First, thanks to everyone who has provided comments and information
on this topic. The responses were helpful and interesting.
My husband wanted to play Hold 'em at TS on Friday night so I tagged
along strictly for research purposes (that's my story and I'm
sticking to it).
I mailed a letter to TS on Monday asking:
"Do Turning Stone's video poker games have the same long-term
expected return as I would find on a machine with a similar pay
table in Atlantic City?"
I checked the mailbox as we headed out to the casino and found I had
received a reply (4 days - I was impressed by the quick response, at
least):
<typical "thank you for writing..." opener snipped>
"Our Jacks or Better Video Poker games are not pull tab concept
games and the Oneida Indian Nation Gaming Commission must approve
each version of the game payback percentage setup. The Gaming
Commission checks the percentage by running computer simulations on
millions of games. Approval of the game is contingent on the machine
paying what the manufacturer says it pays. Our game paybacks are
certified and competitive with the gaming industry."
Given the vague (at best) response and other clues that I gathered
last night, I have to conclude that Turning Stone's video poker
machines are somehow "different" from machines in AC or LV that have
the same pay table.
Other things I noted:
--On TS's "house brand" machines (they say Leisure Time Tech, Inc.
on the screen) the deal button says "Enter quick pick & deal"
--On the new IGT machines there is fine print that says (something
very close to) "malfunctions void all pays" and below that "only
highest winner paid"
--Last week all the IGT machines that I checked the pay tables on
had either 7/5 or 6/5 JoB, which would indicate they are standard
JoB machines (if they pay based on programming instead of the pay
table, why would they bother with different pay tables?). Guess
what? Every machine I saw last night was 8/5 - can they change them
that fast?
Even will all that, these machines (and all the video poker at TS)
are hugely popular. The machines were mostly full all evening.
While these machines may not have the standard odds, I don't believe
they have as low pay backs as some posters have guessed (60-75%).
For 5 hours of play (umm, I mean research) last night I lost $160.
For 5 hours of play a few weeks ago on 9/6 machines in AC I lost
$165.
So, I dunno.
I'm going to Seneca Niagara next weekend and I'll be taking a close
look at their machines for comparison purposes.
Thanks again for all the input.
Karen