I live in Washington State and the tribal casinos here use machines that are controlled by servers that are loaded with what is essentially an electronic scratch ticket. I had a lengthy conversation with an agent at the Washington State Gaming Commission who explained that each bet level has a predetermined set of numbers (from one million to five million) and each bet retrieves the next set in line. The creator of those number sets can therefore determine in advance what the percentage return will be for the life of the game. Also important to know: if a casino has 30 machines tied to that one server, then everyone playing one of those machines (at the same bet level) draws from the same set of numbers. Different than an RNG, and leading to the phrase, "Vegas-STYLE gaming." Also, while the casinos have agreed to a minimum 75% payout in our state, the agent said in his 10+years, he hasn't seen any that have less than a low-90% payout, so the reality is a bit better than what's legally required.
Couple of experiences in the casino I go to. 1) never hear a ringing bell from a jackpot, 2) never hear a person yelling for joy, 3) they pull progressive machines before the top prize is ever hit. I could go on but....... Thanks for your videos!!
At the tribal casino I work at, they have monitors all over the place that show jackpots (including the amount) over $1200 won. Those go off usually several times per hour. I can vouch that they are real wins and not just random things they throw up there just to get people to play.
I was playing live roulette at an Indian Casino around 7 years ago. The croupier spun the ball, it began to fall and stood up straight on the top of the fret between #4 and #16 (American Wheel). Now I'm no physics major, but the only way this could've happened is if a magnet was in play. I know this is about slot machines, but I no longer played in Indian casinos after witnessing what I did.
They didn't say a word, the pit boss was called over, loudly stated no spin, and picked the ball up and placed it in the previous winning number slot. I regret not getting my phone out, and taking a picture. I would've had to send it to someone quickly though because they can take your phone I believe. I was just in shock, I couldn't believe what I was seeing
Some have said the tables have scales to determine where the bets are placed... fishy when the table is loaded but it lands on the number nobody bet on... FISHY
I live near Winstar and Choctaw and they are huge properties and I can agree with all the points. My wife and I usually get equal amount of comps in free play or food or hotel rooms. But thank you for putting on great content
I went to my local tribal casino, Chumash, and had a great time using your info. Very nice staff, clean environment, loads of machines, and i moved up a tier and broke even after 3 hours of play…my goal. Thanks Cowboy!!!
I live in a small county in Northern California and I have a tribal casino 1.7 miles away, another 5 miles away, another one 12 miles away and two about 35 miles away. I appreciate these tips because I have always been curious about these things. There is another casino about 75 miles away, Graton Casino, that is co-owned by the Graton Rancheria and the Station Casino group in Vegas. It's a huge casino. I heard it's the worse paying casino in California, but they are very protective of their information. Even during Covid they were the only casino in the area to not release their Covid numbers, but employees said there were a lot of outbreaks started there. My ex got Covid from there and almost died. Although I don't fully blame the casino, she was a gambling addict and an alcoholic. The more she lost the drunker she got and the less she would keep her mask on.
Odds in ca. are really bad. I've played a dozen casinos here and never had a win worth talking about. I walked the floor at yammava, a huge casino, and didn't see any big winners. No one is waiting for attendees, no one being hand paid.
I think the Sacramento area has one of the most competitive markets with nine Tribal casinos that I know of, not to mention its proximity to the loose slots in Reno.
I really appreciate what you are doing with your channel. I was just in Las Vegas and had great luck using your advice. Question? I live in Washington State and we seem to have strange laws regarding “slot machines”. They aren’t RNG nor are they HHR. They are based on our lottery scratch tickets. As far as I have learned the “slots” here are all basically “pre determined”. Are you familiar with how any of this works? Thank you again and keep up the great work providing quality content!
Those are Video lottery terminals, they may look and act like slot machines but they are actually not classified as a slot nor do they work the same. Since they are not slot machines, it’s something we will have to research a different way in the future.
South Dakota is the same. While we do have several regular tribal casinos, which I have really good luck at, most of the local bars and restaurants have the video lottery games. I don't play those very often because I just don't know enough about how they work. Would love to hear more about them and how they operate!
WA resident here, what part of the state or which casinos are you referring to Justin? I've noticed the little bingo card thing in the bottom corner of Buffalo Gold, not sure if that's what you're talking about. Anyway, good luck.
Interesting fact about tribal casino at Thackerville, OK (Winstar). When I called to determine if they had class 2 or class 3 type slots. They told me they actually have both. When I asked how I could determine which machines were class 3, I was told to locate a slot technician on the floor and ask them.
I respectfully disagree, their Artificial Intelligence that sets “payout percentages “ so not interfering with the RNG? Still, super tight at Indian casinos. I live between NV & CA, trust me, the difference in payouts is mind boggling. Vegas baby! 😂❤️💯
I agree! We take $1000 to Pechanga casino in Temecula, CA and lose it in 3 hours while our $1000 lasts two days and even win in Vegas! Vegas baby indeed!! 😂
Great channel.... Here in Oregon if a tribe wants to have more than one casino, all they have to do is buy the machine s with the bingo feature, then it's a "bingo parler "
On asking questions on the class of machines.. here at fire rock casino in gallup, New Mexico, well, not answer that question instead you be asked to leave
The biggest beef I have with both Winstar and Choctaw is how stingy they are in their comp system. Both tribes only give partial comp credit for all their "red screen" VGT games. And the Chickasaw nation doesn't even offer a global players club that covers all of their properties. ( I think Chickasaw does) So you cant even go next door to Border Casino and earn comps in a place that has 2,500 slots.
Guys, thank you for your straight forward and reliable candor regarding slot machine gambling and budget management. Clearly it is not rocket science, but it is common sense - and that is the sound advice that you two put out in a friendly, mature and useful fashion.
Hello Bradley, But Winstar uses a server based system and can change the payouts on their machines? We have gone there for several years and they have good days and poor days Casino wide. Just wondering what is going on there? Thanks so much for your videos and yes we have won jackpots using your tips which are so helpful! When are you going to Winstar? would like to meet you Bro. Thanks Dale
You are right! I live a hour away so I go there because they are close. I’ve been there when the servers went down. It was a disaster! Back in the day the servers were in a location that could be seen by the people in the casino. I feel like they change the odds we ever they feel like it. At 2 in the afternoon you might get almost no play except on the lowest bet amounts. Then at 7 pm they become better and friendlier to a max bet. After 20 years of seeing this I would need them to prove otherwise
Just found your channel a couple of day ago. Love the channel. Was just driving through WY a few weeks ago wish I had run into you. Learning a lot about slots from you, thank you!
$1200 dollar "Jackpots" used to be a lot of money, the government REALLY needs to raise the amount of a hand pay that requires a W2-G. Yea, I know you are supposed to report ALL winnings on taxes but personally I thinks it's BS that the government gets anything but that's life I guess.
I believe this as I live in CT very close to Foxwood's Casino and Mohegan Sun Casino...I get better promotion deals from Foxwood's vs Mohegan! Told them so too, now I have the best of both Tribals.. 😆😆😂🤑🤑💰👍
1:23 As a card counter from Oklahoma who also happens to be allergic to cigarette smoke, I wish that nearby tribal casinos would compete for my business by offering a smoke-free experience.
I work at a class 2 tribal casino and majority of our machines are 1 cent denomination, this casino is the only one I've ever been too and this is my first job, I believe we go against other players online, any tips on what to say to a new player/customer would be appreciated, my social skills aren't the greatest and I often wonder how I got this job😅
Thanks for always giving us very useful information and making us better players! Was thinking of driving to Wyoming and playing at Rose casino and the Wynn? Are they big casinos? Could you do a video with a view of both casinos inside?
id be happy to! I will be back there later this month after G2E. The rose is fairly small but wind river is much larger. Both of the casinos are within 30 min of each other.
Mostly competition. With so many different tribes and many in areas close to each other, they want to keep the numbers confidential. Keep in mind too that almost no casino actually publishes what the percentage programmed is. The states that share this data with the public are showing you reports from a period, money in vs money out, not what the machines are actually set at. People commonly confuse these reports with thinking that shows what the machines are actually set at, when that’s not the case.
Is this a myth Cowboy? I heard that Indian Casinos pay NO taxes...please clarify. If they do not pay taxes why? If they do pay taxes, what %. If they do not pay taxes, does the staff pay taxes out of their wages anyway? Thanks! Just got back from Vegas for 5 days. Put $100 in a penny Double Diamond $1.80/spin. Got it up to $500 & took it to high limit area in Brian Christopher slots area. $12.50 betting and got a $2,195 hand pay! Then yesterday hit a Major within the dropping balls for over $751!!! I would never have bet $12.50 /spin if I didn't have the $500 I got from your helpful tips and what machines to "trust"...
Hey Bella! Thanks for your comment and for sharing your winning story! To answer your question, it's actually not a myth for majority of Indian casinos. Since tribal land is considered Sovereign territory they do not owe a debt to the federal government and thus do not have to pay taxes. But with the tribes that have state compacts, they will usually have to owe the state something. It gets kinda tricky on that. Most Indian casinos do not pay taxes if they are classified a specific way. The staff however will have to pay taxes out of their paychecks, but I would have to double check to verify if tribal member employees have to pay taxes (I believe they dont but need to clarify that).
Hey man going to Vegas first time on Wednesday.. i was thinking to gamble at park mgm but since its a newer hotel i think they don't have many old slot? Mgm grand should be better right? THANK YOU
Hey Al! ParkMGM is really nice and has a great selection of games. High limit is small but they do have some old school slots both in high limits and on the regular floor. great customer service there! Have fun and best of luck!
@@CowboySlots thank you so much ive been watching many of your videos lately. I didnt know much about slots at all but now i feel like an expert >.< I will make sure to tell everyone about your chanel thanks again
I went to my Tribal casino & asked if they allow video cameras(for YT channels) and sadly they do not - has a lot to do with "Privacy" issues and their rules. So Sorry 😢😢😢
Many casinos hold two licenses for various reasons. For example in Arizona, all slot machines are class 3 but majority of facilities hold both licenses because a class 2 license is required for operating a bingo hall. In Oklahoma, Winstar has both licenses but for the opposite reason. The use class 2 machines but need to hold a class 3 license to offer table games. There are only a very select few casinos that will run both types of machines. Always remember with licensing, it doesnt just have to do with the machines, but often times other types of games they may offer.
Hi there, great content! Random question, let’s say you’re playing at a bank of 3 machines (that have a linked progressive jackpot). If that progressive/linked jackpot hits, does it only affect the rtp accounting for the machine that it was triggered on? Or would it be “split” equally across each machine in the bank? Hopefully this question makes sense, thank you.
@@CowboySlots any idea if this would also apply to only the denomination it was hit on? In another video I think you mentioned that each denomination has its own record. And I think lightning machines sometimes have a shared major across multiple denoms? If it’s hit on 1 cent, nothing else is affected?
@@CowboySlots I live in a tiny town on the Washington coast. We are adjacent to the Quinault tribe. The day we came down to sign the papers for our house, on our way back, we stopped by the casino like we had stopped so many times before. I went in with $40, prepared to lose all $40. Because I was prepared to lose all $40 and we were in a hurry, I just bet the max. I hit a bonus round that respawned 4x. I walked away with five dollars shy of the jackpot, so no taxes. But still, $3500 in my pocket. I’ve had some decent luck in Vegas, but nothing like that.
