Florida Casino Information

I lived in Florida for 4 years and I must say for a casino player and more specifically a penny player like me, it was a rough period of time.

You have two options when it comes to slot play in Florida. You have either the Seminole Hard Rock Casinos in Hollywood and Tampa or your choice of casino boat cruises. This has changed some since my time in Florida with the new laws allowing slot play at race tracks in Broward County and other counties so there are now more options. For more information read this article from the Florida Casino Report website

I had the pleasure of going to both Hard Rocks but spent most of my time in Tampa. I did actually get to go when it was still the Seminole Indian Gaming Palace. All I remember about it prior to the new management was it was very smokey and had games I had never seen before. It was then I learned the little trick to Florida land-based gaming.

As some may know, Florida is a Class II machine base. Which means that the slot machines primary function is a bingo game. On the top of every player screen there is a standard 24 number bingo card. Before each spin, a number is drawn and a space is marked accordingly on your card. I'm not an expert so I wont dive deeper into the logistics of it all.

The main issue I have with this type of gaming is that there is a lag in play while you and others wait for this bingo number to be drawn. Yes, you do occasionally get a bingo and win some minuscule amount of money, but its just annoying. Always confused me how I would get odd numbers on a nickel machine, $5,27 or so.

Now after the Hard Rock joined up with the Seminole Gaming place to become the Seminole Hard Rock Casinos, the games did get more modernized with games like Little Green Men, Tex Tea, Jackpot Party, and Wheel of Fortune being added to random pull tab type machines and penny machines started to appear more and more, the bingo game is still the main function of the machines. So now you have better games with more interactive bonus rounds but even more impatience with the lag time because of the Bingo function. At least its not as smokey as it used to be.

As for the casino cruises, or cruise to no where as Its been referred to, wow. The boats, at least the one I was on, are fairly large, and lots of the popular games but very, very, few penny machines.

It was interesting because its a completely different mentality of slot player. The basics of it is that when you first enter the ship all the games are off. This was the first time I have ever seen the machines not on. At the time I was used to 24 hour gaming but I have learned now that I'm in Colorado were casino are only 8 am - 2 am, that machines can be turned off. wow. I was wonder why everyone was fighting over chairs at the slot machines if they were all off.

Well once you get into international waters which is about 3o-45 minutes after you castoff, all the machines turn on. Like magic, all the chairs rotated and the coins started to drop. It was amazing. I have never felt like such a casino novice in my life. Be prepared, your on that ship for 4 hours no matter how long your bank roll lasts. Once the bank roll is gone, good luck.

Well that's about it for today, Ill be back later with specific reviews for each of these casinos but for the mean time check out the Florida Casino Report for specific information on gaming in Florida and casino reviews.

J

3 Coffee Mugs and a Stuffed Animal Later

What a title to a blog, but believe me It has a purpose. Now the date of this trip has been debated by all parties but the story is the same either way.

It was the Summer of 1998. My parents and I did a road trip from Oregon to Texas, over to Las Vegas, down to San Diego, and the home to Oregon. Lots of driving but allot of fun, until Las Vegas that is.

I was 18 at the time. As you can tell by some of my previous post, gambling is in my blood. Most, if not all, of my family gamble. My mother's side are the Slot players and my fathers side is the Black Jack and Horse racing crowd.

In Las Vegas we met up with my Aunt and Uncle from San Diego. We spend most of our time in Circus Circus so I, the 18 year old, can have something to do. By now I've done the circuit of kiddy games, Ive knocked over milk bottles to get 3 Circus Circus coffee mugs and Ive won the roller ball horse race game to get a stuffed animal, Ive wasted about 50 bucks on games, owe well at least I had fun......

We leave Vegas for San Diego, Ive got my mugs and an animal to keep me company on the 5 hour drive, yeah.

We have been at my uncles house for maybe an hour. I'm at the table playing on a laptop, when my uncle asks if we want to go to the casino. I'm sitting at the table looking at him going, I just sat in Vegas and watched you guys play why would I want to do that here too.

My uncle replies "you only have to be 18 to gamble at the Indian Casinos in California."

Wait, hold on a minute, you only have to be 18 in Cali, I'm going nuts. You couldn't have filled me in on this little detail about 3 coffee mugs and a stuffed animal ago.....

30 minutes later were sitting at the Barona Casino and I'm playing. Nervous as all heck, thinking I'm breaking the law or something, but playing.

Needless to say on future trips to Vegas, I didn't play the midway games, I didn't play the pinball machines, I just stood by, leaned against the 2nd floor rail at the Rio, and watch my parents play the machines below. Knowing that in just a few hours we would cross that magical state line that kept me from doing what I love, gamble.

J

Slots and Technology

Hey guys,

My site is all about Casino's and Slot machines but without the newest and latest technology we would still be pulling on one-armed bandits looking for cherries and bells, boring.

I try to keep up with technology as much as possible. My favorite resource has always been CNET.com. I used to watch cnet TV every Saturday back in Jr. High and High School. I just liked all the new crazy stuff that I would most likely never be able to afford.

Sometime last year CNET ran a contest to do a tech review video for a chance to win a trip to Las Vegas for the CES conference. This is the largest tech show in the world where tech companies display all the new products (except for Apple, whom runs its own show)

I wanted to enter the contest but Technology is a hobby, unlike casinos and slots which are my passion. If Casino Player or Strictly Slots were to run a competition like this, I'm in.

Anyway, the point to this blog is to bring attention to a new link on my site for www.techsmesssage.com. This site is ran by one of the winners for that CNET contest, Nate Lanxon. After winning the contest, he was hired by CNET UK and now is there MP3 & Digital Music Reviewer.

His site now has an ongoing diary of life behind the scenes at CNET, with great prospective and information on Technology and life in general.

If you are interested in technology or just want to get a different prospective on things. (I'm starting to like CNET UK more than the US version now) Check it out on my side bar.

With all that said I'm still counting down the seconds till my next trip to the casino. As Ive said before, I will be leaving for a 7 day cruise in 15 days. Cant wait. We will just have to see what kind of machines ST. Maarteen has. I hope I didnt jinx myself and its all one-armed bandits with cherries and bells.

Till next time,
J

The "Big One"

As you can tell from my chip maps, Ive been to casino's all over the US and elsewhere. Ive hit the so called "big one" once and here's my story....

Now, what is the "Big One?" Well I deem it to be the highest paid line bet allowed by a machine. Not a win in a bonus round or mystery prize but 5 lined up symbols giving x amount of credits.

My "Big One" came in 2001 at Spirit Mountain Casino in Oregon. I was playing a .05¢ Monopoly Money Grab machine. 9 lines 1 coin total bet, so .45¢ a spin, ooh. I few spins and the the machine goes nutty. Money Bag wild symbols line up, 5 on line 9 Top right to Bottom Left. I'm watching the credits roll and excited as all heck. My mother is sitting about 15 machines away from me and I'm yelling at her, shes not paying any attention, finally I scream "Debbie", her head swings my way and she can see it in my face. She cashes out immediately.

The game is still just running off credits and I'm just taking in the sounds. I'm not touching the machine for nothing. My mother has finally made her way over and is excited for me as it finished rolling at around $750 or so. Now for a bet of .45¢ I'm just ecstatic.

The thing that I remember the most of the entire event though was the people around me, they were so mad and what I deemed to be just plain rude. Of course, I'm the only one in the whole bank of machines that's not playing at max bet. And wouldn't you know it, the lady right next to me, not happy for me at all, "You would have won $122,000 if you were playing max bet, like the rest of us." Owe, well thanks, glad to know that, Ill take my $700 and you have a good day.

Its funny. I see someone win $15 bucks on a machine and I'm happy for them. I'm wishing them the best. And the only person who seemed to be happy for me was my mom. Crazy! 21 year old kid, playing on a few bucks from a crap job, trying to have a good time, tears rolling down my face as I've already spent the money in my mind,(went to Massachusetts for two weeks and had a heck of a good time) and all this lady can say to me is "you would've." Whatever.

I guess it's because of this, that I wish everyone, especially those who have never hit the "Big One" the best, no matter how big or small the winning might be.

Are there any other penny players that have felt like this? Comments?

Until next time, Good Luck,
J
Colorado, USA