VIDEO POKER

Evaluating Station's Boarding Pass

"Why?" I was asked. "They don't have many good games and they don't have cashback. Why wouldn't you play at the various Coast casinos instead? They each offer hundreds of over-100% games and have a cash slot club. Since you have the reputation of only playing video poker when you have the advantage, it seems like a no-brainer to play at Coast rather than Station."

First of all, let me say we play at least some at a lot of casinos, including the various Station and Coast properties, Palms, Golden Nugget, and others. Casinos in Vegas are very competitive and over two dozen of them have at least some games over 100%. No casino in Vegas is head-and-shoulders above the pack, and most players play at more than one place.

Second, while Station's Boarding Pass doesn't offer same-day cashback, it does offer dependable bounceback cash. Regular players earn up to $300 a month. I don't know the minimum standards to earn $300 a month, but playing at a level to always maintain Presidential status (i.e. $75,000) monthly has been enough. Earning $300 for $75,000 of play is worth .4% --- which compares very favorably to Coast's normal .25% which becomes .50% when doubled. (The fact that the Coast system is based on coin-out and the Station system is based on coin-in is essentially irrelevant.)

At Station, this $75,000 translates into somewhere between 75,000 and 300,000 Boarding Pass points (depending whether you played on single point days, double point days, triple point days, quadruple point days, or a little bit of each. These multiple-point days DO NOT change the maximum of $300 per month in bounceback cash.) Three hundred thousand Boarding Pass points is worth somewhere between $300 and $500, depending on how you use them. At Coast, in addition to the $187.50 to $375 in cash back you'd earn on this much play (depending whether you did it during single points or double points), the only additional benefits you'd receive would be a sheet of coupons in the mail generally worth less than $100 monthly.

In terms of the number of good games offered, there is no doubt that each Coast casino offers a higher number of these than any Station casino. The relevant factor, however, is whether there are "enough" good games of the type you like to play available when you want to play them? For example, all six of Palace Station's quarter full pay Deuces Wild machines occasionally are full, whereas all of Gold Coast's over 100 machines never are. But most of the time a seat can be found at either place.

If you just look at the total benefit package, probably Station returns more than Coast. There's a catch, though. At Coast, the cash back is "same day" meaning you can go get it whenever the slot club booth is open --- which just happens to be 24/7. At Station, your bounceback cash comes in up to six coupons that must be cashed during specific time periods --- perhaps from Monday through Thursday, or from Saturday to Sunday. This requires frequent trips to the casino, which easy for some people and a burden to others. In addition, at Station the cash must be played through the machines at least once. Some people come in, play the minimum amount to collect their cash, and then leave. Many people continue to play --- which is the whole idea from Station's point of view.

Which slot club is better? Each system has its own advantages and disadvantages, and each has a group of players that love it and hate the other. From my point of view it doesn't matter because it isn't an "either-or" choice. Shirley and I are playing enough at Sunset Station to earn $300 a month in bounceback cash (and an essentially infinite amount of meals "in the bank") and I periodically play at various Coast properties during their double point days. We'll let others worry about which is better, but if I had to grade either slot club with an A, B, C, D, or F --- both of these would receive an A.