Page 14 - July 2006 • Southern California Gaming Guide

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
The Price of Convenience by Bill Burton
Several months ago my nephew came to me seeking nancial advice. He is a recent college graduate living on his own and working full time. But he complained he never seemed to have enough money at the end of the month after he paid his rent, student loans,
car payment and “daily living expenses.” I told him to write down every penny he spent for an entire month. Doing this would show him where his money was going.
A Costly Convenience
For some players, however, the coinless slots can be more costly. When you used to hand-feed coins into a slot machine, you were playing at a slower rate. is means you were risking less money against the house edge. When you put a bill in, you just start playing credits which can be played at a very fast rate.
e coinless system may also be costly to some players who are more inclined to play o credits instead of cashing them out. When a player gets down to their last dollar or two, they may nd that it is more convenient to play o the money instead of cashing out. When you cashed out coins, you could slip them in your pocket and walk away; but when you are paid with a voucher you have to take it to the cage and convert it back to cash.
Playing o a dollar or two may not seem like much, but if you play a lot of slots this can add up to quite a bit during the year. Like my nephew who was too lazy to make his lunch, you might just nd you are paying quite a price for not walking to the cage.
Until next time, remember: “Luck comes and goes...Knowledge Stays Forever.”
Bill Burton is the Casino Gambling Guide and columnist for the Internet portal About.com, located at http://casinogambling.about.com He is the author of 1000 Best Casino Gambling Secrets and Get the Edge at Low Limit Texas Hold’em available online at www.billburton.com. He is an instructor for Golden Touch Craps, http://www.thecrapsclub.com.
At the end of the month he was surprised that some of his “daily living expenses” included over $125 a month eating lunch out every day even though his company had a lunch room with a refrigerator where he could keep a lunch brought from home. He was spending another $60 a month getting a soda from the machine rather than bringing his own from home. He paid $2.00 for a co ee each morning instead of bringing a travel mug from home. He was spending over $250 a month just because it was convenient.
Money Saving Convenience
Just because something is convenient does not necessarily mean it is more expensive. Many times it depends on how you make use of the convenience. One of the most convenient changes to casinos over the last few years has been the Ticket In Ticket Out (tito) coinless slot machines. All of the new machines being made have this feature. It is a convenience to the casinos for several reasons.
Casinos can cut labor costs. If there are no coins involved, casinos are able to cut down on the number of change people. ey do not need an army of employees who empty the machines each night after most of us have crept to bed. ere is also no need forthe“hardcount”roomwhereallthecoinsmustbe sorted and counted. ey also are able to cut back on slot attendants whose primary function was taking care of hopper lls and coin jams.
e advent of the tito system has made it possible for multi-denomination machines and penny slot games that would not have been practical if coins were needed. is is also a convenience for players, who in some instance can switch denominations without having to change machines.
Another player convenience is not having to wait for a hopper ll if the machine runs out of coins when they cash out. Players also do not have to handle dirty coins and lug heavy buckets of coins to the cashier’s cage when they win.
Page 14 July 2006
About Gambling with Bill Burton