December 13th, 2009 by Beat Casinos, How To Beat The Casinos, www.howtobeatthecasinos.com

In 2003, the New Zealand Government passed the 2003 Gambling Act, which specifically banned the development of any new casinos outside those already operating in Auckland, Hamilton, Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown. Occasionally there have been rumours that the Government might relax that position, fuelled by a desire to get more tax dollars into the state coffers. Those rumours have been quashed this morning, by an article in the Dominion Post (a Wellington based newspaper), which quote Internal Affairs Minister Nathan Guy as saying “there were no plans to remove the previous government’s moratorium on new casinos”.

Are more casinos good for a small country like New Zealand? In reality, probably not. Those extra casinos will create even more problem gamblers, even more crime, even more hassles for the wider community as a whole… however they would be good for extracting more tourists from their dollars, giving the NZ Government more revenue (via casino taxation), and potentially revitalising some areas of urban space. Auckland’s casino has been particularly good at making the inner city of Auckland a fun place to visit again, with lots of entertainment options surrounding the casino. Christchurch’s casino has done similar things down south.

I do think having a few more casinos, even if concentrated in the same demographic areas as the existing casinos, would breed better competition and therefore encourage a greater return / experience for casino players. From a personal perspective, on that basis alone, I’d welcome a competitor to major operators. I’ve long thought that a casino built on Auckland’s North Shore or in West Auckland would greatly enhance competition in the Auckland market (NZ’s highest population city).

Anyway, New Zealand might not have any new casinos any time soon – but that’s no big drama. With new casinos soon to operate in Singapore and Macau, and CityCenter just opened in Las Vegas, and with more than 8000 online casinos to choose from, there’s no shortage of option for New Zealand players to “get their gambling fix”.

December 13th, 2009 by Beat Casinos, How To Beat The Casinos, www.howtobeatthecasinos.com

I’m often asked by casino blackjack players in New Zealand, Australia, Macau and the United Kingdom about whether they should play the Perfect Pairs side bet offered with blackjack. My advice always has been, and will remain, a resounding NO. The reason? On a typical 8 deck blackjack game, this Perfect Pairs bet has a house edge of about 4.1%. This assumes a payout of 25-to-1 for a Perfect Pair, 12-to-1 for a Coloured pair, and 6-to-1 for a Mixed Pair. If you’re lucky enough to live in Australia where the typical payouts are 30-to-1, 10-to-1 and 5-to-1 respectively, that house edge drops to about 3.4% – but that’s still TOO HIGH an edge to beat in the long run.

What about other blackjack side bets you might come across? These are a bad bet too. Super Sevens has an overall edge of about 12%. Royal Match has an edge of between 3% and 11% depending on the available payouts. Lucky Ladies has a house edge of between 24% and 29%. Ouch! For the average non-counting blackjack player, ALL blackjack side bets should by avoided.

December 8th, 2009 by Beat Casinos, How To Beat The Casinos, www.howtobeatthecasinos.com

I’ve been doing some research lately on the new technologies available to casino operators to improve their customer experience (and presumably profits as a result). I’ve long been a fan of TITO (ticket in, ticket out) slot machines, because it saves me carrying a heavy coin tub around when I get a good win. And it strikes me that this technology of having a ticket printer attached to each slot machine is under utilised. Turns out that I was right.

I read today about a positive spinoff that can be implemented by casinos with a fully networked slot machine floor and general business network. Suppose a player, Geoff, has been playing his favourite slot machine, Lucky 88, betting $1 a spin for the last 2 hours straight. That’s roughly 17 spins per minute, 1020 per hour, or $2040 for the last 2 hours. The house has an edge of say 10% on that machine, so that player is worth $204 to the casino. Geoff has lost a few dollars, and he’s thinking of leaving… but then an on-screen message flashes, and Geoff then receives a ticket on the printer for $20 to spend in the cafe / coffee shop. Now Geoff thinks, “Wow, what a great place. I’m special to them”, and stays longer at his slot machine. Geoff got an unexpected casino bonus, and the casino got a more loyal player. It’s a win-win situation.

What if we know Geoff doesn’t like to eat? Perhaps he’d rather see a show? Well, if Geoff has his player’s card inserted, the casino can match the vouchers offered on the machine to his preferences. So maybe that $2040 turnover will get him a $10 ticket to the afternoon show (normally $50), or a “free drink when you buy a show ticket” offer or similar. So there’s huge potential here.

What I really like about this thinking is that EVERY CASINO PLAYER is SPECIAL. Or at least treated as if they were by the casino. By connecting the player to the game to the casino to the enterprise, every player, regardless of ranking, can feel like they are a part of the top tier. So that means all of us become casino VIPs, rather than a select few. I’ve not heard any rumours about this approach being taken by my local casino – but I’m suspecting it won’t be too many years before they implement something highly similar. After all, it makes sense. Happier players play longer.

December 7th, 2009 by Beat Casinos, How To Beat The Casinos, www.howtobeatthecasinos.com

Like UK fruit machines? Like Bar-X by Electrocoin? Like to feel the challenge of knowing when to nudge a small win, and knowing when to push the machine for a bit more? Now you can play Bar-X Bonus Ladder at Virgin Casino – with a HUGE theoretical return of 95.19%! Bar-X Bonus Ladder fruit machine has five reels, five lines, wild cards to make your winning combinations larger (Wild Cards act as an extra symbol in a winning sequence), and a great bonus ladder game that increases your payouts. A great winning combination! There are five reels made up of eight symbols, a ‘O’, an ‘X’, an ‘XX’, an ‘XXX’, ‘BAR’, double ‘BAR’, Electrocoin and a Wild Card.

The Bonus Ladder feature is activated when you get three or more Electrocoin symbols starting from the left hand reel on a win line – and it’s a great feature to strike. The feature will visually scramble ‘multiplier’ and ‘level up’ squares, then cover them over. You will then be prompted to choose a square from the starting level. Select a multiplier square, and you win that amount! Select a level up square and you will move up a level – the higher the level, the greater the multipliers! Your potential winnings are HUGE.

There is also a separate Jackpot feature, which pays 3000 x your credit bet. This Jackpot could be paid on any spin: it’s paid when a win line shows mini number icons in 1,2,3,4,5 order or 5,4,3,2,1. It’s difficult to get – and your luck really needs to be in – but it’s great when you do strike it lucky! You’ll enjoy playing the Bar-X Bonus Ladder slot machine at Virgin Casino. You’re better off playing this great slot machine game here at Virgin Casino than in standard fruit machine arcades where the expected RTP payback percentages are generally lower. Play where you can win!

December 7th, 2009 by Beat Casinos, How To Beat The Casinos, www.howtobeatthecasinos.com

Being a casino VIP has its advantages. Last night I was treated to a pair of tickets to see the sold out show Rhys Darby night. Wow, that guy really is talented! Rhys Darby is one of the stars of Flight of the Conchords (Murray, the manager), and has also featured in hollywood movies such as “Yes Man” (with Jim Carrey). The show was great. Well timed, very funny, and importantly for me – FREE! To get tickets to the show was great (it’s sold out for a full week), and it’s only because I’m a VIP at our local casino that I was able to obtain them. If you get a chance to see Rhys Darby live anywhere in the world, take it. He IS that good!

As a casino VIP I also get lots of other promotions thrown my way. This coming weekend I get a free “Lucky Chip Dip” – a chance to put my hand in the barrel and draw a lucky disc for FREE promotional gaming chips. My entry is worth a MINIMUM $500 – and could be worth up to $5000. So it’s worth going in for. And to make it even better, I get to do this TWICE before Christmas (once each weekend). This promotion is unique to casino VIP’s. It’s a nice way for the casino to give back some of the money its earnt from us over the years, at a time of year when we typically need it most. So hats off to the casino for this promotion!

How can you become a casino VIP? Typically, it’s all based on turnover. The more you play, the more they pay. My advice is to concentrate your play at only one or two casinos (rather than spreading it around), so that you acheive higher turnover in those locations. That higher turnover will give you a better relationship with the casino, and enhance your chances of getting the high roller treatment. This advice / approach works whether you play in a land based casino, or online.