Patrons Say Tight Vegas Slots No Match for Online Casinos
Online casinos are famous for paying a much higher return than those on the Las Vegas Strip. Because the overhead costs of hosting online gambling is significantly less than that of running a giant hotel-resort along with a casino, Internet operators have been able to make a profit on a finer edge for the house. But rumors on how recession has changed Vegas business models led industry analysts to expect Vegas operators would be loosening slot machines.
However, a report in the Las Vegas Sun says that surveys indicate that slot players in Las Vegas think the casinos have actually tightened the machines, giving the house more of an advantage than ever. Anthony Curtis, publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor newsletter, told the Sun that there are several ways to track slot payout settings.
Curtis asserts that, while slot settings are carefully concealed secrets, they mirror the payouts on video poker, which is clearly displayed on machines. Curtis said, "...we absolutely have witnessed a tightening of video poker payouts."
While individual opinions may be far off the mark, Curtis' newsletter surveyed over 2300 gamblers and found a large majority of them are experiencing tighter slots, with fewer and smaller payouts.
Also, numbers reported by the Nevada Gaming Control Board show a sharp decline in slot machine payouts from last year to this year. Curtis says the move by some players to cheaper slots accounts for some but not all of the drop.
Analysts had expected land casinos to seek to attract more customers by sending more people home talking of how loose the slots were, but instead corporate bean counters have apparently decided to squeeze every drop of blood from the body of the golden goose. Meanwhile numbers of US visitors to Internet gambling sites is on the rise, and online slots continue to be a bargain that pays more and draws return clientele.
Recent Comments
| Posted by: David Jones | When: 01/05/2009 02:50:10 PM EST |
| The slights are definately tighter. I go to Vegas every couple of months and I used to win *something* every so often. Lately, though, I have won nothing to speak of. The casinos are just shooting themselves in the foot. They are taking the remaining fun out of Vegas, which will cause people to look elsewhere. I can just throw my money out into the street and have fun watching people pick it up. | |
| Posted by: Joseph Cambria | When: 06/05/2009 12:15:55 PM EST |
| My wife and I have been to Vegas numerous times over the last ten years, and we ,definitely have experienced a sharp decline in machine payouts. A couple of experts deny that casinos are tightening the machines, but I believe otherwise. I like video poker so I will probably try again in Vegas.If things do not change for the better,pretty soon, I will cross Vegas off my vacation list. Vegas was better when the mob ,not the banks, had control. | |
