grochowski
John Grochowski
John Grochowski, a Chicago-based writer and editor, has been covering the casino industry since 1994, when he launched a weekly gaming column in the Chicago …
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Placing opposite bets results in loss
When casinos offer bets on opposite outcomes of a play, they always leave a clear path to a house profit. In craps, pass and don’t pass don’t quite offset, because a loser 12 on the pass line is just a push rather than a winner …Read More
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Calculating odds not always simple
There’s a coincidence of arithmetic about double-zero roulette that once led a reader to a minor confusion about the house edge. If you’re making the wagers with even-money payoffs, including red/black, odd/even and first 18/last 18, the house wins 52.63 percent of the time. If …Read More
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Techonology helps improve the odds
There are days in the casino when formulas for issuing free play and other comps somehow seem inadequate. Maybe the formula says that given the game, the amount you’re wagering and the time spent playing, your average loss should be $80 or so. But you’ve …Read More
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Not all video poker paybacks created equal
There’s a quirk in Illinois gaming regulations that makes it impossible for casinos within the state to offer video poker players some of the top-shelf games they see in Nevada, Mississippi and other states. Whereas all states require a minimum payback percentage on electronic gaming …
Ameristar’s revamp links to Las Vegas
As Chicago area casinos slowly recover from the big hit they took in the recession, Ameristar Casino in East Chicago is trying a couple of ways to differentiate itself from the competition. One way is to team up with MGM Resorts to give Ameristar customers …
Odds good you’ll like Paula Deen’s Kitchen
Celebrity chefs and casinos seem to go together like slot machines and video touch screens — relatively new pairings that popularity has turned into industry staples. But while Las Vegas is practically home away from home for the likes of Emeril Legasse and Mario Batali, …
Sports book odds not a 100-percent game
If you’ve been in a casino with a sports book, you know the temptation. “As long as I’m here, why not put down a few bucks on the Cubs/White Sox/Bears/Bulls/Blackhawks to win it all?” I know I’ve succumbed. Cleaning out a desk drawer last week, …
Unusual play is tough to fathom
There are certain plays in blackjack that will draw attention in the pit. “Splitting 10s,” I’ve heard the dealer call out to the pit supervisor. Or “Doubling on hard 12.” The pit supervisor might just glance over and nod, taking note of the player making …
Tipping dealer not always so simple
It’s a fact of casino life that dealers make their living on tips — or rather “tokes,” for tokens of appreciation. Dealers are paid a low wage, and the tokes keep them going. Most of the tokes come from players on a winning streak who …
Jacks or Better is good start to video poker
Every video poker game has its own expert strategy. If you want the most out of Double Bonus Poker, you won’t play exactly the same strategy as Jacks or Better, and you’ll need to adjust to something a little different for Double Double Bonus Poker. …
Craps odds help manage house risk
For craps players on a budget, the free odds are best used to reduce wagers on pass and come. Pass and come each have a house edge of 1.41 percent, while there is no house edge on the odds, a bet that can be made …
Bad bet pays off — this time
One of my standard warnings to players is to never overbet your bankroll. If you bet too large a percentage of your budget for the day’s entertainment on each bet, the usual result is that you’ll be heading home early, or worse, digging for extra …
Horseshoe all-in for Poker Classic
In three short years at The Venue at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, the Chicago Poker Classic has become more than a local staple. It’s a favorite on the Midwestern card players’ scene. “It’s as prestigious event as any,” said Horseshoe poker room manager Jason Newman. …
Cheating is the worst gamble
Even with a dealer, a floor supervisor and a pit supervisor, and even with electronic surveillance, sometimes things happen on table games that shouldn’t. Payout mistakes are made, and usually caught. A player is mistakenly given a card he doesn’t want, and that gets corrected, …
Yes, same slots may have varying RNGs
There’s a large subset of my e-mail that comes from slot players who start by saying, “I get that the games are random, but . . . ” Then they tell of a slot experience that doesn’t seem quite right to them. The latest came …
Video poker results random
A shuffle through the Gaming mailbag: Q. Do video poker machines with progressive jackpots on royal flushes deal fewer small winners to make up for the bigger jackpots? Ed, St. Charles, Ill. A. No, the programming in video poker doesn’t allow for a lower frequency …
Majestic Star II bright spot for video poker
The last several years have not been kind to video poker players in the Chicago area, with a decline in pay tables that I lamented a few weeks ago in my best-of-2011 column. But there is a bright spot, as an alert reader pointed out …
Whole lotta Elvis slot play going on
Pop culture has been a fertile field for slot machine designers for a couple of decades now. In any trip to a casino, we expect to see games based on games and game shows (Monopoly, “Wheel of Fortune”), TV shows (“Star Trek,” “The Beverly Hillbillies”) …
Dividing lines clear in Mississippi Stud
Any card game that requires decisions by players has its dividing lines. When the dealer has a 10 in blackjack, you hit when you have a hard total of 16 or less, but stand on 17 or higher. In Caribbean Stud Poker, you stay in …
Highs outpace lows in gaming this year
Amid the usual mix of new games and revamped amenities that happen every year, there was one big, overpowering change that dwarfed all else in the Chicago area casino scene in 2011: the opening of the Rivers Casino in Des Plaines. It had been 16 …
