The Internet gambling forums are full of discussions about casino cuts, in Vegas and all over the country. This is certainly not a new issue. We have been gambling in casinos for over 30 years, and from the git-go we have had to continually adjust our Where-to-Play list. I would say, “Never marry a casino; just have affairs until the love is gone.” Casino A, which used to be our favorite, changed their slot club and decreased benefits, so we reluctantly said goodbye to it and moved to Casino B where the benefits were still good. We never had played at Casino C – but a new marketing honcho came in and instituted a juicy bounce-back program and we were there in a New York minute. Casino D was a long-time core play for us because they had good-EV video poker schedules in a format we loved, like Spin Poker. One day we came in to do our usual play on them and found that the paytables had been cut. We marched right back out the door.
Back in those early days, these cuts, although often very disappointing, did not cause us major financial pain. There were good plays in other casinos to which we could move. But gradually we were finding that there were fewer options. We had to scout harder. We had to add new games to our older more basic repertoire. We had to consider changing the denominational range in which we played, either going down lower at times or deciding whether our bankroll would let us safely go higher at other times.
And then around 2008 came the Great Recession, which quickly filtered down from the general economic disaster into the whole casino business. Good games and good benefits started disappearing so fast that heads of gamblers were spinning. All those adjusting techniques we had been using for years had to be taken to a much higher level – we had to work much much harder.
Recent developments within Caesars Entertainment – reorganization, bankruptcy, major cuts – have now brought this problem to the forefront for many of us. Not that any of these developments are new in the casino business, but because Caesars has so many properties under their corporate umbrella, these changes affect many more gamblers than did changes in smaller companies or individual properties.
I am getting many questions these days about this decrease in good plays and good benefits and how a gambler could/should face this new casino environment. People want to know what Brad and I are doing about the situation. So I have decided to write about this subject – and it may take a series of blog entries. But one thing I will be stressing is that there is no one-size-fits-all answer.
While I am working on Part 2 of this series, I have a homework assignment for some of you video poker players who are pondering this new casino environment and wondering whether you need to change anything about the way you gamble. I want you to figure out the EV (expected theoretical value) of every one of your present plays and write it down. If you are a really wise and/or experienced gambler, you will already have these figures – on a piece of paper, or in your computer – and if you are a real math head, you will probably have them in that head. (I’m not – so I have them in my computer!)
If you do not know how to figure an EV of a play, you have a long rough road to travel to becoming a more successful gambler – it is a basic skill you need more than ever now. In my book Frugal Video Poker I describe in detail the steps you need to take to find what a video poker play is worth, adding to the basic EV of the game any/all benefits, like free play, promotions, tournament and drawing equity, and perhaps comps. (That hard-copy book is for sale at http://www.shoplva.com/collections/video-poker/book or you can get the eBook – an immediate download for an extremely low price. See details at http://www.shoplva.com/collections/ebooks/.)
Stay tuned for Part 2, which will be full of practical suggestions.
Just getting CET Platinum in one year is a huge financial sacrifice. IDK about committing to that goal.
With the changes throughout total rewards properties, I have decided to only play at a low level Diamond level. I play both slots/VP and am happy with room offered: but I am not happy about how Harrah’s/CET have been sliding downhill for over 15 years, since Loveman took over.
Life is a balance, there is more to life than gambling and casinos. Next month, I am taking a 12 night Transatlantic cruise on the Allure of the Seas to Spain, then a week to explore the country. All this still costs less, than many bring to Vegas/Atlantic City for a few days of play!!
Jean, Thank You for all the years of advice on how to do better with casino based trips. When you started, it was the “Golden Era”, now that times have changed, in such a dramatic fashion; it is time for those of us, to move along to other pursuits!
Hello, I read your profile on Discover magazine over 15 years ago. I’ve finally come around to reading your “Frugal Gambler”. I’m now ordering two more your books. In a month or so, I’ll get the software. Hope I’m not too late. I live in San Diego. I wonder where there’s a good place to play.
If the Casinos think they are Hurting now? Just
wait till the IRS drops the recorded payout to
$600! That will do it for me, I’m already looking
for a different form of entrainment!
There is another factor you should take into account when deciding whether to play a given (presumably, new to you) game: volatility. A LOT of times, you might visit a casino only to find that your favorite games have been torched–but there are still good plays, albeit on games you’re unfamiliar with. You have to move from your favorite NSUD or JOB to something like TDB or DDB–can your bankroll stand the added swings? For instance, last year, Suncoast had 7X points on certain days. I happily played two pair joker (99.92%) until they took it out; I then switched to NSUD (99.73%) until they took it out; they still had TDB (99.58%), but I stopped playing anyway. Why? Because of the huge volatility of TDB, I would have needed three times the bankroll that I had needed for the other games, and I wasn’t comfortable with that–even though the game, with +0.7% plus mailers, etc., was still worth playing on an EV basis.
Another huge pitfall that a VPAP has to watch for is being “forced” into playing higher denominations. This happens a LOT when visiting CET properties, as their corporate strategy seems to be to treat quarter players like scum. So you’ve driven 100 miles to the nearest CET pleasure palace, with $1000 in your wallet, confident that that should be enough for a weekend of .25 VP play, only to find out that the best game in that denomination is 5/4 Super Gonzo Whizzo Spin Doctor Bonus Poker (92%) and that you’ll have to play dollars if you want a decent game. Well, do you do the smart thing, and either turn around and go home, or spend the entire weekend inhaling the buffet and lounging around the pool rather than playing VP, or do you play the dollar games and get destroyed before you even go to bed on Friday night?
Many players, especially those without easy access to Vegas, are finding that decent VP where they usually play has been slaughtered. The trap to avoid falling into is saying “what the hell, let’s play anyway.” You must decide whether you are happier with your money in your wallet or on CET’s balance sheet under “Cash.” There are other, and cheaper, forms of entertainment than playing lousy VP.
My dear Mrs Scott,
My wife, Nancy, and I have never been Advantage Players. I do, however, know the pay tables and strategy for the two games that I play (9/6 JoB & 8/5 Bonus). My wife, on the other hand, doesn’t play strategy or care about pay tables. She plays a lot of DDB and some Stupid (penny slots) games.
I hit my first royal playing a nickel (40 coins FP) VP machine in Laughlin 30 years ago. My wife gave me a roll of nickels because she wanted to play. I was doubling down and have no idea what the pay table was and had less than 500 hands total in my life when I drew that Ace of Spades. I have had far more than my share of royals over the past thirty years. My wife went over ten straight years without a royal or, for that matter, a winning trip. In our last six trips one or the other has been a winner and we’ve brought more back than we took. Just plain lucky!!! Which begs to question: What is the mathematical symbol for luck in all these EV equations? We play at Green Valley, Rampart, Gold Coast, Sam’s Town and Main Street and have been comped for all our food, drinks and rooms for the last twenty years. The first ten years we got free rooms, but didn’t know the comp system to take advantage of it.
Hope you and Brad find your good plays and hit many royals in the process….Rich & Nancy
Hello Jean,
We are looking forward to Part 2 of your article. While waiting we’ll be double checking our EV at both of the casinos we play at.
Thanks for all you do for us EV players.
Jim and Bev
Last night I walked into Harrahs So California, (Rincon),to find the last marginally playable game downgraded. That’s it for me. Jean it’s the multi-play game you probably play when visiting us in San Diego. I only played at Caesar’s for the comps. Now it’s totally not worth my action. Caesar’s has chased another gambler away. Buh-bye. Enjoy your bankruptcy, Caesar’s.