Seems like Main Street Station has tightened up their machines.

We always stay and play at main street station, but lately the machines seem to be sooo tight. I usually play keno and nothing hits, but if you look at the numbers you pick and the numbers that come out, they always seem to loop around your numbers. Even one of the cocktail servers said she doesn't play there anymore cause its doesn't pay off.

We had comps for four free nights, but after we kept constantly losing we left after one night.

Starting to play more at Aliante Casino, the machines feel looser there.

 

I don't think they'd change the payout or rig the machines but yet, not very surprising you feel this way. Keno has the worst odds throughout the whole casino games.

http://wizardofodds.com/games/keno/

According to the wizard, if you pick 10 numbers at station casinos, the house edge is a whopping 40%! And yes, the number of picks significantly alter the house edge (from 25% to 40%). Maybe you started playing different number of picks?

 

The odds are you're going to have bad streaks. It is what it is.

Bill

 

Totally agree.

 

To experience "tight"........try The Golden Nugget !
*
I don't think I've ever left a hotel/casino after one losing night / day -
of a four free nights comp ?
I can remember getting slaughtered at Sahara + Golden Nugget crap tables --
but that was for an entire stay.
.........and another reason why I play VP, now.
*
But......if you're losing ?.........yeh, get the hell outta there !

 

This is even more true when you are playing keno. Some of the restaurants in Nevada used to have "keno runners" circulating so that you could bet while eating or waiting to eat. And screens to follow your action mounted around the restaurants. No other games had this, so far as I know. They want you betting that huge house edge all the time. I have even, I think, seen it where you could bet it on the TV in your room.

 

I play VP and trust the RNG to be fair. I will say that if I was losing constantly I would stay and soak up as many comps as possible to exact a measure of revenge. No need for a free room and free food to go to waste.

 

Casinos definitely don't need to "tighten" keno machines. It's the lottery.

 

Especially at Keno. Thats the worse game (IMHO) anyone could play (besides maybe the BIG WHEEL) in a casino. Was/is your luck better at the Aliante playing Keno??

 

This is the only time i've ever played Keno. I couldn't resist the urge to gamble while I was eating. I don't see many places doing this anymore? A thing of the past?

 

No. Orleans and Gold Coast have Keno runners and numbers posted in the dining/cafe area!! Or at least they did 2 weeks ago!!

 

I've never been to either place. Every trip I say I'll hit at least the gold coast because it's so easy to get to but for some reason I never do.

 

IMHO isn't a factor. Math is. Math supports your honest opinion.

Nick

 

Both are good places to play. I prefer the Orleans, even though it is further away from the strip. It's larger, there's a bigger variety of places to eat. Have stayed at both and the rooms and pool are better at the Orleans. Poker room is good too. Unless things have changed, the same shuttle bus will take you to both from the Cromwell on the strip.

 

Things have changed. The shuttle bus no longer stops at Ballys ( used to stop at the Cromwell/BillsGambling Hall/Barbary Coast) anymore. The strip pick up now is the Forum Shoppes valet entrance. Not sure why it has changed but.. 2 weeks ago I stayed at both and the Gold Coast rooms have been recently remodeled. They are actually nicer looking http://i.roomstays.com/hotels/1000000/50000/41100/41076/41076_230_b.jpg than the Orleans roomshttp://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g45963-d91907-Reviews-The_Orleans_Hotel_Casino-Las_Vegas_Nevada.html#photos however the Orleans rooms are larger (IMHO). Both are clean and well maintained, however I always ask for a room near the elevator because both casinos have looooooong hallways!

 

I've played Keno while eating too. And maybe once or twice in a keno lounge when I was killing time for one reason or another. Yeah it's a bad bet.

 

It's not just keno, my girlfriend plays video poker only and plays a lot and she really lost a lot also, this happened on our previous trips also, last November and December. But I do understand that keno has one of the worst odds, it just so frustrating. We do better at alliante so I guess we will go there.

 

Look on VP, you look at the paytable and you know exactly what payback you can HOPE for. There is no way to tighten a VP machine without changing the paytable. Each hand is dealt from a new 52 card deck.

 

See Joe's comment about the odds and VP.

It's all still gambling, whether the house holds 40% or the player actually has the edge. Someone can walk in, play a single 20-spot keno and walk out with a bag of cash, while a VP player on a positive platform playing perfect strategy gets hammered. However, over time all games play toward the mathematic expectation.

I've had some unbelievable runs at VP. Pulling up 4OAKs far far over the mathematical "reality" in the short term, being dealt a multi-line RF, and then having a greater chance of finding ice in the Gobi Desert for a spell. Doesn't change the math. Certainly can change your mood but it doesn't change the reality of the math. I had that happen this past weekend: Hit quads three times in 20 minutes -- at my rate of play it should be around once per hour -- and then went two-plus hours with nothing. Plus, with VP, a good bit of the EV is accounted for in the full-pay royal.

 

VP is a high variance game. If you don't hit a royal, odds are that you will lose if you are playing high volume. In a short session, a premium hand other than a royal will let you be a winner. I play close to 10,000 hands per day so even quad aces on double bonus doesn't mean I win.

If I factor comps and enjoyment, I almost always win. I can honestly say that every trip has been fun although frustrating at times.