The outcome of a spin on a Class II slot machine is determined by the pattern covered on the bingo card. There are a number of ways the different Class II systems go from a pattern on the bingo card to a winning combination on the machine. The key point is that the RNG does nothing more than choose the numbers in the bingo drawing. Thanks for Watching! Leave a comment! Can't get enough of it? Then subscribe!!! Tell your enemy!
THE REEL DEAL
by Frank Legato https://vidssoftware.mystrikingly.com/blog/revit-2016-keygen-download.
Class II: Is It Fair?
Electronic bingo games are becoming more sophisticated and more like traditional slot games.
When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 (IGRA) established the various classes of gaming permissible by Native American tribes on reservation lands, the law designated bingo and similar games under the heading of 'Class II.' The classification was established to allow tribes to hold bingo games on their reservations, but it stipulated that 'electronic aids' could be used to simulate bingo.
That stipulation led to electronic versions of the game of bingo, which eventually took the form of Class II-style slot machines, known as Bingo Games. The Class II Bingo Games would essentially be a game of bingo, with prizes drawn from the overall money wagered. Those prizes, however, would be displayed as reel results on the slot machines.
In recent years, those Class II bingo machines have become more and more like their traditional, or 'Class III,' slot cousins in Las Vegas. The Seminole Hard Rock properties in Florida represent the state of the art in Class II sophistication. The central computer system, developed by a team headed by former IGT systems chief Lyle Bell (now the CIO for the Seminole Hard Rocks), was created with a singular purpose—to provide a player's-club experience to simulate the Class III slot experience on a Class II floor. Meanwhile, Casino Operations Senior VP, Charles Lombardo—formerly slot operations VP at Caesars Palace—worked with the major slot manufacturers, who refined Class II technology to provide games that look and play like the traditional games.
Though they are technically electronic bingo games, the Hard Rock's slots mimic the traditional Las Vegas-style games in every way. Other than the LCD screen that shows the bingo patterns appearing with every spin, it is hard to tell the difference.
How do they make bingo games behave like slot machines? And how are the payback percentages determined? The answer to both can be summed up in one word: mathematics. The Class II electronic bingo games at the Hard Rock are programmed with mathematical calculations to mimic Class III games as closely as possible while remaining within the definition of Class II bingo that is contained in IGRA.
Under IGRA, a Class II game must have a draw of bingo balls, and must result in what is called a 'game-ending pattern.' That is a pattern of numbers—two, three, four in a row; diagonal, vertical, four corners of the bingo card, etc.—that ends the game with a winning result. Microsoft office access 2010 free trial.
According to Lombardo, this occurs continuously. 'We have a 20-millisecond window, and anyone (in the casino) pushing the Play button during that window is put in the game for that common ball draw,' he explains. 'It must be at least two players, but the maximum is unlimited. If it is a minimum of two, one of them gets a bingo—a winning pattern.' He says every ball draw results in at least one bingo.
How do the payback percentages work? One of two ways, says Lombardo. In one style of game, the calculations relate to the stack of possible outcomes loaded into the central computer. In this style of game, there is always a 50-percent hit frequency—one of every two spins on average results in a bingo, with a prize determined from a finite pool of outcomes loaded into the computer. When the bingo game is over, the computer selects a prize from the top of an electronic 'stack' and feeds it to one of the games with a winning outcome. To the player, it looks, for instance, like a mixed-bar win for $5. That just means a $5 prize has been awarded from the results of the bingo game.
The overall payback percentage in this case is governed by how many results equal to each prize amount are included in the finite stack of prizes. Just like the universe of numbers from which the random number generator in a regular slot selects reel outcomes, the payback percentage here is determined by the universe of prizes available for each winning result. The hit frequency is always 50 percent, but the payback percentage is determined by how many $2 prizes, how many 75-cent prizes, how many $1,000 prizes, and so on, are loaded into the program.
In a multiline video bingo game, this system results in a game virtually indistinguishable from that nine-line game in the Vegas casino that has a 50-percent hit frequency. According to Lombardo, though, this method is also used on some of the traditional single-line, three-reel slots. In this case, the 50-percent frequency still stands, but not every win is a traditional reel combination. Because traditional games like Blazing 7s or Red, White & Blue generally have hit frequencies around 14 percent for the seven or eight possible winning combinations in the pay schedule, a 50-percent frequency would be impossible and still have the game make money for the casino.
To remedy this, Lombardo explains, 'we came up with a bonus feature.' Fourteen-percent of results in the pool will be actual reel combinations, and the other 36 percent of the winners will yield a bonus symbol on the reels that will accumulate. When you accumulate 25 of those symbols, you win one bonus credit. Therefore, you still have the 50-percent frequency, but your frequency of reel wins is similar to what it is in the traditional Class III versions of those games.
In the other style of game, the odds of each winning bingo pattern is matched to the odds of each paying combination in the slot game. 'We figured out the odds of hitting certain patterns on the bingo card,' Lombardo explains, 'and we take those bingo patterns and plug them right into the payout scheme to replicate any Class III game.' Drawing from millions of possible patterns on a bingo card, programmers can match the odds of landing any given combination of symbols on a slot machine. In this way, each chosen bingo pattern can trigger a certain payout combination. Hit frequencies and percentages in this case will match a traditional slot exactly.
But what are those payback percentages, and how do we know they are fair? As you may know, the Seminole tribe is a sovereign nation, and its casinos are not subject to state regulation or public reporting of payback percentages. How do we know we're getting a fair shake?
We know we're getting a fair shake because tribal casinos must compete with all other casino choices, says Lombardo. 'We are competitive with all Class III markets,' he says. 'We're not doing anything differently (with percentages) than Atlantic City, Las Vegas or Mississippi. We are competitive with any casino in the country.' He adds that he takes average bets in lower denominations into account when determining the payback percentage he wants to offer. 'If I am requiring players to cover the lines on a 20-line nickel game, that's a dollar bet,' says Lombardo. 'I take that into consideration when I figure out the payback percentage I offer.'
Lombardo adds that tribal casinos have obligations to both the players and the slot manufacturers to keep the games fair. 'Over the long hall, any player is going to know if you screw with percentages; they'll know the difference,' he says. 'And, a manufacturer is not going to give us their title if we are going to misrepresent that title (with low payback). We don't want to kill a title.'
It is that respect for the player—and obligation to represent a manufacturer's title fairly—that should make you approach the slot experience at the Hard Rock or other large Class II tribal casinos with expectations similar to those you have when playing slots in most major jurisdictions. In other words, you are likely to get a fair shake. They know that if you don't, you will go elsewhere.
TIP OF THE MONTH
Class II Video Poker
We have noted before that video poker in a Class II tribal casino does not work in the same manner as video poker in a traditional casino. While this is true, it does not mean that it is unfair, or that you can't win.
The result of any Class II video poker hand is predetermined by the result of the ball draw in the bingo game on the little screen. In some jurisdictions, you will be required to touch the screen to daub the bingo card and claim your prize.
Those results are determined by winning patterns on the bingo card. Using one of the two methods described above, a winning pattern will either trigger one of a stack of predetermined prizes or a corresponding video poker hand, according to the odds. The odds are calculated to be similar to the odds of a standard video poker game. You won't find the player's-advantage paytables in Class II, but the return represented by the pay schedule you do see will be similar to the return of that game in a traditional casino.
The real difference lies in the importance of perfect strategy. A Class II video poker game is actually better for the strategy novice, because the game will often correct your bonehead moves. If the bingo result determines you win the a certain prize, you will get that prize even if you make the wrong choice, through a special feature on the game.
For instance, on the IGT version of Class II video poker, let's say your winning bingo pattern translates to the prize for four-of-a-kind, and you are dealt 10-c J-c Q-c J-h J-s. Even if you screw up and decide to go for the royal, the game will not let you. A 'Genie' will appear on the screen and change your hand to four Jacks—for the quad prize that corresponds to the bingo pattern you got.
It's better for the novice because it shows you the optimal strategy by changing your choice to match the bingo win. Other than that, the Hard Rock's Lombardo says the games work like the standard versions of video poker—again, because the Class II casino will not risk 'killing a manufacturer's title.' 'A lot of players may not know the difference between Class II and Class III,' he says. 'That's why we replicate the video poker paytables as closely as possible. It would be a killer for us to do anything else.'
If you've ever visited a Native American casino, chances are you've seen a Class II slot machine. They're the games that display a bingo card somewhere on the screen.
So what are Class II slots and how are they different from the slot machines you'd find in Las Vegas?
A Brief History
In 1988 the United States enacted the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), establishing the framework governing Native American gaming laws. The act established 3 classes of gaming:
- Class I: traditional and social games for minimal prizes
- Class II: games of chance based off bingo
- Class III: a catch-all category of games that can't be considered Class I or II, like slots, roulette, blackjack, etc.
Knowing the hurdles Native American casinos faced to allow Class III slots, gaming companies began developing Class II gaming machines: games that play like regular slots but are technically fancy versions of bingo. Konami slots free coins.
Difference between Class II Games and Regular Slots
Class 2 Slot Machines Explained
Regular (class III) slots use a random number generators (RNG) that generate thousands of random numbers each second. When you hit spin, that RNG locks in the value at that moment. Then the slot assigns reel positions to parts of the random number and evaluates your win (if there is one). We covered this in more detail here.
To be legally considered as such, class II slots have to be based on bingo. This is where class II game developers have been creative, often implementing different approaches. On some, like WMS and Multimedia Games, your machine's 'bingo card' remains constant and the drawn numbers change each time. On others (like VGT), you stay in the same game while your card randomly changes each spin.
The implementation doesn't especially matter. What matters is that the game has the necessary elements required to be bingo: more than 1 player (class II slots must be networked together) and a set of numbers drawn that must match a pattern to result in a win that ends the game (a game-ending pattern).
The fact is Class II slots still rely on RNG to generate the cards and drawn numbers. It doesn't matter if the RNG is creating simulated bingo cards/numbers on a class II game or virtual reel positions on a class III slot – the results are still random. Payouts are determined on regular slots by adjusting the reels and likelihood of landing on any position. Payouts on class II slots are defined by specifying the bingo patterns that must be matched and within what number of numbers drawn.
Why NA Casinos Prefer Class II
While many modern NA casinos have a mix of class II and III games, the numbers almost always skew heavily towards class II games. Why?
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For one, the IGRA granted tribes the power to self-regulate Class II gaming, whereas tribes have to enter state compacts to offer class III games. Poker signup bonus no deposit.
But the big reason NA casinos prefer class II games is that tribes don't owe taxes on class II revenue like they do on class III games.
Licensed slots and most of the fancy new, popular games aren't available in class II form, so NA casinos keep a mix. However, slot manufacturers are taking an increased interest in offering Class II games. Aristocrat bought Oklahoma-based bingo game developer VGT and used their technology to start offering some Aristocrat favorites in Class II form.
The Bottom Line on Class II Games
Modern class II games can look, act, sound, and feel like typical class III, Vegas-style slots.
Class II games are sometimes criticized for their mysterious nature, leading some to believe they can be rigged. They're networked together as a central server determines the wins.
Class III slots go through rigorous third-party and government testing to ensure their randomness and resistance to rigging. Class II slots go through some of the same tests, but the self-regulating nature and lack of transparency of NA casinos have historically raised questions about their fairness.
Though their back-end operates different, both class II and class III games still ultimately rely on RNG. Casinos don't need to rig the machines because the games' math is already in their favor. That's not to say their games' programmed payout percentage is going to be to your liking, but the notion of some casino worker selectively deciding who's going to win and lose on class II games is just a myth that doesn't make sense.
Your Take
Do you love or hate class II slots? Tell us about your experiences in the comments below!
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