By Bill Burton

• Why Do Casinos Not Have Clocks Open
• Why Do Casinos Not Have Clocks Back

Why Do Casinos Not Have Clocks Open

Over the last year, I have heard many players complain that they are not having as many jackpots on the slot machinesas they used to have. I first heard this from a few of my friends who said they believed that the casinos were tightening the machines because the bad economy was forcing people to make fewertrips to the casino. I did not pay too much attention to this but then I started to notice other players posting the same opinions on several Internet forums.

The explanation is easy enough: all casinos are designed to keep gamers inside, spending money, otherwise how else will the house win? Yes, there are no clocks in casinos. Just imagine looking up and reading 2AM on a clock, thoughts like “it’s time to call it a night” will surely enter your mind, but casino bosses don’t want that. It is commonly accepted that Casinos discourage the use of clocks or windows on the gaming floor in order to keep the players in a state of hyperfocus. By not allowing them to reference daylight or time, players lose track of time and theoretically play for longer periods of time.

Why Do Casinos Not Have Clocks Back

I told him I do believe that some casinos may be ordering new machines with lower payout percentages but I did not believe that this was the main reason why players may not be winning as much as they used to. I gave him the following reasons for my answer. Over the years there have been many myths associated with casino gambling. As a person who has spent my fair share of time in casinos, it is important to be aware that everything, and I mean everything, is done to keep you there longer and gambling more. I've had many conversations with dealers to pry bits and pieces of.

It seems many of the players have come to believe that every casino was lowering the paybackpercentage on all of their machines.

A month ago I was contacted by a newspaper reporter from Colorado who requested an interview with me. He said he was writing a story about the casinos lowering the payback on the slot machinesthat were making it harder for the players to win. He wanted my opinion on the subject and he was surprised by my answer.

Why Players Win Fewer Jackpots

I told him I do believe that some casinos may be ordering new machines with lower payout percentages but I did not believe that this was the main reason why players may not be winning as muchas they used to. I gave him the following reasons for my answer.

Over the years there have been many myths associated with casino gambling. One of the most common ones is the belief that a casino can raise and lower a machine's payback with the flip of aswitch. This is not true because the slot machines have a computer chip in them that determines the pay back percentage. These are set at the factory.

In order for a casino to change the pay back, they would have to change the chip. In most jurisdictions, there is paperwork that has to be filled and submitted to the Casino Control Commissionfor each machine if the chip is changed. It is time-consuming and the chips are very expensive. For this reason, the cost of changing the chip in numerous machines on the casino floor does notmake economical sense.

Many of the gambling jurisdictions around the country require the casinos to report the overall payout percentages on a monthly basis. (California is not one of the States) These figures are amatter of public record and are published in some newspapers and gaming publications. I looked back on these figures over the last year and saw that there was very little change in most casinosaround the country. In some instances, there were even some of the payback percentages had increased.

A reason why some players feel that they may not be winning as often is the fact that many players are making fewer trips to the casino so they are not playing as many sessions. So because theyare playing fewer sessions they will see fewer big jackpots and fewer winning sessions overall. It is all proportional.

Some players may have decided to play lower denomination machines. Many of the nickel and penny slot machines have a higher hit frequency, which means you will have many smaller wins but not asmany big jackpots.

How To Help Your Payback Percentages

If you still honestly believe that your casino is lowering the return rate on the slot machines you have several courses of action. The easiest thing to do is to play the older machines. It isdoubtful that a casino would go through the expense of putting a new chip in an older machine to lower the return rate. You can try a new casino. You may find that your luck is better at adifferent casino and a change is your routine will let you enjoy some new experiences.

You can switch to video poker. It is the only machine game that will let you know the payback of the machine by readingthe pay table. However, if you do decide to try video poker, make sure you learn the strategy or get a strategy card to bring along with you when you play.

Switch to the table games. Playing table games is exciting and they offer a lower house edge than the slot machines. Many casinos give free table game lessons so you can learn the basics beforeyou sit down.

Let me close by saying again that I do believe that there will be some machines on the casino floors with lower returns, however, I do not believe that is as widespread as the rumors would haveyou believe. The casinos are in competition with each other for your business so they do not want to alienate the players by offering games where nobody can win.

As a customer/player you always have the option of taking your business elsewhere. The ultimate decision of where to play is entirely up to you.
Until next time remember, luck comes and goes.....knowledge stays forever.

If you have been to Las Vegas, Macau, or Monaco (or Mayfair for that matter) you might have noticed on your travels that most casinos don´t have clocks.

Why is that? Do they have an aversion to telling the time or something? Well, it´s a marketing ploy of course, along the same line as the Muzak you´ll hear drilling into your brain at a shopping mall. The main aim of this practice is to help you to forget the time and stay in the casino longer.
And the longer you are in the casino, the more chance they have of winning some money off you. If you have scooped the jackpot, the casino is not going to claw any of its money back if you leave!

There´s an easy remedy to this- always wear a watch! Casinos want you to forget about the time and just lose yourself in the games. Set a time limit (or even an alarm!) for your session. Beat them at their own game.

The most successful players are those that employ a “Hit and Run” strategy (The late Kerry Packer, one of the world´s most famous casino high rollers who loved to play baccarat and was a past master at this. Think of yourself as a member of a crack commando unit (you can even “Go Commando” if you must, it´s hot in Vegas).

Make a plan before you go in. Blitz in to the casino and stick to your profit/stop loss plan to the letter. High tail it out of there when you have hit your numbers! Remember, these days, there are plenty of other great things to see in these towns (particularly on The Strip)- go to a show or a great restaurant, for example. Mix it up!

Most casinos don´t have windows either (again, a trick of the trade to help you lose your sense of time). And you´ll notice that the ambient lighting dims and brightens at wierd intervals to give you the impression that the sun is still up. (One noteable and refreshing exception to this is the new Wynn Encore in Las Vegas which does have windows by some of its gaming tables. Halelujah for all of us who aren´t vampires or zombies).

Other tricks that you might want to be aware of:

– The dealers are very fast, the slots are fast- everything is fast! The casinos want you to play fast, as they need to “churn” through your money to have a chance of taking it off you. Set your own pace! Play as slow as you like (you might need to pick it up at the blackjack tables, but if you are playing slots, you make
the decision when to hit the buttons. if you are playing roulette, sit out a few games).

– It´s not just Club Tropicana where the drinks are free. The casinos love a drunk, so drink with moderation when you are betting. It´s the same theory as getting behind the wheel of a car: Don´t Drink and Bet! It just makes you too confident and you´ll end up making silly bets.

– The casinos will want to change your money into chips as soon as possible. Why? Because it doesn´t feel like real money. Most people are looser with chips than actual notes. If you played roulette by placing $10 bills on the table rather than chips, do you think you would bet so much? So..play the casinos at their own game. If you do have a big win- change the chips back into notes as soon as you can and put the notes in your wallet. You can always change them back if you want (but I bet you don´t). If you keep the chips too long, you´ll just end up betting them.

– One last tip. Do you know how you can avoid all of these dastardly tricks when playing at a casino? Play at an online casino! (But then we would say that, wouldn´t we).