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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Slot Machine Return Percentages in Jean & Primm, Nevada

Last Update: Jan 29, 2002

The following table ranks the Jean and Primm casinos according to the looseness of their video display reeled nickel slot machines. For those who are not up on their southern Nevada geography, Jean and Primm lay about 30 and 40 miles south west of Las Vegas on the I-15. They cater to the soutern California gamblers who want to gamble as soon as they cross the state line and don't want to drive the extra half hour to Vegas.

An explanation of the methodology can be found in a href="/games/slots/appendix/3a/">Appendix 3A ranking the Las Vegas casinos.

Jean/Primm 5 cent machines
Rank	Casino	Location	Average Return
1	Gold Strike	Jean	91.58%
2	Nevada Landing	Jean	91.11%
3 (tie)	Whiskey Pete's	Primm	90.08%
3 (tie)	Primm Valley	Primm	90.08%
3 (tie)	Buffalo Bills	Primm	90.08%

Observations: It is probably not a coincidence that the three Primm casinos are tied. They are all MGM/Mirage casinos and share a common monorail system. They also have a very similar slot mix. Of the five machines I looked for I found the same four at all three casinos. The Nevada Landing and Gold Strike are both Mandalay Bay casinos and very much alike. The only reason they differ in return is likely due only to the slot machine mix. Machines that I found at both properties were set to the same return. However I found one variety of machine at the Gold Strike I didn't find at the Nevada Landing, which had a higher than average return.

Go to a href="/games/slots/appendix/3a/">Appendix 3A (Las Vegas slot rankings).

Go back to slot machines.

Internal Links

Appendix 1 shows the details and analysis of almost 4000 actual spins on a Reno slot machine.
Appendix 2 shows an example of the virtual reels behind a hypothetical slot machine and how the average return is calculated.
Appendix 3A: 2003 Las Vegas slot machine rankings.
Appendix 3B: 2002 Jean/Primm slot machine rankings.
Appendix 3C: 2002 Tunica slot machine rankings.
Appendix 3D: 2002 Henderson/Lake Mead slot machine rankings.
Appendix 3E: 2002 Quarter and dollar returns for Las Vegas slots
Appendix 4 shows how the return is calculated for my Wizard's Fruit Slot Machine.
Appendix 5 analysis of the 21 Bell Slot Machine.
Appendix 6 Analysis of Red, White, & Blue Slot Machine.
Lock and Roll analysis of the skill-based slot machine found in North Carolina.
Deconstructing Megabucks.
Baltimore Sun article, in which I am quoted.