Well, there it is. The payback schedule on the front of the video-poker machines in Atlantic City can not be considered as an unquestionably accurate gauge as to the playability of a particular Atlantic City machine. It is theoretically possible to have a machine that appears to have a positive expectation when, in reality, it would be returning the minimum 83% because the programming is variable. Because video-poker machines in Atlantic City are considered slot machines, the payout schedule should be viewed just the way a payout schedule is viewed on a regular slot machine—as informational material only, not as an indication of the percentages inherent in the game.

Next, I spoke to Rex Carlson, Laboratory Manager of the Nevada Gaming Control. He assured me that the video-poker machines in Nevada must conform to the random shuffle principle "of a 52 card deck" and that "the programming cannot have any secondary decisions in it. If the royal flush is about to be dealt the machine can't say, 'No royal on this hand.' The machine also can't say, 'I've given out too many paybacks today, I'd better cut back on winning hands.'"

Then I asked him if the payout schedule is the only way a casino can get the edge in Nevada machines. "Yes," he confirmed. "If a player understands how to read the chart, the player can determine exactly what he faces, unlike a regular slot machine where the percentages are unknown." Had he ever heard of variable programming for video-poker machines? "Yes, in other areas of the country and in foreign countries you might find these machines but they violate the law in Nevada. Video poker in Nevada is a game of skill and luck. That skill factor must be there for a machine to be a video-poker machine. They are not slot machines."

Now, many of you who play in Atlantic City will be faced with a dilemma—should you continue to play? My guess— and it's only a guess mind you—is that most of the machines in Atlantic City are exactly like the ones in Las Vegas— that is they use a random shuffle with no variable programming and no secondary decisions, and the payout schedule is the deciding factor in determining the casino's edge. Why do I think this? A quick perusal of the payback charts shows that Atlantic City machines are rarely full pay. Most are ranging from 92% to 96% if the payout schedule is accurate. The average payback for all Atlantic City slot devices is approximately 92%. These are bad bets for the player and great money makers for the casinos. The Atlantic City machines are manufactured and programmed by the same companies that service Nevada—would it really be necessary to include a variable program in the Atlantic City video-poker machines to reduce them a few more percentage points—even though such a practice would be allowed? Hopefully, no. The operant word here is—hopefully.

Thus, if you are playing an Atlantic City video-poker machine with a 93% payback based on its payout chart, there's a decent chance that it is indeed a 93% payback and that all the sequences are in the programming based on their actual probability. (Why you would be playing this machine after reading this book is beyond me!) However, what if you should find that rare Atlantic City machine that seems to be a full payback? Here would be the opportunity for the casino to use a machine that makes "second decisions" and changes the percentages. Dilemma time. The seemingly better-paying machines might just be the worst paying ones! And the machine would be legal—rigged against you, misleading you, yes, but legal nevertheless.

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