Private email to vpFREE Administrator:
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I did an extensive TS inventory update the other day. I cannot
guarantee that there are not better or worse return machines, but I am
confident that the ones I have listed are correct. I carefully copied
the pay tables from the 25c, $1 and $5 machines, and then used the
"poke and peek" method (poke a game on the screen and peek at the pay
table 
on several other machines to verify consistency.
This update will display best using a fixed width font (I used
Courier). I sure hope the format is not too confusing, as there is a
lot of info. here.
Turning Stone Update as of 4/24/05:
519 Video Poker machines:
219- 25c "old style" machines (upright and slant-top)
130- $1 "old style" machines (upright and slant-top)
114- 25c Game King machines (upright and slant-top)
30- $1 Game King machines (upright and slant-top)
12- $5 Game King machines (upright)
14- 25c 3,5,10 play (slant-top)
TS now has some ***FULL PAY*** machines. They have 9/6 JoB on $5
machines. I'm not sure what is considered "full pay" for most of the
other games.
They also have 14 new (25c) Multi-Play machines near the hot dog stand
by the old reservation desk. The games are JoB, DW, DB, DDB (8/5 JoB is
best game on Multi-Play).
The Game King machines have varying pay tables, but they seem to be
pretty consistent across denominations.
SUMMARY:
JoB
···
---
<9/6 (99.54%)> ($5) - ***FULL PAY***, Twelve machines near high-limit
pit
<9/5 (98.45%)> ($1) - 30 machines; 14 are near craps tables
<8/5 (97.30%)> (25c) - all over casino (Plus fourteen 3,5,10 Multi-
Play)
<7/5 (96.15%)> (25c) - Very rare (I know of two machines) and only on
Game King
Bonus Poker
-----------
<8/5 (99.17%)> ($5) ***I think this is considered FULL PAY***
<7/5 (98.01%)> ($1)
<6/5 (96.87%)> (25c)
Double Bonus Poker
------------------
<9/7/5 (99.11%)> ($5)
<9/6/5 (97.81%)> ($1)
<9/6/4 (96.38%)> (25c) - (Plus fourteen 3,5,10 Multi-Play machines)
<8/5/4 (94.19%)> (25c)
Double Double Bonus Poker
-------------------------
<9/6 (98.98%)> ($5)
<9/5 (97.87%)> ($1)
<8/5 (96.79%)> (25c) - (Plus fourteen 3,5,10 Multi-Play machines)
Deuces Wild
-----------
<(98.91%)> ($5)
<(97.06%)> ($1)
<(95.96%)> (25c)
<(95.96%)> (25c) - (3,5,10 Multi-Play)
Joker Poker
-----------
<(98.61%)> (25c & $1) old style machines with 3200 jackpot for five of
a kind
<(98.44%)> ($1) Game Kings with 4700 jackpot for Royal
<(96.74%)>(25c & $1) Game Kings with 4700 jackpot for Royal
The old style machines have Joker Poker and JoB. The pay tables are the
same on all of these machines. JoB is 8/5 and Joker Poker has a unique
5oaK jackpot with a return of 98.61% (according to Frugal VP - I can't
find this pay table published anyplace else). These machines are all
over the casino.
Joker Poker Pay Table for Five of a Kind Jackpot (25c and $1):
Hand----1coin---5coin
5K--------200----3200
RF--------100-----500 (apparently natural or wild)
SF---------50-----250
4K---------12------60
FH----------9------45
FL----------6------30
ST----------4------20
3K----------2------10
2P----------1-------5
A's---------1-------5
OTHER COMMENTS:
--My best guess is that it takes about $600-700 coin in to equal one
point (Karat).
--They sometimes have a cash back offer of 10c per point (so 100 Karats
= $10). They do not offer this all the time.
--Fairness of VP games. I have concluded that these are "fair" VP
machines. I have played VP at TS approximately 25-30 times in the last
9 months. My results are consistent with practice sessions using Frugal
Video Poker. Also, due to the complexity of the pay tables on the newer
machines, I believe the machines are "legit". If the machines were not
truly random VP machines (i.e. "rigged" in some way), it seems like
they would just offer full-pay schedules on all the machines and then
simply lower the frequency of certain hands in order to produce a lower
return for the customer. Since most players do not understand how to
read pay tables, it makes no sense for the casino to develop a complex
mix of schedules in order to try and fool the relatively small number
of players who do know the difference.
I think that's it. I hope this update has been useful. Please let me
know if I can provide any other details (I have the complete pay
schedules for all the games I listed, for example).