Reason #3 why the Wizard likes Bovada:

Excellent Odds

In my opinion many online casinos are too stingy when setting the odds on their games. They think they will make more money that way but I believe they are misguided, because when players lose too quickly it’s not fun, and those players might not come back.

Bovada is one of the few casinos that understands this. They offer generous odds to let you play longer and get you a better chance of winning. Among their generous offerings are Full-Pay Jacks or Better returning 99.54%, six other video poker games paying over 99%, single-zero roulette, and my favorite, Pick ’em Poker, returning 99.95%!

Kudos to Bovada for not being afraid to give their players a good gamble.

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Derby Horse Racing Game

Last Update: Jan 19, 2011

Introduction

Derby is an electronic horse racing game. One to 10 players sit around a racetrack as they watch 5 horses compete in race after race. With a bet as little as 25 cents and about 90 seconds between races this can definitely be a decent time killer -- if you can find one. The number of games out there is decreasing fast. It is only a matter of time before the game is completely extinct.

Picture courtesy of L.A. Slot Machine Company

Rules

The only betting option is the quinella, which is betting on the first and second place horses in either order. With 5 horses there are 10 possible combinations of the first 2, without regard to order.

At the close of one race the odds for the next race will be posted, which are on a "for one" basis. In other words the player doesn't get his original bet back. For example, the board may display the odds as follows, taken from a typical race at the Flamingo in Laughlin.

Typical Pay Table in Derby
Quinella	Pays
1,2	5
1,3	39
1,4	200
1,5	19
2,3	4
2,4	20
2,5	2
3,4	160
3,5	15
4,5	79

The player may bet from 1 to 20 quarters on each quinella. The smallest payoff is 2 for 1 and the largest is200 for 1, although not all races offer either of these. I have seen winnings both paid immediately and added to the player's credits.

House Edge

The following table shows the average house edge based on actual observations at various casinos. Unless otherwise noted each casino is in Las Vegas.

House Edge in Derby
Casino<	House Edge
Hilton	10.13%
Orleans	11.90%
MGM Grand	12.19%
New York New York	12.37%
Caesars Palace	14.90%
Imperial Palace	14.95%
Riviera	14.97%
Ballys	15.02%
Excalibur	15.09%
Luxor	15.32%
Frontier	20.14%

Note that the returns in the table above tend to fall in clusters. For example, Caesars Palace, Imperial Palace, Ballys, Excalibur, Flamingo Laughlin, and the Luxor are all in a tight range. I believe all these machines are set to the same long term return and race to race variation accounts for the small variation.

The house edge is calculated assuming each bet carries the same house edge. For more information on this method of calculation please see my futures in sports section.

Locations

MGM Grand, Las Vegas — Near the sports book.
MontBleu, South Lake Tahoe.