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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Show Me Your ID Please!
24.09.2026
Dear Mark: I have asked around, but nobody can give me a direct answer. If you get a taxable jackpot, will an expired drivers license be sufficient as an ID? Mary P.
Whenever someone wins $1,200 or more, an ID is required for tax purposes because Uncle Sam claims a piece of the action. Thus, casinos today require proper identification (e.g. drivers license, state-issued ID, Military ID or passport) before you are paid your rightful winnings. Additionally, your identification must also have your photo on it. Sorry, Mary, but your Costco card isnt going cut it. If you can board an airplane flight with your ID, then it will probably be valid enough to claim your jackpot.
Now if your good fortune lines up three treasure chests, and you cannot produce a valid form of identification, the windfall is still yours. The casino will photograph you and hold your loot in the cashier�s cage until you come back with some bona fide ID.
Likewise, when the casino examines your identification it makes sure you are legally of age to play. The minimum age for gambling varies from State to State, but under-age gamblers will NOT be paid if they hit a jackpot. Besides being the law in all gaming jurisdictions, denial of a jackpot to a minor has been challenged and upheld in the courts.
Since a minor cannot claim a jackpot, or dish it off to someone of age to split it with later � the eye in the sky is always watching � the jackpot is never paid and the illegitimate winnings are added to the casinos revenue.
Besides producing a valid photo ID, you will also be asked by the casino for a valid social security or tax identification number. If you decide screw that, Ive got my rights. then plan on 25 - 30% being withheld depending on whether the jackpot is more or less than $5,000.
Throughout my reply, Mary, I used the word valid Unfortunately, an expired driver�s license will be your roadblock from collecting your jackpot. Nevertheless, your money awaits you at the cashiers cage, and a quick trip to the DMV for a license renewal should solve your problem.
Dear Mark: Does a slot machine recognize a difference between insertion of currency and credit slips? It seems I win more when I insert bills over using credit slips from my past winnings. Dan L.
A slot machine does NOT re-program the random number generator to affect the outcome based on cash or credits played.
The slot machine program within does not give one iota about the source of the money. A dollar credit that came from your inserting a ticket has just as much chance to win as a dollars worth of credits that came from your inserting a $1 bill.
Yes, Dan, there is some computer programming within the bill acceptor, but, it is to validate the authenticity of the currency and to communicate to the slot machine the amount of the currency/credit inserted.
Ultimately, all the slot machine program determines is that the player still has credits available on the meter when the spin button is hit.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: People's hobbies (gambling) are more their measure than are their jobs. Never mind what they are forced to do, like fight wars or make a living or embrace the kings religion. It is what do they choose to do in their spare time, if they have any? � Robert Byrne, Byrnes Book of Great Pool Stories (2026)
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Let It Ride
06.09.2026
Dear Mark: What is your take on Let It Ride? I love to play it, but how bad are the odds? The 3-card bet seems to be the best chance to win money. Steve C.
Let It Ride is a variation of five-card stud poker where the player wagers on a poker hand consisting of three cards in the player's hand and two community cards in the dealer�s hand.
Play begins with each player making three equal bets in spaces labeled (1), (2) and ($). The dealer then gives each player three cards, and deals two community cards face down. After seeing his or her three cards, each player has the option of pulling back the first bet, or, as the game is eponymously named, saying �Let it Ride.�
The dealer then exposes one of the two community cards. Each player now has the option to remove the second bet or to "let it ride," regardless of the first decision.
Finally, the second community card is revealed. Losing bets not meeting the payout criteria are collected; then the winning wagers are paid according to a posted payout schedule.
Typically a Royal Flush pays 1,000 to 1, a Straight flush: 200 to 1, Four of a kind: 50 to 1, Full House: 11 to 1, Flush: 8 to 1, Straight: 5 to 1, Three of a kind: 3 to 1, Two pair: 2 to 1, and a pair of 10s or better: 1 to 1.
Like you, I find the game fun to play, slow enough for the newbie gambler, and forgiving as it does allow you to pull back two of the three bets. My problem, Steve, is that even when played with perfect strategy, the casino advantage on Let-It-Ride is 3.51%, well above my axiom; �Never make a wager that has higher than a 2% house edge.� That is almost six times higher than blackjack when using perfect basic strategy. Incidentally, amongst dealers, Let It Ride is nicknamed �Let It Die,� since the tipping rate is terrible.
Regarding the "3-Card Bonus Bet," it is a side bet which pays, based on the poker value of the player's three cards, similar to the Pair-plus Wager in Three Card Poker. With Let It Ride, the wager has a separate win for a �Mini Royal,� defined as ace/king/queen of one suit.
With any Let-It-Ride side bets, where you are offered an additional payoff with certain paying hands, all of these wagers carry a whopping double-digit casino edge, and I would recommend that you avoid all of them.
Dear Mark: Thank for the response to my question on Crapless Craps. However, I was curious as to what happens on the come-out roll if a �7� rolls. Your article lists all the numbers from 2-12 (except 7) as point numbers. Am I correct to assume that a �7� is a winner on the come-out roll? Jerry F.
I apologize, Jerry, to both you and the readers for omitting the number seven in my reply to your question. Although I did state in my response that you do NOT win if the shooter throws an 11 � normally a winner � on the come out, as it also becomes the point. Your assumption though is correct in that if a �7� were to roll, it would be a natural winner.
It also bears repeating, Jerry, that I recommended avoiding this craps variant since the house edge on the Pass bet in Crapless Craps is 5.382%, compared to 1.41% on a typical crap game.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: �Look at that guy � can't run six balls and he's president of the United States.� � Johnny Irish, Pool Hustler on Richard Nixon, McGoorty (2026)
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Does the Man with the Golden Arm exist?
30.09.2026
Dear Mark: I am an avid craps player. My usual game is a Pass line bet with full odds plus one or two Come bets also with full odds. I also enjoy reading anything related to craps in hopes of gaining an "edge.� I just finished a book on controlled shooting. In your experience, is it possible to gain an edge being a controlled shooter? Michael F.
Readers of Deal Me In should easily recognize the value of your craps strategy, Michael, that being �a pass line bet with full odds plus one or two come bets also with full odds,� as it is often advocated in this column.
Your inquiry though, that a player aptly called 'the arm,� is so gifted at throwing dice that he or she can alter the conventional odds of the game, deserves a thoughtful response. Michael, I am in disagreement with those in the gaming community who believe in the magic that it is possible. As to whether or not such a golden arm truly exists is �dicey� at best.
I believe that you probably read the book, Golden Touch, Dice Control Revolution: How to Win at Craps Using a Controlled Dice Throw by Frank Scoblete. Frank believes that a skilled dice controller can control the outcome of a roll and change the nature of the game to favor the player. Is it a good read? Absolutely. However, I fall on the side of gaming folklore and respectfully differ, especially on a legitimate game.
With many years on a dead game on graveyard shift experimenting both with pocketing a roulette ball at will and simulating precision rolls on a crap table, I have never come anywhere close to altering the odds of either game, nor in 18 years on the inside have I witnessed anyone who could.
As for a player sliding the dice across the table to get a specific result, yes, that is achievable. However, Michael, if you do that twice, you can plan on being 86ed from the casino via a boot to your keister. Crap dealers, a box person, the pit boss or the eye in the sky have little tolerance for charlatans trying to illegally manipulate the cubes so as to preclude a random outcome.
Dear Mark: How would you bankroll a three-day gambling trip for a blackjack player? Chuck P.
At its top level, Chuck, your gambling bankroll refers to all of your hard-earned money that you specifically set aside to support all of your gaming activities, including travel, lodging, and food expenses. A subgroup of that bankroll is your gambling specific bankroll, or the amount of money carried on a person to support your gambling timeline � in your case three days.
This traveling bankroll should be further divided into specific lesser amounts for each day of the trip, then into even smaller amounts called table sitting playing stakes, which predetermine how much will be risked during any given single session.
Once you are sitting tableside, Chuck, set a goal of winning between 50 to 100% of a single-session bankroll. Then set aside your original bankroll plus half your winnings. Now play with the remainder and continue to set aside additional winnings.
When you subdivide your bankroll this way, this will not only figure suitably into your overall money management strategy but also help you maintain discipline during your gambling activities.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: Most people probably think casino games are for fun and can be played without considering serious things like payback percentage, expert strategy or bankroll management. � Frank Legato, Strictly Slots
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Gamblers are shunning tightfisted slots
30.09.2026
Dear Mark: In your column I�ve Been Everywhere, you wrote about all the casino destinations that you have visited over the years. Did you find in your travels that slot machines look and play the same from state to state? Ken K.
Slot machines, Ken, are comparable from casino to casino, state to state. For instance, if it is an IGT Dazzling Dollars 3-Reel 1-Line 3-Credit machine in Wilkes-Barre, PA, expect the same in Reno, NV.
So, yes, Ken, they all look and physically play the same: you press the credit button, hit spin, press credit, hit spin, keep repeating, and then reach for your wallet for more money.
But, just because any old slot machine looks, walks and quacks like a duck, that doesn�t mean it is part of the Anatidae family of birds, especially when it comes to return percentages to the player. �Play� and �pay,� Ken, are twins of two different fathers.
Payouts on slot machines are set by casino operators and are not consistent between gaming jurisdictions.
The best cluck-for-the-buck when it comes to playing slots is in Nevada, where the house last year kept 6.4 percent. The worst would be in Iowa, where casinos in that state keep 9.4 percent of every dollar played. Furthermore, Ken, slot machines these days keeping a tighter grip on the money gamblers feed into them, and this translates into your hard-earned money not lasting as long as it used to.
For example, based on the blended slot hold from a decade ago, if your bankroll were $100, you could gamble for 3.2 hours at $0.75 per spin. With higher holds across the board, now you will last approximately 2.6 hours, a 22% decrease. With these tighter slots, your time on device decreases, hence, you lose you money faster. But, Ken, few players play $0.75 per spin anymore. It�s more like $2 a pop, so your slot machine play with that same $100 is now reduced to just one hour.
Casinos are also starting to feel the effects of higher hold percentages. Not only are casinos making it tougher for players to win at the slot machines; the rising hold percentage has not translated into incrementally increasing gaming revenue for casino operators post-recession. In fact, many believe higher hold percentage is the contributing factor to slot revenue decline. I agree, but I would vigorously contend that it is equally the lack of Gen Xer and Millennial players.
Here are just a few examples of current hold percentages showing where slots got stingier from a decade ago.
Louisiana 9.26%, was 8.65%
Mississippi 7.49%, was 6.54%
Missouri 9.33%, was 7.44%
Nevada 6.4%, was 5.72%
Iowa 9.4%, was 7.05%
New Jersey 8.96%, was 8.19%.
Conversely, Pennsylvania�s hold percentages decreased from 9.56% to 7.82% and their slot revenue increased by 11.8%. Wondering aloud here, but is management upstairs taking notes?
This is not to say that all slots pick your pocket. Some casinos do offer �liberal� slot machines. By liberal I mean casinos that advertise a higher payback percentage on �selected machines.� It�s up to you to find a casino advertising those liberal paybacks; then you�ll need to ask someone in slot personnel which machines those are.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: I'm a gambler. I'll always be one. I couldn't be anything else. So, my life will always be full of wins and losses. I wouldn't have it any other way. It's exciting. There's never been a dull moment in my life. � Doyle Brunson, How I Made $1,000,000 Playing Poker (2026)
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Just a token of your appreciation
30.09.2026
Dear Mark: In yesterday's Detroit Free Press, there was a question about tipping. My question is also about tipping but more specifically as it pertains to a casino if you are lucky enough to win something big. A few weeks ago, my husband and I were vacationing in Deadwood, S.D., and I was one of the lucky ones who won at slots. My jackpot was just over $3,700.00. I won't tell you what I gave the guys who took my tax information and then came to pay me because in retrospect I think it was probably way too low. What would be the proper tip in this instance and who should you pay? I will probably never win that much again, but just in case I would like to be prepared to tip properly. Chris J.
This columnist has no plans to become a weekly shill for the tipping industry. But, with that said, I have always considered myself to be in the hospitality business, not exclusively gaming. Hence, Chris, I will tackle these two questions featured today, then retreat next week to what most of you read this column for, gambling.
I begin with the #1 rule when it comes to tipping: If in doubt, TIP. Reason being, Chris, most front-line slot employees are paid minimum wage. A slot employee�s additional income comes through the gratuities of casino patrons. It is through your kind gestures of gratuity that slot employees make a living.
Whether you tip or not, and how much, is essentially up to you. That said, $50-$100 on a $3,700 jackpot to the slot attendant who handled your payment is appropriate, especially if that individual had been helpful and pleasant toward you. Five percent of your total jackpot is not uncommon, especially on midrange jackpots of between $1,000 � $5,000.
Dear Mark: Any suggestions on how to make sure that tips left for the housekeeper who cleaned your hotel room actually get to that particular person? Or, do housekeeping tips go into a big pot and then get divvied up? Rhonda S.
Typically, Rhonda, housekeeping operates on a �keep your own� basis so tips go directly to the individual cleaning your room. That is why I mentioned in a recent column that far too many gamblers slight housekeepers when they tip at the end of their stay because they are flat ass broke. Whoever scrubbed your toilet three of the four days you were there could be off on the day that you leave, and your gratuity ends up with her substitute.
Here is how and what to tip a hotel maid. I recommend three to ten dollars a night depending on the quality of service and the hotel. If there are three individuals or more in your room or suite, you should consider a bit larger tip. If a staff member brings up extra towels late at night or fulfills another request, tip $1-$5. By tipping correctly, you show your appreciation and ensure that the chambermaid will take special care of your room.
Make sure that you mark your tip clearly. Leaving cash in the room is not a clear enough signal, as a chambermaid must be extremely careful about taking anything from your room. Enclose the tip in a sealed envelope (check the desk drawer for hotel stationery) and mark it �Maid� or �Chambermaid.� And if in your room there is a card giving the name of the person who cleaned the room for you, put that on the envelope, too.
Leave your tip in an obvious place such as on the pillow, the television, or on the bathroom counter.
Leave your tip in cash, not with your spare change, lint included. NO, your empty beer cans that have a 5� deposit on them don�t count as a tip.
If you travel internationally, find out how to write "Chambermaid" (Camarera, Zimmerm�dchen or Femme de chambre) in the local language so that you can label the envelope appropriately.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: The more I study and learn about how to play poker, the more playing poker for real money scares the hell out of me. --VP Pappy
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