Maybe I'm just venting a little bit, but I found the Strike machines to be as tight as they have ever been. With the price of Silver on the rise, perhaps that has something to do with it. I found the 3 machines that dispense $40 strikes most intriquing and undoubtly the most expensive to win. Each machine was noted to be different and maybe IGT is experimenting on various types. I'd like to offer comments on each of them in order of when I played them.

1. Wynn

The only machine reminisant of the old "7"'s type machine, it was refreshing to see, it dispenses $40 and $10 strikes by hitting the corresponding symbol in the third slot. I began to watch the gentleman throw hundreds into the machine. The first hundred dollars yielded no strikes. But he did win the $40 strike during the second hundred. I estimate he played $350 and won that one $40 strike and seven $10 strikes. He noted that he had to go to lunch, but he spun the machine enough so that it was probably due to hit the next $40 soon. So I played a $100 too, and it did hit a $40 strike after about $30 of play. The machine then took the next $70 with no strikes. I played another $40 and it did hit a $10 strike and I took my receipt for $19.00 and let another guy play. This guy owns an Ebay shop and was playing for the strikes to sell. He played $200 and won 6 $10 strikes. I then played another $40 with no strikes. The next player was a lady who played $100, she even hit an apparent rare mixed 7's for 160 credits and played that down to zero with one strike. I felt fortunate to win that one $40 strike but with these statistics it is obvious this silver strike machine is hard to hit and look at the $$ you need to play to win one.

2. Fremont

The $10 machine was down, so I decided to sit with this one dollar a spin machine that requires you to line up three silver strike symbols on the center payline. I played $40 intervals. What was interesting here was that I never once hit a mixed bar winner. What I did hit was countless cherry/ double diamond winners for $20 credits. I ended up playing a total of $120 with no strike and I sat there a long time. Those $20 credit winners kept me going and going. See this machine is slick, because these silver strike symbols take up space on the payline reducing your chance for bar winners. This is also the machine where I could see the reflections of a couple in the distance who were just waiting to pounce on it as soon as I left. You can see them as you look into the gold mirrored edges and they're like vultures waiting to take the strike when you run out of money or patience. Maybe that machine kept me going for 45 minutes on a $120, with no strike, how much can one afford to throw into it to win a $40 strike?? Well I left really upset, talking to myself calling the Fremont nothing but theives, went to 4Q took one strike went back to Fremont 10 minutes later and it was hit, the tubes had moved and maybe I should learn to play that game too?

3. Mandalay Bay

This machine had been down the entire week I was there, well the day I left Vegas, my flight was at 5 o'clock, took a chance and went back to MB, well that was a mistake. Theres the machine up and running, all the tubes just packed with $40 strikes. Its a three line machine, but I'm going for broke here and I threw a hundred into this one. I played three dollars a spin and it took the hundred in faster than $10 minutes. So I have a dollar credit and I cashed out. I walked to the right to the $10 machine and amazingly hit a strike immediately for $2.00. And it was one I didn't have, so I kind of figured that my luck had turned and played another hundred at the $40 strike machine. During this sequence I did hit two sets of three double bars for $40 each. My credits was up over 125 at one point! Like big deal. But twenty minutes later or so, it took that hundred also. All I asked for was one $40 strike for $200 and no it couldn't give it to me. One strike before I get on the plane, to make me feel just a little better about it, but it left me angry, felt like it took my money and didn't even give me a chance. The machine kept playing with my mind, giving me the first two triple bars and then a cherry. Making lots of sounds like its going to payoff, but no. No strike here either. Again perhaps I was unlucky, but how much do I have to play to win one??

And how many years have I sat in Slots-A-Fun?, playing that old machine and now these new ones and on this trip with two visits to the casino I averaged over $23 a strike! And I might add its the only machine that still drops quarters out the bottom. Plus people won all those red caps that were there during my first visit and they were all gone by the time I got there again. How much money was thrown in that machine to win those strikes, I want to know?

Heres a 1st, I only visited the Palms once!, only restaurant strikes that no one wants. Where is their recurring sets that change 4 times a year? I used to be there daily, but not on this visit.

So after six days, I came home with the least amount of strikes ever. Fifteen $10 strikes and one $40 strike. The play left a real sour taste in my mouth and I didn't like it.

Bill Baird
SS-785