East Coast Gambler -

The term Video Lottery Terminal, or VLT, is thrown around often in articles about gambling now.  This comes along with the rise of the racino.  Wikipedia offers an nice and simple explanation of what, exactly, VLT is.

A Video Lottery Terminal or VLT is a gaming machine that allows gamblers to bet on the outcome of a video game.

A VLT is similar to a slot machine, except that it is connected to a centralized computer system that determines the outcome of each wager using a random number generator. Although the outcome of each wager is random, VLT operators are able to program in advance the total amount and number of payouts that its central computer system will allow at its connected VLTs. In this manner, VLTs can be thought of as computerized scratch-off lottery tickets.

Further, Racino VLT’s are treated differently than others.

Racinos differ from traditional VLTs in that all video lottery games are played on a Class II gaming machine. Class II games are played in a traditional Bingo format.

Other states that have legalized Class II VLTs in racinos are Delaware, Rhode Island, Louisiana, New York, and West Virginia.

And even more close to home for most gamblers.

Currently, only Oregon and South Dakota employ Class III gaming technology into their VLT games. This means that unlike any of the Class II states, Oregon and South Dakota lottery players compete against a house edge rather than other lottery players. This is the same type of gaming offered in Nevada, Connecticut and Atlantic City. Currently, the state of Oregon offers its players a 91-95% payout on each of its games. South Dakota offers an 88% payout.

Most US jurisdictions do not allow VLTs and those that do have attracted the same criticism the Canadian provinces have. However, some non-players have expressed tolerance for the machines.

I have plenty of reasons to stay away from VLT’s, and given the choice I’d stay away from them because I’m not very familiar and because of that don’t trust them.  Everything I read about VLT’s has a negative tilt so I’ll just stay away.

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Doing a check of video poker inventory in Atlantic City on vpFREE doesn’t show much.  Harrah’s hasn’t been updated this year, while Borgata still has plenty of good machines to play.  Here are some of my findings.

If you’re not familiar with vpFREE, it is a database of video poker pay tables that are updated by video poker players.  It’s a great resource if you play a specific game like me.  I always check to see where the Jacks or Better machines are.

Bally’s (last updated: Feb 10, 10 04:35 AM UTC)

99.54% JoB 1-2-3-4-6-9-25-50-800 JoB (FP)
(2) 25¢ Up in Park Place Video Poker area
(4) 25¢ Up near poker area, towards cashier
(4) $1 Prog Up in Park Place to the right of the big six wheel
(3) $1 3 Play Slant in Diamond Pointe immediately to the left after entering
(1) $1 3 Play Slant in Park Place Video Poker area
(4) $1 1 Play Slant in Park Place Video Poker area
(4) $1, $2 Slant in Park Place Video Poker area
(1) $10 Up in Diamond Pointe
(1) $25 Up in Diamond Pointe

99.17% BP 1-2-3-4-5-8-25-40-80-50-800 BP (FP)
(3) $1 3 Play Slant in Diamond Pointe immediately to the left after entering
(1) $1 3 Play Slant in Park Place Video Poker area
(4) $1, $2 Slant in Park Place Video Poker area
(3) $5 Slant in back of Diamond Pointe
(1) $5 Up in Diamond Pointe
(1) $5 1/3 Play Slant in Diamond Pointe against opposite wall from doorway entrance
(1) $10 Up in Diamond Pointe
(1) $25 Up in Diamond Pointe
(1) 25¢ Slant in Park Place Video Poker area
(9) 25¢ Prog Slant in Park Place to the right of the Big Six Wheel
(7) 25¢ 3 Play Prog Slant in Park Place near Big Six Wheel
(4) $1 Prog Slant in Park Place Video Poker area

99.11% DB 1-1-3-5-7-9-50-80-160-50-800
(4) $1 Slant in Park Place Video Poker area
(1) $5 Up in Diamond Pointe

(3) $5 Slant in the back of Diamond Pointe
99.00% JWD 1-1-4-6-8-10-25-50-100-1000
(5) 25¢ Slant Game King bank in Little Joe’s (WWW) 2nd Row from back wall
(3) 25¢ Up non-smoking section of Park Place Poker just opposite the casino host desk

Borgata (last updated: Feb 10, 10 04:35 AM UTC)

99.54% JoB 1-2-3-4-6-9-25-50-800 JoB (FP)
(14) 25¢ Slant (Panel says Joker Poker) near the buffet
(6) 25¢ Up (Panel says Joker Wild Poker) between buffet & box office by the ATM
(4)  25¢ Slant in video poker area near the buffet
(8) 25¢ Up by high energy slots (one side of bank is 8/5, other side is 9/6)
(13) 25¢, 50¢, $1 Slant (various names on them – including Either way Royals, Triple Bonus Plus, Draw Poker) These are the next bank up from a huge sign that says Joker Poker – that bank is all 8/5’s between B-bar and the new section of the Borgata
(14) 25¢, 50¢, $1 Slant near buffet
(6) 25¢ Up just into new section of casino by change booth
(10) 25¢, 50¢ Slant (2 panels say draw poker, 8 say Joker Wild Poker) just outside of B-bar entrance
(11) 25¢, 50¢, $1 @ the B-bar
(6) 50¢ Slant (panel says Draw Poker) 2 Banks into the new section going from B-bar to Wolfgang Pucks
(10) $1, $2, $5 @ the B-bar
(4) $1, $2 Slant near the high-limit area
(6) $2, $5 Slant in high-limit area
(6) $5, $10 Slant in high-limit area
(4) $10, $25 Slant in high-limit area99.17% BP 1-2-3-4-5-8-25-40-80-50-800 BP (FP)
(3) $1, $2 Slant outside high-limit area next to roulette tables

98.98% DDB 1-1-3-4-6-9-50-80-160-160-400-50-800 DDB (FP)
(4) 25¢ Slant in video poker area near the buffet
(6) $1, $2 next to main cashier at ends of $1 bank

97.25% DJW 1-2-3-3-3-5-8-10-25-800-2000(11) 25¢, 50¢, $1 @ the B-bar
(10) $1, $2, $5 @ the B-bar
(5) 25¢, 50¢, $1 located between the Italian restaurant and The Salon ( High Limit Table Area )

Caesars (last updated: Dec 07, 09 03:39 AM UTC)

99.54% JoB 1-2-3-4-6-9-25-50-800 JoB (FP)
(7) 25¢ Prog Slant behind escalator near the Emperor’s Club
(3) $1, $2, $5 Slant about 3 rows past BJ tables as you walk towards Pacific Avenue
$2 Slant $2 Game Kings in high-limit room

99.11% DB 1-1-3-5-7-9-50-80-160-50-800
(2) 25¢ Up on the rear right wall near the race book. Some on this row are short pay

98.98% DDB 1-1-3-4-6-9-50-80-160-160-400-50-800 DDB (FP)
(5) $1, $2, $5 Slant in middle of casino near mens rooom on left

Harrah’s (last updated: Sep 14, 09 08:14 PM UTC)

99.54% JoB 1-2-3-4-6-9-25-50-800 JoB (FP)
(4) $1, $2 Slant in Diamond Cove
(3) $5, $10 Slant in Diamond Cove
(2) 25¢, 50¢, $1 Up near the Xhibition Bar (2 of three in group)
(1) 25¢, 50¢, $1, $2 Up near the Xhibition Bar (1 of three in group)

98.98% DDB 1-1-3-4-6-9-50-80-160-160-400-50-800 DDB (FP)
(8) $1 Prog Up around a circle to the left of Xhibition Bar (with your back to women’s bathroom)
(2) 25¢, 50¢, $1 Up near the Xhibition Bar (2 of three in group)
(1) 25¢, 50¢, $1, $2 Up near the Xhibition Bar (1 of three in group)
(10) 25¢, 50¢, $1 Third carousel down from Total Rewards booth w/”World Series of Poker” sign

97.30% JoB 1-2-3-4-5-8-25-50-800
(8) $1 Prog Up around a circle to the left of Xhibition Bar (with your back to women’s bathroom)

These are the casinos that I will probably visit on my next trip.  To see all of the pay tables at the east coast casinos, head over to vpFREE.

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I like to play slot machines and I know that the lower the denomination put in, the lower the payout.  I like to think of myself as a somewhat intelligent gambler.  Well, when it comes to the loud noises and bright lights of penny slots I become zombie-like and move forward slobbering for a new penny slot.

Dr. Dave Schwartz at Die Is Cast has a breakdown of which slots are most played and make the most money.  The answer this year is penny slots.

The information is from Las Vegas and I’ve certainly contributed a few bucks to the totals for 2009.  Dr. Dave has more information on the subject and economy on Die is Cast.

Even though I know penny slots will take my money, I’m pretty sure I’ll keep on playing.  Thankfully I have the one bill rule per slot now to quell my losses.

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Vin Narayanan from the Casino City Times has 10 suggestions that Atlantic City can use to turn things around.  Some are easier than others and some are already being done with little short term success.  In order, the suggestions are as follows.

10. Glamorize the Boardwalk
The Boardwalk is Atlantic City’s most distinctive features. On one side of the large, wooden path lies a series of casinos. The Jersey shore and the Atlantic Ocean lie on the other size. And during good weather, it is a very enjoyable walk. Unfortunately, that’s all it is.

The retail space facing the boardwalk is filled with palm readers, cheap t-shirt shops, inexpensive massage joints and a few greasy-food places. That’s right, the best real estate in Atlantic City is filled with low-rent clients. And I say that with love. I’ve eaten at some of these places and enjoyed the food. I’ve bought some t-shirts. And I’ve almost been bullied into getting my palm read by an attractive young lady. But there have to be better uses for this space — uses that will bring a lot more tourists to Atlantic City.

The Boardwalk needs to be filled with upscale restaurants and coffee shops with outdoor seating when weather allows. It should have book stores and art exhibits. It should have trendy retail outlets. The Boardwalk needs to exude class. And right now, all it exudes is kitsch.

9. Fine dining
Unfortunately for Atlantic City, most of its fine dining is located in the Borgata, which features both the Bobby Flay Steak restaurant and the Wolfgang Puck American Grille. But the Borgata is not on the boardwalk, which means many people visiting Atlantic City never get there. The same is true for Harrah’s Resort which features two fabulous restaurants — Polstina’s and McComrick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant. But it’s not on the Boardwalk, so it requires a special trip — or stay — to eat there. But for the most part, Atlantic City suffers in comparison to New York, Philadelphia and Las Vegas in terms of quality dining. Why is this important?

New York and Philadelphia are close by. And if you’re going to lure tourists away from those two cities, and Delaware which now has table games, you need to offer more diversified entertainment set than gambling, and that includes good restaurants.

Las Vegas is a restaurant-goers paradise. It is filled with amazing dining options at a variety of price points. People who love food have no problem traveling to Vegas just to sample the restaurants. And people who enjoy gambling in Vegas almost always make time to enjoy the restaurants there. Atlantic City needs to become Las Vegas east when it comes to the total entertainment experience. And bringing in great restaurants to the Boardwalk and Boardwalk casinos is an important part of that equation. If people know they’re going to a get a great — and easy — dining experience in Atlantic City, they’ll be much more likely to come.

8. Improve rail service
Bus service to Atlantic City is very good. But in order to survive, AC needs to get away from grandmothers catching the bus in and start attracting a younger clientele. And one way to do that is through improved rail service from New York City. Right now, the Atlantic City Express Service (ACES) from Penn Station doesn’t cut it. It only runs on Friday through Sunday. And there are only two trains a day headed for Atlantic City on Friday and Saturday. And the last train (there are only two) back from Atlantic City leaves at just after 2 p.m. on Sunday. The average trip time on ACES is 2 hours and 40 minutes. The New Jersey Transit rail service can also be used to reach Atlantic City, but traveling from Newark will take around 3 hours, and that’s if you time your trip perfectly. If Atlantic City can improve its rail service, it will improve its visitor numbers.

7. Adopt online gambling
The New Jersey legislature is considering an online gambling proposal that would allow Atlantic City casinos to offer online gambling to New Jersey residents. Atlantic City should push for this proposal to go through. The World Series of Poker grew exponentially from 2003-2006 thanks to online poker creating a new generation of players determined to find poker gold and glory. The same can happen in New Jersey. Online casinos can create new generations of gamblers to visit Atlantic City. If the casinos tie in their existing player rewards cards into the online casinos, there will be every incentive for these gamblers to visit Atlantic City.

6. Get sports betting
I don’t care who you have to sue and how long it takes, bring single-game sports wagering to Atlantic City. There’s a reason the Saints Super Bowl win over the Colts beat out MASH for the most-watched TV show — and it’s not just because Drew Brees and Peyton Manning are great storylines. People like to bet on sports. Lots of people like to bet on sports. And even more like to bet on the Super Bowl. Around $81.5 million alone was legally bet on the Super Bowl in Las Vegas last year. If you can get sports wagering into Atlantic City, do it.

5. Advertise
I see Las Vegas TV commercials all the time. I hear about Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun on the radio all the time. Any guesses about who I don’t see or hear? You got it — Atlantic City. People need to realize Atlantic City is a fun place to visit. And to make people aware of Atlantic City, you need to advertise.

4. Better strip clubs
I mentioned earlier that Atlantic City needs to become Las Vegas east. And part of the Las Vegas experience — for better or worse (and usually, for better) is strip clubs. Las Vegas owns the bachelor party market for its combination of great food, night life and strip clubs. And it’s time for AC to even the score. If Atlantic City could provide the same entertainment options as Las Vegas, more people would take the three-hour drive to Atlantic City instead of the four-hour flight to Nevada.

3. Events and entertainment
Atlantic City needs to do everything it can to bring young people with disposable income to the city, and that means booking events that appeal to those demographics. That means hosting every major boxing and mixed martial arts event. That means hosting college basketball tournaments like they did over Thanksgiving. And that means booking musical acts like Jay-Z, Rhianna and Lady Ga Ga. When I was in Atlantic City to watch Michigan State play basketball over Thanksgiving, the whole city felt young and vibrant. It’s the first time I’d felt that way about Atlantic City in about a decade.

2. Nightlife
Part of attracting a younger crowd is providing a lively club scene. Harrah’s Resorts has figured this out and turns its pool area into a booming nightclub each night. Bally’s operates “The Ridge” inside of the adjacent Claridge Hotel, and that place is hopping with young people as well. Each night loud club music is playing. Dealers are dancing. Players are grooving. And everyone is having fun. Unfortunately, places like that are in short supply in Atlantic City. And until that changes for good, it will be tough to attract the younger crowd to Atlantic City.

1. Go young or give up
Atlantic City has a reputation of being a city for old people. In fact, whenever I tell an old Reader’s Digest joke about an elderly woman popping a quarter into my mouth and pulling my arm down while I was yawning on the Boardwalk, I get nothing but guffaws. That means almost everything Atlantic City does has to be aimed at shedding that reputation. It’s the only way Atlantic City is going to grow and thrive in an era of increased competition.

There isn’t a suggestion here that doesn’t make sense.  If the list is in order pf priority I would probably move strip clubs lower.  If you build demand by bringing younger people in with better nightlife, food and events that should happen naturally.

In fact, half of this list really ties together.  It’s suggesting that the casinos do what they’ve been doing for the past few years – attract younger customers.  Perhaps the gist here is to expedite.  Who could argue with that.

The other difficult items to move on in a timely matter involve the government; Improve rail service, legalize sports betting, legalize sports betting and glamorizing the boardwalk.  The ideas are well and good, but the government just doesn’t move very quickly.

The one item on the list that is shocking to me is advertising.  It’s very surprising that the casinos and market don’t advertise on TV or radio.  They also do a poor job marketing themselves online.  It’s shocking that an industry and market can be so invisible.

Overall, I have no major gripes with the list overall.  Lists like this are always fun to read.  I would probably add in upgrading customer service, update rooms, improve (all) marketing and increase gaming odds for the player.

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The Super Bowl is almost upon us and the Jets are still alive!  What a great playoff run.  We keep JMP’s picks going.  As you’ll see, fantasy football wrap ups continue next week.

NYJ @ IND (-7.5): The Colts were well on their way to covering a spread like this when they pulled most/all their starters and blew any chance at a perfect season.  I don’t think the Jets can keep this close.  It’s been a great ride, but it’s over.  Colts to cover.

MIN @ NO (-3.5): interesting line; I would’ve expected 3.  I really think the Vikes have a chance to win this.  NO hasn’t been able to stop the run well since Sedrick Ellis returned from injury and if their secondary isn’t getting picks, their pass D isn’t great either.  This should be a high scoring game that comes down to a FG, either way.  So that extra half-point is key.  I like the Vikes.

Back next week with WR rankings and then in 2 weeks with RB rankings and I guess I’ll pick the last game of the season too!

Last week: 1-4

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Welcome back to JMPlayoff Picks!  1-3 last week, but it still beats Bill Simmons who went 0-4.  My lone bright spot was the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets.  Let’s see if I continue to roll with them, shall we?  Once again, these lines are from vegas.com.

ARI @ NO (-7) – Arizona’s win over Green Bay was the misfire that bothered me the least.  It was a back and forth affair; had Aaron Rodgers connected with Greg Jennings on that long pass in OT, GB most likely would’ve won.  I’m going to pick the Cards here, as I don’t like the way the Saints ended their season and am concerned about the rust factor.

BAL @ IND (-6.5) – Baltimore’s thrashing of the Pats bothered me a lot, relatively speaking, mainly b/c it seemed like the Pats didn’t even bother to show up!  I’d like to think Peyton and Company show up, but Baltimore always plays them tough.  I like the Ravens to beat the spread here.

DAL @ MIN (-3) – Dallas’ win also irked me b/c the Eagles failed to show up, as well.  Now we’ve got Wade Phillips against Brad Childress.  Ugh.  Dallas is playing some inspired ball right now and the ‘vaunted’ MIN D hasn’t been the same since EJ Henderson got injured and Antoine ‘Toast’ Winfield got ‘healthy’.  This game has ‘push’ written all over it, but just in case it doesn’t turn out that way, I’ll take the ’boys.

NYJ @ SD (-7) – everyone loves the Chargers this year.  That means this is the year Norv screws the proverbial pooch.  If they don’t lose outright this week, they probably will next week.  So let’s spend another week on the Jets bandwagon, since a good running game and a great D travel well, even with a rookie QB.

Last week: 1-3

Overall playoffs: 1-3

Regular season: 124-129-3

Tight End rankings

What?  You thought I was gonna give up the good stuff (RBs and WRs) prior to the Super Bowl?  Oh no.  I whetted your appetites last week with QBs, but you’ll have to keep reading for a couple of weeks more to get the ‘good stuff’.  That said, TEs are important to me, as in my money league they are the only ones who get a PPR bonus.  So, without further ado…

1)      Dallas Clark – wrests the top spot away from such luminaries as Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates.  Never stays in to block, gets the looks at the goal line, has a stud QB.  Quite frankly, that’s all you need!

2)      Antonio Gates – kept out of the top spot b/c Rivers never looks his way at the goal line and will disappear in games where Vincent Jackson can beat his man.

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The NFL playoffs are upon us!  As the NFL regular season has come to an end JMP graces us with his Wild Card round playoff picks as well as his wrap up of NFL quarterbacks for fantasy football.  I did so poorly this year in my fantasy football league that I have no opinion on the QB’s.

Go Jets!

Only 4 games this weekend, so I’ll pump up my word count with some QB rankings for 2010’s fantasy season.  I figure it’s a good idea to get these thoughts written down somewhere so I’ll have a starting point in July.  What’s that, you say?  Most drafts don’t happen till at least August?  Maybe so, but when do you think prep should start?  For some of us, there is no offseason! RBs will probably be next week, unless I decide to use them to seriously inflate the column where I pick the Super Bowl.

Oh, btw, now that Yahoo!’s Pick ‘em game has ended, I’ll be using vegas.com for the lines.  Since I’m a Harrah’s kind of guy, I’ll use whatever Caesars is using.

NYJ @ CIN (-2.5): this one’s tough because the Bengals faded down the stretch, even before they rested starters and went vanilla in Week 17.  I don’t know which of Bill Simmons’ playoff rules trumps the other between “don’t take a rookie QB on the road” and “when in doubt, back the better coach”, but since Sanchez isn’t QB as much as he is a “guy who hands the ball off”, I’m going to take the Jets here.

PHI @ DAL (-4): despite living near Philly, I was born and raised in Middlesex County NJ and am lucky enough to get the FAN on my car radio down here.  So, when I hear Francessa talking about how the Eagles rarely blitzed last Sunday against the ‘boys, I know it’s a big issue that’ll be corrected come Saturday.  I like the Birds to beat the spread, but I still hope they find a way to lose, as dealing with Eagles fans at work during a playoff run is one of the more annoying aspects of my job.

BAL @ NE (-3.5): Irresistible force – Pats don’t like to stop the run and the Ravens have Ray Rice as well as Willis McGahee to vulture his TDs.  Immovable object – Ravens don’t like to stop the pass and the Pats still have Brady, Moss, Ben Watson and Kevin Faulk out of the backfield.  Irresistible force – serious Ewing Theory potential with Edelman replacing Welker.  This last one trumps everything else.  I’m a little concerned about that half-point, but I’ll still go NE here to cover.

GB @ ARI (-1): throw out last week b/c ARI played not to get hurt while, for some reason, GB felt like showing off.  Kurt Warner’s due for a stinker and GB would be favored by 2 on a neutral field.  University of Phoenix Stadium isn’t THAT much of a home-field advantage so I like the Packers to win outright.

QB Rankings

1)      Peyton Manning

2)      Drew Brees – falls in behind Peyton b/c the yardage totals weren’t there each and every week, but he’s really 1b to Peyton’s 1a.

3)      Aaron Rodgers – the consensus ‘best fantasy QB’ by some metric like ‘yards per attempt’ or something.  Still not #1 though since he’s still young and too many late-season games occur outdoors.

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