table minimums and low denomination slot machines is known as a:
A. Sweat shop
B. Burn joint
C. Poor man's palace
D. Sawdust joint

40.) A gratuity that a player gives to a dealer or other casino employee is called a:
A. Marker
B. Toke
C. Comp    
D. Nut

41.) A card counter counting down a deck or shoe by standing in back of the players and sitting down to play only in positive counts is known as a:
A. Back counter
B. Mucker
C. Floater
D. Painter

 42.) A craps player who makes pass line and come bets is called a:
A. Railbird
B. Right bettor
C. Wrong better
D. Flea

43.) A player who tips a dealer or other casino employee generously is called a:
A. Mary
B. Uncle
C. Tom
D. George

44.) A form of cheating in card games such as blackjack or poker in which a cheater applies a foreign substance (such as oil, lipstick, rouge, cigarette ashes, etc.) to the back of a card so it can be later identified by the cheater during the game is called:
A. Fading
B. Daubing
C. Crimping
D. Nicking

45.) When a player exchanges smaller denomination cheques for cheques of a larger denomination, this transaction is called:
A. Coming out
B. Coloring up
C. Cheque change
D. Checking out

46.) A hand in blackjack totaling 12 through 16 is called a:
A. Split
B. Pat
C. Stiff
D. Natural

47.) Gaining the privilege of using casino/hotel services free of charge due to a player's betting amounts and time in action is referred to as:
A. Comp
B. Hold
C. Front money
D. Juice

48.) In poker, a required bet that one or more players must make before any cards are dealt is called a:
A. Bluff
B. Kicker
C. Raise
D. Blind

49.) In craps, the number seven combination on a pair of dice is known as:
A. Steve
B. Big Dick
C. Box cars
D. Big red

50.) The suited designs on a playing card that indicate the denomination of the card are called:
A. Spots
B. Points
C. Pips
D. Charms

ANSWER KEY:

SCORING:

Again, give yourself one point for each correct answer.

• 50 points to 41 points = consider yourself a casino lingo expert.
•  40 points to 31 points = consider yourself not quite an expert, but definitely an old pro.
• 30 points to 21 points = consider yourself a novice in the language of casinoese.
• 20 points and under = you must have just fallen off a turnip truck and need to spend a lot more quality time studying in your favorite casino.

Of course, the above terms are not an all-inclusive list of casino jargon. This is just a small sampling of the many wild and wacky words and phrases that are being used in a casino on a daily and nightly basis. And there are probably some creative players and casino employees out there right now coining new ones. I'll bet that you have even thought up a few of your own.

So how do you measure up? Are you already a gaming jargon god, or do you need to go back to night school to earn your degree in casino vocabulary? If you still need some work, go back over the above questions and circle the correct answers. Use this quiz as a study guide, and the next time you go out to your friendly neighborhood casino, throw out a few of these imaginative terms (or make up some new ones of your own) to impress your fellow players and the casino employees with your vast casino knowledge. Just make sure you use them in the correct context, so you don't come off looking like a ploppy.

Tom Hawks is the director of surveillance at a Midwestern casino and a frequent contributor to Midwest Gaming & Travel.

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The Same Old Snake Oil - Part Two by Dale Yeazel

Many people like to buy into the fantasy that some system or method of play can guarantee wins at the casino. Folks, it just ain’t so. If someone tries to sell you a method that’s “guaranteed,” grab your credit card and make a dash  for the door. Last month in Midwest Gaming & Travel I explained hedging and money management systems. Now, we’ll look at a few more “methods.” 

Tracking 
Tracking is one of the most misunderstood and abused concepts promoted by system hucksters since the first gambling book was written. Writers often combine tracking with other betting systems in order to give the reader a false impression that observing trends can improve the performance of systems. 

Tracking involves noting or even writing down the rolls of the dice or the spins of a roulette wheel and using this information to decide when to bet and what to bet on. The gambler can then either bet with the numbers that have been showing, or bet against them. This should be your first clue. We can’t even decide whether numbers showing is indicative that they are “hot” and will continue to show, or that because they have shown, other numbers should be bet because they are “due.” 

Betting someone that heads will show on the next five flips of a coin should get you a 31 to 1 payoff. The chances of heads showing are * in one try: * x * x * x * x * = 1/32. If you watch someone toss heads four times in a row and then he says, “I’ll bet you one dollar if you pay me 31, that I can flip heads again, you would be a fool to accept the bet. Just because he flipped heads four times in a row is irrelevant. The chances of him throwing heads again are *. 

So why do some people think that the “law of averages” indicates what should happen on the next roll or spin? Experts like to throw terms like “clumping,” “grouping” or “patterns” around. They use computer programs and recorded results to demonstrate “typical” results with a method of play. That’s fine if the dice agree to adhere to their version of typical results, but “the dice have no memory.” Mathematics is the only true method of determining outcomes in the long run. In the short term, anything can happen and past results should not be used to justify the decisions one makes on the table. 

Fuzzy Physics Dice Setting 
Since up to now the points I have tried to make have all been documented before in legitimate books on the subject of gambling, the hucksters are trying new tactics to convince us that there is a way to win that went undiscovered in gambling books published before. Now pundits are trying to convince us that the way the shooter sets and throws the dice can help shave the house percentage and turn the tables on the casino. 

It is true that there are such things as blanket rolls, whip shots, slide shots and the Greek shot. This is why casinos have an alligator-like skin installed at the end of the crap table. Before this became the norm, shooters were not allowed to set the dice. This is also why the stickman and the boxman insist that shooters try to hit the end wall with both of the dice. 

House procedures cannot concern themselves with who looks like a crossroader and who doesn’t. Since some people are talented enough to throw controlled shots, everyone must hit the end wall of the table. The pyramid shapes on the end wall will circumvent any attempt at a controlled shot. This is why casino employees are so insistent that the shooter hit them, especially if they are setting the dice. 

The main reason game supervisors resent dice setters is not because of a fear of a controlled shot, but because of the time some people take to set the dice. A casino exists to offer their patrons a fair game. In return for a fair game, the casino expects what the table supervisors deem to be a reasonable number of decisions per hour. The stickman cannot give the shooter the dice unless the bets have been booked and he is ready for the shooter to shoot the dice. Subsequently, any time the shooter spends setting the dice is wasted time for the house. 

Some players do not care about house rules. They resent authority and are like little babies that require someone to explain to them that all games have rules and in games played for money, rules are more important than in the games they played as children. 

Of course for many of today’s gamblers the greatest joy in gambling is to disrespect the games and the people who run them. They will fail to follow the boxman’s and floorman’s instructions in a vain and uncouth attempt to prove that the player is the one who runs the game, not the people that the casino hires to run them. After the seven-out, when the boxman informs this player that he will no longer be allowed to shoot, the player will whine and complain that he doesn’t understand why he isn’t allowed to shoot. He conveniently forgets about the 15 times or so he was asked to hit the end wall or to set the dice faster. 

Tracking Roulette Spins 
Spin tracking is at least based somewhat in fact. Some dealers spin the ball in such a consistent manner that it does not create as random a result as the casino would like. This causes the certain sections of the wheel to be favored more often than others. Even with the older wheels this was not enough to gain the player an appreciable advantage. The floorman would either instruct the dealer to change the speed of his spin, the speed of the wheel head, or to change the ball (that is why there are two different size balls on most tables). 

With new electronic devices to track the speed of the ball, the crossroader can effectively track roulette balls on the older wheel heads. This is why the new roulette wheels have shallower partitions. After the ball drops it is likely to bounce at least halfway around the wheel head. This new feature prevents effective tracking by either humans or machines. 

So what harm is there in trying different systems and styles of play? In the case of strategies, money management and tracking, absolutely nothing. I use strategies when I play and I use money management and tracking, even though I may not be conscious of it. 

Hedging will cost you more money in the long run. Dice setting is alright if it can be done quickly and as long as you hit the alligator. Remember when setting the dice that opposite sides of a die add up to seven. 

Pick up a book by John Scarne. You will be amazed at how the systems being sold today were being sold 70 years or more ago. His books are still the best guides to the correct odds and house percentages on all the games.  Don’t spend good money on books promising you surefire methods of winning. 

We have an old saying in Vegas, “If this guy has a sure thing, why is he selling books?” 

— Dale S. Yeazel is a 24-year veteran of the casino industry. He has worked in a number of downtown and strip casinos in Las Vegas and riverboat casinos in Illinois and Iowa. He is the author of Precision Crap Dealing.

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Gambling Can Be A Taxing Proposition   by John G. Brokopp

The fact is, you never know when Lady Luck may look your way and bestow upon you a big win. So, it's important to be armed with the proper information to help take the sting out of taxation on your good fortune.

If you think tax time is a nightmare, wait until I tell you about a dream I had. It was New Year's Eve and my wife, Georgette, and I were celebrating with a night on the town at a casino. I sat down to play slots at a dollar "Five Times Pay"machine. I dropped in my first two coins and watched incredulously as the jackpot symbols fell one by one across the payline. The staccato ringing of the machine's electronic alarm sounded to alert me (and everyone else in the casino for that matter) that I had just won the jackpot of $10,000. It was so real I could feel the exhilaration.

So much for the dream. Now the nightmare. A stone-faced casino representative and a humorless slot attendant descended upon me at once. "Got identification?"the casino rep demanded. "Well, no,"I said sheepishly. I felt my face flush and beads of sweat trickle down my brow. "Too bad,"she said with a knowing smile. "If you want your money now, we're going to take out 50% in federal withholding and another 25% in state withholding. That leaves you with $2,500."

The slot attendant began to count $100 bills into the palm of my hand. Then she handed me the obligatory tax form, the dreaded W-2G that would inform the IRS of my windfall gambling winnings. "Not to worry,"I thought to myself. I remembered that my tax consultant once advised me that I could claim losses up to the amount of my winnings to offset federal tax liability. I'd get that withholding money back when I filed my tax return.

Hallelujah. Oh, oh, not so fast. It was the last day of the year. Even though I should have been doing it, I was too lazy to keep documented records of my casino visits during the preceding 12 months. "A slot jackpot?"I thought. "It'll never happen to me. Why bother keeping records? What a waste of time and effort."Lord knows I could have proven losses, but it was too late to even think about it. Three-quarters of my precious $10,000 jackpot would wind up in the federal and state coffers ... for keeps.

I woke up with a start. I realized at once that my dream of winning a $10,000 jackpot was still just that, only a dream. But just as Ebenezer Scrooge was visited by the ghosts of Christmas in a fanciful yet nightmarish attempt to mend his ways, I had been visited in my slumber by casino spirits warning me to be prepared in the event that Lady Luck would some day smile upon me. Even though the amounts of withholding I experienced in my sleep were grossly exaggerated from what they are in reality, the trouble I encountered for not having identification on my person and for not having kept personal gaming records wasn't. It should serve as a wake-up call to all players (from average recreational gaming enthusiasts on up to professional gamblers) to be armed with the proper information to help take the sting out of the taxation on your winnings. 

When you get right down to it, casino gambling is more than fun and games. It's serious business. There's a substantial monetary investment that's made over the course of the year, even by the most casual of players. Since casino gambling is a form of speculation that puts it on a level with playing the commodity or stock market, why should it be treated any differently when it comes to record keeping and being prepared "When the Tax Man Cometh?"Certainly, ordinary winnings will be of no consequence to you or Uncle Sam when April 15 rolls around. The IRS doesn't even want to know about it. But it is the casino's responsibility to alert the government every time a slot machine jackpot of $1,200 or more is paid, or when certain bonus payoffs at Caribbean Stud Poker, Let It Ride, and other table games are awarded. This is when preparation will pay off. 

If the casino informs the government of your good fortune, you are obligated to report the money as gambling winnings on your income tax return. This money is then regarded as taxable income and becomes a part of your adjusted gross income. But if you qualify to itemize deductions and you have maintained the proper records, you can claim any gambling losses up to, but not surpassing the amount of your winnings. In other words, your tax obligation will be neutralized. What constitutes proper record keeping?

According to tax expert Denis Gioletti of Consolidated Tax Service, Inc., in Park Ridge, Illinois, it's all a matter of good common sense.    "Look at it this way,"Gioletti says. "Assume that you are the person inspecting the records. Would you accept the data as truthful, factual, and maintained in good faith? If yes, chances are an auditor for the IRS would accept it too. If not, if you suspect falsification or other deceitful practice, it's a good bet an auditor would feel the same way and wind up rejecting it."According to Gioletti, the more documentation you can accumulate, the better. He says that serious horseplayers keep a record of their wagers in writing in their personal daily official track program, then staple all their losing pari-mutuel tickets from the day to the front of the program along with a copy of the front page of that day's newspaper and any other receipts they may have collected. This stack of programs will serve as the kind of documentation IRS officials are looking for if they audit a return that includes losses claimed against gambling winnings.

Pari-mutuel racetracks must issue W-2G forms to bettors who win 300 times what they have wagered on any one ticket. For example, if your winning $2 Daily Double ticket pays $600 or more, it's known as a "signer"in racetrack parlance. You have to sign the proper form and the IRS will be alerted to your gambling winnings. But if you've kept the proper records and are eligible to itemize, you'll be able to offset any federal tax obligation on that money. 

"Lots of times after somebody hits a signer at the track, they'll start scooping up tickets off the floor for days afterwards thinking that such evidence will substantiate their losses,"Gioletti says. "An IRS auditor will see right through that. There will be no losing tickets from days before the big win, then all of a sudden there are hundreds of dollars a day in losing tickets, some with dirty footprints on them. Again, take a common sense approach. If you wouldn't buy it, an auditor won't buy it either."   Casino gamblers do not enjoy the luxury of having every bet they make documented in ticket form as horseplayers do, but there are still plenty of ways for them to maintain the proper records and documentation resulting from each and every visit that they may make to a casino during the course of a year. This starts with keeping a personal gaming diary or ledger. It can be kept by hand in pen and book form or electronically in ledger form on a personal computer disc or hard drive. Simply write down the date, the casino you visited, the games you played, the amount of money you brought to gamble with and the amount of money you took home. Make special note of any exceptional losses or winnings. Keep a separate envelope for the receipts of any ATM transactions that you may have made, dated parking receipts, dinner or snack shop checks, and any other information that will show you were at the casino that day.

Short of having ticketed documentation of the bets you make in a casino, there is one sure and verifiable way that casinos can track your play. That is through the use of a player's club card. Virtually every casino in the country has a player's club program. In addition to it being a prime marketing tool, it enables casinos to keep a database of their players. In other words, it serves the purposes of the casino as much as it does the players who use them. Even pari-mutuel racetracks are taking a page out of the casino marketing book and opening up players programs. Bettors "swipe"their cards in the machine every time they make a wager. Their play is then documented and maintained as a matter of record for the track and the bettor.

Comps and other perks from the use of players club cards are not the only benefits customers can derive from them. By signing up for the player's club program at every casino you patronize, and by inserting your card in every slot machine you play every time you visit the casino, your play will be electronically tracked and maintained as a matter of record for the casino. 

You, in turn, can request in writing from the casino's accounting division at the end of the year what is known as a "win/loss"statement of your personal account. It'll show the amount of money you played versus the amount of money you won as a cumulative total over a 12-month period. It'll only be as useful as the times you played with your card inserted in the machine, so always use your card.    Win/loss statements are helpful, the experts agree, but there is nothing quite like keeping your own personal gaming journal when it comes to substantiated casino play. The more you can support the casino's records with your own personal records, the better. And, just as my worst fears were realized in my dream, don't wait until it's too late. A taxable jackpot can come to anyone at any time. If it does, you'll be so happy you were keeping records "just in case."Gaming industry executive Tom Monaghan, public relations director for the Casino Queen Riverboat Casino & Hotel in East St. Louis, Illinois, advises gamblers of any level to take record keeping to another plateau. "I would recommend opening up a separate checking account to use for gaming purposes,"Monaghan said. "Write checks for the amount of money you take to gamble and make your bets using the money you withdraw from the account. It'll provide you with statements as well as a concise 12-month record."

If you happen to be a table games player and wish to have your play documented, it's not as easy as it is for slot players, but it is still possible. Simply turn in your player's club card to the supervisor when you buy into a game and ask to have your play rated. The supervisor will write down your buy-in, make periodic notes of the size of your bets, note the length of time you played, and finally what you color-up for when you quit. Any documentation will become a part of your verifiable record with the casino. 

The IRS makes it easy to target average gamblers when it comes to taxing gambling winnings. Any slot jackpot of $1,200 or more must be reported. But what about big bettors who frequent table games and toss around black ($100) and purple ($500) gaming checks (chips), winning hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars on a single decision of the cards, roulette ball, or dice?

It is important to keep in mind that taxable winnings are classified as a payout that is at least 300 times the amount of the wager. If a high roller makes a $5,000 bet on a hand of blackjack and wins, he'll have won $5,000, or double his money, not anywhere close to 300 times his money, even though his winnings were in the thousands of dollars. Similarly, a winning $100 straight-up bet on a number on the roulette wheel will generate a payoff of 35 to 1 or $3,500 for the bet. The winner will have won 35 times his bet, not 300 times his bet, and is therefore not subject to federal withholding. The point at which the government enters the picture is when a cash transaction in the amount of $10,000 or more is made. In this event, a CTR, or Currency Transaction Report, must be filed by the casino. It is not filed for income tax purposes, but as a matter of record to control corrupt practices such as money laundering. CTR filing is not restricted to the casino industry. Any business, such as an automobile dealership, has to file one for any cash transaction of $10,000 or more. Of course, it's easy for gamblers to avoid CTRs. Instead of buying in for a $10,000 lump sum, buy in twice for $5,000. Cashing out is a different story. If a high roller colors up for $10,000 or more when he leaves a table game, the cage will be alerted and a CTR will be filed.

In some rare instances a person may file his income tax return as a "professional gambler."In order to file as a professional gambler, the person must not have any W-2 (regular wage earnings) income. Any amount of W-2 income will automatically disqualify the filer from professional gambler status. A verified professional gambler who is eligible to itemize may deduct any qualified expenses incurred during the course of his gambling ventures.

Caribbean Stud Poker and Let It Ride bonus payouts and progressive jackpots are two instances of table games winnings that are held to withholding requirements. In fact, in some cases, the money is withheld by the casino even if the bettor has proper identification. For example, a Caribbean Stud straight flush bonus payout of $5,000.01 or more is subject to 28% federal withholding and 3% Illinois state withholding even with the bettor showing proper identification. The same holds true for the royal flush progressive. With the money being taken out on the spot, it is then up to the winner to prove losses in order to have any chance at all of recouping some or all of which Uncle Sam taketh away. Record keeping and documentation is the key.

Rules and regulations regarding gambling winnings are standard nationwide for federal income tax returns, but they can differ from state to state. It is best in all cases to consult with a professional tax preparer or certified public accountant if you have any questions. Forms regarding gambling winnings are also available from the IRS and from individual state revenue offices.

Being a fully prepared casino gambler also means bringing proper identification with you to the casino every time you play. If you win a slot jackpot of $1,200 or more you'll be required to come up with identification, be it a driver's license, passport, military ID, or state ID, if you want your money on the spot. If you don't have identification and still want your money now, the casino is obligated to extract federal and state withholding. If you forget your ID and don't want the money taken out, most casinos will  hold your winnings for you to pick up the next day once you present proper identification. It is also important to note that casinos will accommodate jackpot winners who request voluntary withholding in the event they do not want to have to "pay the piper"at tax-filing time.    

Just remember that the motto, "Be Prepared,"doesn't only apply to the Boy Scouts. If you're a smart casino gambler, you'll be prepared when tax time rolls around.

(Special thanks for information supplied during the preparation of this article goes to Dave Goodhue of the Casino Queen Riverboat Casino & Hotel in East St. Louis, Illinois).

John G. Brokopp is a gaming educator, publicist and television host. He is the weekly gaming columnist for the Daily Southtown in Chicago, Illinois and the Evening Tribune in Hornell, New York and the syndicated gaming columnist for the Senior Wire in Denver, Colorado.

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