Saturday, March 08, 2014

Why not to play local VP in NY

Go to Vegas instead

Here is a pretty good description of the difference in video poker machines.
Randomness still plays a role in all of them, but the Class II common in NY is random the way bingo is random, and the skill level does not matter.
They are shameful because in the context of video poker they really pretend to be what they are not.

http://www.casinocenter.com/class-ii...oker-machines/

Since the government that might regulate such deceptive tactics gets their piece of the action, gamblers are not protected and any law that might be in their benefit is absent. The point is to make tax dollars by redistributing the wealth of the lower middle class, retired folks, the poor and the ignorant. It is not to provide an even break for gamblers. Watch the faces of the players. Very few are having fun. Note that poker rooms, which would be offering just a service to gamblers instead of taking a piece of the action, are absent from these clip joints.
Because there is usually little of no nearby competition, the payback can be set very low and still get customers because it is "the only slot in town."
In Vegas even slot payback is kept higher because of the need to compete. And video poker can actually be in the advantaged player's favor.
So much is lost on these poor payback machines that any amount of play would easily pay for a flight to Vegas and some cheap rooms. Why senior citizens who could go to Vegas for a few weeks don't opt for that option is a mystery to me. I guess in most cases they just can't do the math or can't discipline their play over a few weeks. Sad, really.
for working folks who could not take the time, I am hoping that more casinos in more states and closer might bring real competition to this market. But then I hoped that Foxwoods and those places would bring better VP to Atlantic City and put pressure on Vegas. That gamblers do not buy VP the way they buy gas or groceries is a puzzle to me.
Florida put poker rooms into their race tracks and dog tracks and Jai Alai. Seems more gambler friendly. I don't think of Florida as very progressive, but in this matter they are way ahead of NY state unless you value exploitation.