When a $5 side bet turns into $2.2 million.

**str** · 07-25-24, 10:17 AM

Hey Nasher,

Serious question. Never been a Vegas guy but...Doesn't this happen at key times like just before football season? Or, maybe there are so many "key" times, no matter when it happens, it seems like that.

It is great advertising when it hits so it would seem.

What do you think?

**slewfan** · 07-25-24, 10:33 AM

Originally posted by str

Hey Nasher,

Serious question. Never been a Vegas guy but...Doesn't this happen at key times like just before football season? Or, maybe there are so many "key" times, no matter when it happens, it seems like that.

It is great advertising when it hits so it would seem.

What do you think?

I'm sure by the time a hand like this hits. The casino will take in 3 or 4 times that amount. If it were not profitable, it definitely would not be offered. As is with the Poker Machines. A machine will generally take in 40 to 50 thousand before a Royal Flush of 4000 dollars pays out.

We are told both are random, but I'm not buying it for a second. The machines are generally set for a specific take. The card have a different randomness to them. But the percentages are built in 'for', and always 'for' the house.

It all works on probability with a possibility that anything can happen.

I'm not speaking for Nasher. Just what I've experienced.

**str** · 07-25-24, 11:08 AM

Originally posted by slewfan

I'm sure by the time a hand like this hits. The casino will take in 3 or 4 times that amount. If it were not profitable, it definitely would not be offered. As is with the Poker Machines. A machine will generally take in 40 to 50 thousand before a Royal Flush of 4000 dollars pays out.

We are told both are random, but I'm not buying it for a second. The machines are generally set for a specific take. The card have a different randomness to them. But the percentages are built in 'for', and always 'for' the house.

It all works on probability with a possibility that anything can happen.

I'm not speaking for Nasher. Just what I've experienced.

This seems to make perfect sense. I did realize that they were set to payoff at roughly a certain amount but totally with you that it might be hard for a casino to not cook the books with. Can't believe they wouldn't.

Those darn percentages. Lol. Like so many insurances, if company's did not have a solid mathematical edge, they wouldn't pay advertising to offer it.
It's never easy is it?

I Appreciate the feedback .

And I was a huge Slew fan as well back in the day. What a monster he was.

He was on the real short list of all time greats.

**Optional** · 07-25-24, 11:21 AM

Originally posted by slewfan

I'm sure by the time a hand like this hits. The casino will take in 3 or 4 times that amount. If it were not profitable, it definitely would not be offered. As is with the Poker Machines. A machine will generally take in 40 to 50 thousand before a Royal Flush of 4000 dollars pays out.

We are told both are random, but I'm not buying it for a second. The machines are generally set for a specific take. The card have a different randomness to them. But the percentages are built in 'for', and always 'for' the house.

It all works on probability with a possibility that anything can happen.

I'm not speaking for Nasher. Just what I've experienced.

I don't think this is correct.

The randomness of what is displayed on each reel genuinely is random during normal game play on all machines that are approved in Nevada (and everywhere as far as I know)

The only adjustment operators can make to change the return percentage is via altering the pay table amounts.

It's easy to get paranoid and think otherwise after hours of play watching reels, but it's not a complicated, or even very electronic system, used to choose the outcomes. It's a simple table that maps each possible reel position to potential numbers to set a fixed % likely hood of the outcome. Then the famous RNG just picks a random number for each reel.

The actual RNG would have to be designed to cheat, and thats why that part of the code is audited and certified as not having that capability bult in to it.

**stevenash** · 07-25-24, 11:30 AM

@Slew and STR

When I first read that piece earlier these two things immediately popped into my head.

a) 2.2 mil is chump change to mega resorts like a Venetian, 2.2 mil to them is 'petty cash'.
Putting that perspective, 2.2 million is pretty much 0.05 percent of what I earn in a year.

b) The publicity alone off of this big score is worth at least double that 2.2 million.

*Hypothetical*
Husband and wife are in Las Vegas for a nice get away four-day vacation, they're on the Boulevard doing touristy things.
Joe says to Martha "There's the Venetian, that's the place where somebody hit that gigantic side bet, let's check it out, it looks like a nice place..."

PT Barnum (The greatest showman of all time, don't you know) coined the phrase "There's no such thing as bad publicity".
Meaning it's always preferable to have attention placed on a name (or place) good or bad, then go completely unnoticed.

That's what's being taught in remedial Marketing 101 for the past 100 years.

**Thefix13** · 07-25-24, 12:32 PM

Originally posted by stevenash

@Slew and STR

When I first read that piece earlier these two things immediately popped into my head.

a) 2.2 mil is chump change to mega resorts like a Venetian, 2.2 mil to them is 'petty cash'.
Putting that perspective, 2.2 million is pretty much 0.05 percent of what I earn in a year.

You make 4.4 billion per year? They really know how to take care of moderators on here.

**slewfan** · 07-25-24, 01:01 PM

Originally posted by Optional

I don't think this is correct.

The randomness of what is displayed on each reel genuinely is random during normal game play on all machines that are approved in Nevada (and everywhere as far as I know)

The only adjustment operators can make to change the return percentage is via altering the pay table amounts.

It's easy to get paranoid and think otherwise after hours of play watching reels, but it's not a complicated, or even very electronic system, used to choose the outcomes. It's a simple table that maps each possible reel position to potential numbers to set a fixed % likely hood of the outcome. Then the famous RNG just picks a random number for each reel.

The actual RNG would have to be designed to cheat, and thats why that part of the code is audited and certified as not having that capability bult in to it.

I was speaking mainly of what the 'poker machines' pay. They are set to percentage payouts like you said. There are machines with 98.9% payouts and there are others as advertised.

There are various payouts adjusting the percentages depending on where you play. Some places, mostly the bars have a 35 coin payout (7 for 1) on a full house. Most Casino's, mainly the local places have a 45 coin payout. (9 for 1). The flush and straights may vary also. But the 4 of a kinds and up remain basically the same everywhere.

Poker machines can be set for specific percentage payouts. I never play reels so I do not know how they operate. Some places are more liberal with their slots. Usually this is where the locals go.

**stevenash** · 07-25-24, 01:19 PM

Originally posted by Thefix13

You make 4.4 billion per year? They really know how to take care of moderators on here.

Allow me to correct myself as I inadvertently misspoke.

What I was trying to say is I earn a tad over 100k a year, compared to 2.2 million is just about 0.5 percent, or in other words for me to earn 2.2 million it would take me about 20 years to do so.

I'm also a blogger, I also read other blogs written from people I respect about subject material that interests me, that's how I came across this story.

The point I'm trying to make is I have a qualified editor (my wife, who has a degree in English) she'll edit anything that I submit on my site, when it comes to posting at SBR, I don't use an editor, so I'm prone to make a mistake or two.

Good catch, I have no problems with others (in this case you) calling me out when I do mix up a pronoun with a preposition, or if I misplace a decimal point.

All good

**Debi** · 07-25-24, 03:17 PM

Holy shit - they must have nearly passed out lol.

**TheGoldenGoose** · 07-25-24, 04:58 PM

Nice hit!!!

**Eddy Munny** · 07-25-24, 08:15 PM

Originally posted by TheGoldenGoose

Nice hit!!!

Thanks!!

**mjsuax13** · 07-25-24, 11:48 PM

Venetian generates about $5 million in revenue and over $1 million in profit each day. This is great marketing and advertising for them.

**wombat** · 07-26-24, 01:43 AM

All paigow jackpots are progressive payouts which means the players have to insert an extra dollar on every hand and the casino uses this to pay out the jackpot. This means the casino is not losing any money regardless of how many of times the jackpots are paid out. They’re only using the money in that progressive to pay it out.

The normal pai gow Progressive jackpot averages around $200k – $500k. The odds of being dealt a seven card straight flush hand is around 600,000/1. It is very rare for it to reach over $2 million which shows how incredibly difficult it is to be dealt this hand.