Re: Gambling in Vegas
- From: "Auggie" <Imperial.Palace@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 05 Dec 2005 20:27:44 GMT
"SteveJ" <steve.johnson8@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1133803548.964621.149340@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> I enjoy reading the interactions of this group and plan on continuing
> to do so. I notice more and more people discussingt their bouts with VP
> when in Vegas and infrequently see craps table stories discussed.
>
> I has reading one of your stories this morning with an individual
> lamenting about the severe reduction in table games in Vegas, and agree
> that there were many more tables in '73 than currently.
>
> My question is this. Why do more people play VP than table games like
> craps? Why would an individual play slots at all? Do you see the
> eventual retirement of table games to cater to the VP "enthusiasts" any
> time soon?
The number of non table games does seem to keep growing... I don't think
its for any one particular reason, but more quite a few different ones
rolled up together:
Some thoughts:
1) For the casino, slots and VP are mostly win-win. The video machines (VP
or slots) can run 24/7, don't need a break, don't need medical or dental and
if they break down or are worn down can be replaced. The house edge is
pretty much programmed into the machine at a level acceptible to the casino
and its harder for people to cheat at.
2) VP or slots have that "big win" capability. If you are playing $25 a
hand at BJ and go down $1000 its going to take you 30-40 winning hands in a
row to chase back that loss... but with slots or VP it could all come back
with one lucky spin/deal. This is going to appeal to people who chase their
losses or like to play for only a few minutes but want that chance to "win
it big in las vegas"
3) The "new generation" of gamblers are coming of age and earning spending
money they can go and blow at the casino. Gamblers in the age range of
28-40 are the ones who grew up with things like the Atari 2600, Commodore
64, Apple II, Nintendo, etc... not to mention the big video arcade boom in
the 80s and early 90s. They spent alot of their lives entertained by
computers and staring at video screens and so would probably be more
interested, overall, in sitting in front of a slot or VP machine.
4) VP and slots don't have the intimidation factor that table games have...
and they lack human interaction as far as game play actually goes. If
you've never played craps, BJ, 3 card poker, let it ride, roulette, etc...
there can be alot of intimidation in walking up to a table for your first
time. If you are sitting at a VP or slot machine and make some goof or a
stupid play the machine tells you that you made an error or just doesn't let
you make the wrong wager... but at a table if you are a newbie you could end
up looking stupid in front of others. For the lack of interaction with
fellow players that can be a big thing for others... personally I like
sitting down and talking to people, but I don't like hearing every one of
their "bat beat" or "the one that got away" stories or having people
critique me on my play or telling me whats the best way to play/bet at a
game.
5) With the growth of the internet and gaming sites, there are more and more
"informed" gamers out there. These are ones who might see some table games
as a "bad bet" because a website told them there is a better house edge for
the player on games like VP. That doesn't mean its always true because they
have to find the "perfect" pay table and play the perfect strategy over a
period of time to experience that house edge... but alot of people have that
mentality of "I saw it on the internet, so it must be true"
Roulette is a good example here because we see it crop up so often in
here with people saying "roulette is a suckers bet because the house edge is
5.26%! Blackjack is a great game for the player because the house edge is
only .5%!".
We see that alot here, but does that make it true? I don't think so...
because blackjack only has that .5% house edge if you find the right game
(shoe size, blackjack payoff, how the dealer plays, etc) and are playing the
proper strategy. If you use guesses or hunches or play on a table with
crappy rules the house edge in blackjack can go as high as 20% or more...
but then for roulette it doesn't matter how drunk you are or how you play...
you plunk your chip anywhere on the table and the house edge is the same no
matter what at a constant 5.26% (unless you make the 5 number bet) and any
"extra" rules on a roulette table always favor the player and reduce the
house edge, while on a blackjack table all the extra rules and add-ons to
the rules always favor the house.
For this, the key here is that anybody can walk up to any roulette table
and their bet will have at most that 5.26% house edge (unless they make the
5 number bet) - doesn't matter if they've never played before or have played
hundreds of times... which is not something you could say for blackjack
where one has to not only play perfect strategy but has to find the "right"
table with the right rules that can let the player get that .5% house edge.
Semi-related to this thread... hard to say where things are going to end
up going. Up here there is a casino that offers table games, but then
technically you could say it doesn't. The casino offers Let It Ride,
Blackjack and Roulette... but all three are operated by computers, not
dealers, and through the use of interactive computer terminals.
TouchBet Roulette is similar to the "RapidRoulette" you might have seen
at Harrah's in Las Vegas, except at the casinos up here its either tied in
to a working table or in the case of this table-less casino they have a
stand alone automated roulette wheel (the wheel spins... the ball comes out
and lands on a spot and the computer determines the winners).
For Blackjack and Let It Ride I don't mean like the multigame VP
machines that offer blackjack, but they have what look alot like actual
blackjack (or let it ride) tables with multiple seats where there is a big
video screen with a lifesize image of a dealer and the players sit at seats
at the table and the dealer deals out cards. Your play is on a smaller
screen below the image of the dealer that shows your cards, your bet and
gives you options to play (hit, split, stand, double, etc)
Other than craps (due to the players doing the rolling of the dice) you
could almost see every game being converted to something like that pretty
easily.
.
- References:
- Gambling in Vegas
- From: SteveJ
- Gambling in Vegas
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