I too had difficulty getting on some of the downtown machines. But I think that's to be expected when new strikes come out right at convention time. Furthermore, I found that some of the folks who posted red caps on the auction sites were very gracious about trading with me when I couldn't get on the machine, or sold it to me at what certainly seemed to be a lower price than my cost of winning most other red caps at the convention. I didn't get the sense that they were trying to make much of a profit, especially given the amount of time required to win a red cap.

In the past, some casinos have put a limit on the number of chasers any one person could win. I only saw one such sign this year. But the limit was five, I think, not one. At other times, there has been a written waiting list for the machine, so that getting on a machine wouldn't be too much of a hit or miss. I'm not sure why there weren't any this year.

--Norm