Newcomers vie for multi-game share

Video poker players may not consciously seek out International Game Technology machines, but that’s where they play. Well over 90 percent of the poker machines we see in casinos are IGT games — and that’s likely an understatement. Two Chicago area companies are trying to …

New table games focus on poker

When game developers create new table games, the first look usually is at poker. Poker-based games usually are easy to learn and easy to deal, and have proven to attract players with success such as Three Card Poker, Caribbean Stud and Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker. …

New slot machines promise to thrill

Each year at Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, I get to see the best of what slot machine manufacturers have to offer: the bonus events. Games are set up so potential buyers and inquiring columnists can see the most entertaining bits without spending time …

Gaming expo like kid in candy store

Each year at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, I roam from booth to booth to look at the major slot machine manufacturers and the coming attractions that will draw us to their games over the next year. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of …

Nowadays, change name of the game

The video age has been liberating for slot machine designers, and not just in ability to use animation and special effects to create entertaining bonus events. They can play with the configuration of the reels, and even change the number of reels from spin to …

No, that jackpot never was yours

Walking the aisles at a busy casino, I saw the lights flash and heard the music change to celebration mode — surefire signs that someone had just hit the jackpot.

I walked toward the winner to see what was going on, and it turned out …

Find a new table when stakes rise

If you play much low-limit blackjack, no doubt something like this has happened to you. I’d arrived at a casino about 9 a.m., figuring I could take advantage of early-day sparse crowds and low table minimums. I found a $10 table and bought in for …

What to expect from video gaming at bars

The opening in Morton Grove and Rockford of the first test sites for video gambling at Illinois bars and restaurants has prompted several emails from readers wondering just what kinds of games they’ll get. The basics are simple. Machines are multigame units, with a mix …

Don’t push your luck in blackjack

Sometimes knowing blackjack basic strategy and putting it into practice are two different things. I have an old friend, someone I’ve known since college days. He knows the strategy charts say never to split 10s. He does it anyway if the dealer has a 6 …

Debunking slot machine myths

Some slot machine myths have faded into obscurity because of technology and players getting used to technology. Nobody worries about whether a machine will go cold if it senses hot coins fresh from the hopper, since hardly any games use coins anymore. And players have …

A sideways twist on slot machines

In recent weeks I’ve written about playing Triple Play Poker at the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City, Ind., and the penny Cherry Mischief slots at Ameristar Casino in East Chicago. There was a third stop, a detour of a couple of hours of play …

Cards still a better bet for low rollers

In both of the two most popular casino table games, players in the know can reduce the house edge to less than 1 percent. A blackjack player has to know basic strategy to get there, and a craps player has to back pass/don’t pass or …

Stacked symbol slots ramp up volatility

Video slots are the most popular, most played and most widely available games in modern casinos. They’re also the games with the most variation, full of little wrinkles that affect gameplay. One of those wrinkles introduced in recent years has been the use of stacked …

Better pay tables worth some travel

A shuffle through the Gaming mailbag:

Q. You’ve mentioned that video poker pay tables in the Chicago area have gone down. I asked a slot manager about it, and he said it’s because of the high gaming tax in Illinois, and they can’t do anything …

Triple Play Poker offers big rewards

One of my true loves among electronic casino games is Triple Play Poker. I like that I can break even or better with one decent pay even if two hands are losers. I like that I’m paid three times over when I’m dealt a big …