Smart gambling takes the day
23.01.2026
Dear Mark: I just wanted to say thank you. My husband and I just got back from Las Vegas where we played blackjack. We would never have known about the now common payoff of 6 to 5 without your column. We played at Treasure Island, which did pay 3/2 on multi-deck. We feel that knowledge, your progressive betting, and a little luck resulted in our coming home with a net win! We don't gamble much, maybe a couple days in Reno or Tahoe every couple of years, so Las Vegas was pretty new to us. We enjoy craps as well, but with the new higher minimums, it was just too rich for us. A $10 table with a Pass line and 2X odds (for each of us to play) was a bit rich for us. But, we are long time readers of your advice and we stick to a budget. It was fun. We had a very nice room at the Bellagio, and especially loved exploring the Valley of Fire State Park. Gloria S.
You are the type of gambler, Gloria, that I love to write for: smart betting, sets a budget along with loss-limit goals, and someone who, when going to a gambling destination, makes it an enjoyable, entertaining trip, which includes sightseeing and not all gambling.
I am particularly pleased that you not only remembered my writing of the disadvantages of 6/5 blackjack, but you focused on wagers that have less than a two percent house edge.
Six/five blackjack has become far too prevalent in Las Vegas, and everywhere else for that matter. Unfortunately, the uninformed masses continue to hop up on a blackjack stool and allow the casinos to pilfer their wallet.
By getting paid 3 to 2, and NOT 6 to 5, you get maximum value for your blackjacks. These 6/5 games give the casino an edge of almost 1.5%.
Allow me an example, Gloria. If you are playing $10 a hand on a 3/2 game, a blackjack returns $15. On a 6 to 5 game with a $10 bet, you only get paid $12. Since you can expect, on average, five blackjacks per hour, three bucks shy per blackjack equals $15, hence the 1.5% casino advantage.
By the way, Gloria, I, too, am a big fan of Valley of Fire State Park. It is a perfect day trip instead of an all-out gambling excursion to Las Vegas. Valley of Fires name derives from its red sandstone formations, which often look like they are on fire when reflecting the sun's rays.
Abutting the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Valley of Fire is located just 50 miles northeast of LV. I discovered the Valley of Fire State Park when renting a houseboat for a week on nearby Lake Mead. It ended up being one of my favorite trips to Las Vegas ever. We never hit the casino, and the only machines we saw were at the airport, which of course, readers of this column know to avoid.
Also, Gloria, lets not forget Hoover Dam. It, too, makes for a great daytime sightseeing activity. Moreover, it is closer at only 33 miles away.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: They drank the health of the Queen of Hearts and of the Queen of Diamonds. � James Joyce, After the Race (1914)
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Chance, not Persistence Determines the Winning Spin
22.01.2026
Dear Mark: Please help me save my marriage. A while back, my wife and I were in a local casino in Reno. She was playing Megabucks. We were there for about two hours, and she had about $350 invested in the machine. I was tired and told her I wanted to go, so she reluctantly cashed out the remaining $50 she had in the machine, and we headed to the casino cage to cash the ticket.
After getting cash for the ticket we headed for the door. This took us right past the machine she had been playing just a few minutes earlier. All of a sudden we heard loud screaming. A lady sitting at the same machine she was just playing minutes before hit the Megabucks jackpot�over 11 million dollars. The lady explained she had just sat down and had put in $10 and on her third spin of the wheel she hit the progressive payout. My wife turned to me and said, you idiot.
I was stunned but realized what she was thinking. Had I not asked her to leave, she thinks she would have won that jackpot. I explained to her that that may not necessarily be true. But, almost every day she berates me for getting her off that machine.
I told her that just because that woman won the jackpot within three spins of her leaving, doesn�t mean she would have won if she took three more spins. From what I understand, the RNG has to be hit at the exact same time for her to have won and it�s unlikely her staying would have accomplished that feat.
Please help me explain that to her and save my marriage, as I think she will never forget or forgive me without your expert help in explaining it to her. Anonymous
Gaming author Barney Vinson once said, The likelihood of lining up four Megabucks symbols is somewhere in the cosmos between Jupiter and Mars, and even a spokesman at IGT would not admit to the mathematical probability of hitting one of the blasted things. Vinson may have been a tad bit liberal with his calculations, in that, the IGT Megabucks machine DOES have an infinitesimal chance of hitting. Nonetheless, your appeal to your wife as to �whose� Megabucks jackpot it was, is correct.
Often martial bliss gets confrontational due to misinformation about how a slot machine operates. You wife believed that the Megabucks jackpot should have hers, and you got in the crossfire because your wife, dare I say it, is uninformed. That notwithstanding, your marriage may benefit from an apology with a nice expensive gift; fact may not overcome belief but love may well vanquish heartache.
The fact is all modern slot machines come equipped with a random number generator, with symbol combinations constantly changing countless times every millisecond, making the lady sitting front and center when the winning spin hit the rightful owner of the Megabucks jackpot, not you wife. Besides, even if she were to have stayed those few extra minutes, just one sip of a cocktail, a sneeze, or even a blink of an eye would have thrown her interstellar synergy completely off whack.
A slot machines RNG continues to crunch those 1s and 0s as many as a million combinations per minute until someone hits the spin button. This is why, unless your wife had pushed the spin button at the exact millisecond the eventual winner did, she would not have been treated to the winning jackpot. It was pure chance that the RNG generated the winning combination when it did and dumb luck that the player hit the spin button at the exact moment when that winning combination was generated. Your wifes odds of a champagne wishes and caviar dreams lifestyle would have remained the same if she had continued to play:48 �Millions and millions and millions to one.� � Carl Sagan
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: It would seem that the odds of smacking Megabucks twice are much longer than the odds of Earth being sucked into a stellar black hole. � Basil Nestor, Casino Player
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It doesnt hurt to ask
19.01.2026
Dear Mark: The question I have is with regard to your statement; Heres the kicker: They are going to comp you anyway for a feeding frenzy so that after you chow down, you will hook right back up to another machine allowing them a shot at getting some of their money back. Do you mean that if you are NOT getting a food comp with your hand pay, you are getting short changed so to speak? I dont think anyone has offered me a free comp on a hand-pay at ANY casino Ive been lucky at. Maybe they thought that I could buy my own with that 1K+ they just gave me. Should I be asking for more? I guess todays payout people are not as generous as you used to be. Jean H.
My response to Wayne, Jean, was geared more towards a sizable jackpot; one where a Players Card isnt used � or in his case, not a valid one � and they would want to keep him in-house, along with developing patron allegiance for future visits.
Nevertheless, even at lower level play, when a slot attendant is counting out those crispy $100 bills, it never hurts to ask. Words along the lines of, Im getting a little hungry, could well get the slot attendant to call a slot host for a voucher to the coffee shop.
This is why I continually harp on the use of your favorite casinos Players Card, which, by the way, didn�t even exist in my first 15 years in the gambling business.
I began when the only machines that existed were those old patriarchal mechanical machines that had just three reels, with 20 symbols on each reel. Mathematically, that worked out to 20 X 20 X 20 possible combinations, equaling an 8,000 to 1 chance of hitting a jackpot. A slot player could play all day, and they still werent offered any goodies back then. With the advent of computerized, super-sized jackpot machines that accept a loyalty rewards card, even the penny player can get comped.
Your typical hand-pay today does get you something, though, Jean. With a payout of $1,200 or more on any slot/video poker machine, you will � joy, oh joy � automatically be handed a tax form (W2G).
Dear Mark: Often in your column you toss around the initials RNG. Could you please explain how the RNG makes a slot machine loose or tight? Darnell T. From your hometown, Motown
The RNG (random number generator), Darnell, is nothing more than a generator of a random number stream. The RNG has nothing to do with the looseness or tightness of a machine or its long-term payback. The sole purpose of the RNG is to make sure that every number has the same chance of being generated. For the control of long-term payback, some numbers would have to have a more likely chance of appearing, something that the RNG cannot do.
A slot machines long-term payback (tight/loose) is strictly determined by its reel layout and paytable.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: A true gambler played because he loved the thrill he had on the turn of a card, because it tested his ability to out-wit and out-guess the other person. � Poker Alice, Poker Alice (1951)
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Kinship doesnt count for comps
17.01.2026
Dear Mark: Sometimes I mistakenly use my Dad's Players card in a slot machine. Would I have any trouble getting a big payoff if they see the card isnt mine? Wayne S.
On just about every Players Club card brochure, you will find font size 4 print with these words: NON-TRANSFERABLE! Members may not distribute, lend or in any way allow another person to use their card.
These revocable perks-for-play are a privilege granted by the casino in exchange for your father�s past and hopefully future action. When your Dad tries to redeem points for comps, most casinos are going to want to see some photo identification.
However, Wayne, thats for the freebies. Regarding your question, I talked with a few fellow employees from yesteryear still working on the inside; when it comes to the actual payoff of a jackpot, you will still be paid. They wont though, issue comps to you by honoring his card. Heres the kicker: They are going to comp you anyway for a feeding frenzy so that after you chow down, you will hook right back up to another machine allowing them a shot at getting some of their money back.
Heres the deal, Wayne. Casinos make billions by enticing players like you to hand over your hard-earned money. Thus, in the spirit of competition, casinos started offering comps to attract, and keep, loyal slot players. The knowledgeable player uses them to bargain for the best deals, along with lowering the house edge.
Since comps are awarded based on the number of coins you cycle through a machine, you might as well get credit for all those quarters you insert. Just dont commit the mistake far too many players make, to gamble to excess just to receive them.
So, Wayne, being a slot player with the ability to comp yourself, you justifiably deserve your fair share of the billion plus dollars casinos give away in comps each year. Just not on your Dads card. That is not to say that in the real world (casino), countless spouses benefit from using each other�s card and seldom, get caught.
While were at it, I also would recommend that you possess Players Cards from at least three different Casinos. Casinos all too often change their comp guidelines and host personnel. If you have several casinos that you enjoy, you will never have to worry that any changes to their comp policy will ruin your gambling experience. By spreading your action, you will find that the various casinos offer distinctive bargains at different times of the day, week, month or year.
One final thought since I am probably going to get this question multiple times after this column runs. The machines software within does know that you are using a Players card. But, using one does NOT, repeat, does NOT, have any effect on your outcome or the house edge. Thats a separate chip.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: It hurt to see you play games that were so one-sided. I dealt the cards, but the Aces were in your back pocket. Danny Seraphine, Thunder and Lightening. Chicago XIV
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5+5 = How about 17X17
07.01.2026
Dear Mark: I was amused by the question from Mary P. Here is why.
At the Windsor Casino, I went to the executive office to ask the similar question on claiming a Grand Prize in the Car Promotions that they hold every couple of months. The nice thing about Windsor is that if you win the car or cash it is all tax free in Canada. Anyway, they still require the same Photo ID protocol as you described but they add one additional step.
The casino manager stated that Ontario Law requires a competency question be asked to the winner. It's a simple math question that has to be figured out w/o the assistance of pen, paper or device. If you fail, they will hold the money until you comeback and try again, or, appoint a custodian to come with you to answer the question for you.
He said, �It is the Government's Do Gooders at work trying to make sure a deranged winner does not go off the deep end winning all that money.� How answering math question can give a conclusion that someone is mentally competent is beyond me. Jerry
Your e-mail, Jerry, told me something I was unaware of. I have been to Caesars Windsor Hotel and Casino multiple times. Then again, outside of expending a few dollars on a new machine, I steer clear of slots because of the high house hold. Besides, when I go to a casino now, it is seldom to gamble, but instead to circumnavigate the casino floor and scrutinize table limits and paytables, and to survey the demographics of players. For research purposes, of course, the buffet offering also makes that list.
Employees on the inside had also better know their math. When I worked the Club Cal Neva in Reno, one of the owners, Warren Nelson, would walk by the roulette table and quiz you on a payout. Fortunately for those of us who came to work half awake, it was always �what�s 17X17?� If you didn�t know, you were sent upstairs to deal 50� blackjack, where there were plenty of deranged players on that game who were swimming in the deep end.
One more thing, Jerry. Just because Canada will hand you a tax-free jackpot, do not think you are off the hook regarding your tax liability. In the eyes of the IRS, any winnings, from whatever form of gambling worldwide, are taxable and must be reported as "Other Income,� on Form 1040 of the US Individual Tax Return, even if the casino does not issue you a W-2G.
Dear Mark: I bet the casinos do not care if someone uses an expired driver's license to drive there and lose a lot of money. Besides, why can't a driver's license be expired and serve as a valid ID? It has only expired for driving. The person's dates of birth, photo, address, etc., are all still accurate and legit. People don't drive around inside a casino. They GAMBLE! Don M.
I hear you, Don, but the gaming industry is perhaps the most-regulated business in America, with casino operators living by the strictest rules and regulation of any industry that I am aware of.
I am sure that there is some regulation, somewhere, which states the word �valid.� Sure, I can see visual verification being flouted by some slot employee counting out Benjamins for you, but no casino operator would jeopardize a precious gaming license by paying off a slot jackpot by letting an expired driver�s license slide.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: �They clinked their glasses to the glorious game of "Nap", lighted cigars, and fell to shuffling and dealing the cards.� � Jack London, The Sea Wolf (1904)
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On the road again
25.09.2026
Dear Mark: Now in our senior years, my wife and I spend about six months a year RVing across the US. Thanks to what I believe was your referral, we bring along the American Casino Guide and make stops at many of the different casinos across America for both food and some light gambling. Interestingly, we find that many of the Indian casinos offer different forms of gambling compared to where we live (Fresno, CA) the other half of the year. What is the reasoning behind this? Boyd C.
In 2026, Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) to "provide a legislative basis for the operation/regulation of Indian gaming, protect gaming as a means of generating revenue for the tribes, encourage economic development of these tribes, and protect the enterprises from negative influences (organized crime).�
What the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act also does is establish three categories of gaming; Class I, Class II, and Class III, with a different regulatory scheme for each.
Class I are traditional Indian games, which may be part of tribal ceremonies and celebrations, and social games for minimal prizes. The tribes themselves have exclusive control over these games and are not subject to IGRAs regulations.
What you undoubtedly observed in your travels, Boyd, are the differences between Class II and Class III games.
Class II games are games of chance commonly known as bingo, pull-tabs and non-banked card games (games that are played exclusively against other players instead of against the house or a player acting as a bank). What they do not include are slot machines or electronic facsimiles of any game of chance. Tribes themselves regulate Class II games with oversight by the National Indian Gaming Commission.
Casino-style gambling is Class III gaming. This includes games typically played at casinos: slots, video poker, table games, etc. Many conditions must be met for a tribe to offer Class III gaming. For instance, to offer Class III gaming, the tribe would not only have to negotiate a compact with the State, but also the States cut of the gaming revenue.
Steve Bouries American Casino Guide remains the best all-inclusive guide of casinos nationwide for the budget conscious gambler.
Bourie updates American Casino Guide yearly (the 2026 guide is out) and he indexes every casino/resort in the U.S., plus all the toll-free phone numbers, web sites and e-mail addresses.
Noting in your question that you navigate your stops at many of the different casinos across America for both food and light gambling, as you know, Boyd, this is where the American Casino Guide comes in handy. The guide includes $1,000 in valuable casino coupons, like FREE rooms, shows, buffets, slot play, table betting money, and plenty more.
Moreover, the book has statistics that show the actual returns on slot machines provided by each states gaming commission, the best-paying video poker games, which casinos offer the best table game rules, and over 100 pages of gambling tips, techniques and winning strategies.
Those interested can purchase the 2026 American Casino Guide ($18.95) at most major bookstores, amazon, or at americancasinoguide.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: It (Gambling) is not as destructive as war or as boring as pornography. It is not as immoral as business or as suicidal as watching television. And the percentages are better than religion. � Mario Puzo, Inside Las Vegas (2026)
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