A Connecticut newspaper (The Hartford Courant) is running a three part
series on slot /vp machines. Basically the tone of the series is that
casinos and slot machine manufacturers have done an excellent job of duping
players who are deceived into thinking that they have a better chance to
win than they really do....
One sidebar to the story was that in Nova Scotia there has been an effort
to try to slow down gamblers...hopefully so they don't lose as much money.
According to the story, "To slow gamblers down, the government added clocks
on the video screen and required the machines to display bets in cash
amounts instead of credits. Pop-up reminders appear on terminal screens
after 60, 90 and 120 minutes of play. After playing 150 minutes, a gambler
must stop play on that machine."
I thought this was interesting. I have to admit that I have played for
hours without knowing it. Of course, if the machine shut down on me I
would simply move to another machine. The story noted that the policy has
had mixed results.
If interested in the series, I assume it is available on-line but I haven't
checked. Their web site is www.ctnow.com
btw - The cover story on Sunday's New York Times Magazine was "Bet on it.
The Tug of the Newfangled Slot Machines"
I use to have to get the LVRJ to read this stuff on a regular basis.
Jack