‘Guaranteed Play’ offers more time for gambling

A new type of slot machine guarantees a certain
number of plays.

LAS VEGAS SUN

LAS VEGAS — Sometimes, slot machine makers think they’ve come up with a better mouse trap, and the mice don’t bite.

Consider this year’s introduction of a machine feature called “Guaranteed Play.”

It was hailed as a revolution in the casino industry — so promising it would even seduce gamblers who normally would walk right by slot machines.

It guarantees players a minimum number of hands or “spins” for their money. The lure for the gambler is that the guaranteed number of spins might be more than he would have had by playing the old-fashioned way until his money ran out.

There was talk of adding the guarantee feature to nearly every slot machine and table game because some gamblers value the time spent playing as entertainment and fear having it cut short by a losing streak.

But some gamblers didn’t buy the hype.

“I think it’s kind of weird,” said Steve Hogue, playing video poker and keno the other day at the Red Rock Resort. “I just didn’t get it.”

Guaranteed Play, offered in the Las Vegas area only at Station Casinos properties into next year, claims to offer video poker players the same odds as many regular, pay-per-hand games. But players can expect to often get more hands for their money, and thus more time, on a Guaranteed Play machine.

A poker machine, for example, promises quarter players 75 hands for $20 and dollar players 200 hands for $40.

Many players who prefer to while away time at the machines have gravitated toward “penny” slots, which extend gambling time by allowing wagers in smaller increments.

Guaranteed Play is a more radical step in that direction — drawing out play by promising a minimum number of spins for the initial bet.

That promise can appease some players who have complained a particular slot machine swallowed their money too quickly, Station executives say.

Still, some players aren’t feeling satiated, and some feel deceived — even cheated — by the games, because of how they handle payouts.

Doug, a Florida resident who wouldn’t give his last name, frequents Red Rock for video poker. But he quickly soured on Guaranteed Play because it requires gamblers to play through their hands before cashing out any positive balances

Also off-putting to gamblers: The credit meter starts with a zero balance and heads into negative numbers as losses grow, as opposed to credit meters on traditional slots, which begin with the positive balance of the gambler’s deposit and remain in positive territory until, at worst, zero credits remain.

Either way, the same amount of money would have been lost, but one is more painful to watch.