| The book traces Bob's quest to beat the game of Video Poker. He came to Vegas with $6000 and a six-year-old car and started his quest. The book illustrates how he began learning the game and how, in time, he refined the strategies of others into perfect playing strategies. The book tells of his spectacular wins and his spectacular losses. It tells how he had to learn to manage his bankroll. At times he had to negotiate with other players to get playing time on the machine of his choice. The book relates the story of how he met and romanced Shirley and how she learned to become a competent player. At times, according to Bob, Shirley was nervous about the stakes at which they played and the wild swings that occurred in their bankroll. But she stuck with him and his undying belief in the mathematics of gambling. All of this and more. It is a fascinating story that ends with Shirley hitting a Royal Flush on a $100 machine at the MGM. The $6000 turned into $1,000,000 and the six-year-old car turned into a new Mercedes. Romantic? Yes, I suppose that on one level it is. But what struck me the most about the story is the effort that went into this quest. First, Bob and Shirley had to become expert players, and at more than one game. Also, casinos sometimes introduced twists into their promotions that necessitated a revision of playing strategy. But as Bob says in the book, this was the easy part. I believe it. The really hard part was the constant searching out and evaluating of promotions, whether it was for airline tickets, cash back, or merchandise. This necessitated gleaning information on just how promotion points were awarded on a specific machine, calculating the overall expected return, and then getting enough playing time during the promotion to let long run frequency kick in. In the latter case this often meant playing for long hours and staying up all night -- playing one hand after another as fast as they could. To me, this is not entertainment; this is hard work. What is more, sometimes the long run frequency kicked in and then sometimes it didn't. Every now and then I receive questions from readers about the mathematics of gambling or just a question about some specific aspect of a gambling game. This month I want to devote my column to answering questions from two of my readers: Maxine Nelson from Tampa, Florida and Carl Huzzen from Annandale, Virginia. Nice to hear from you both. To begin with, Maxine had two questions. The first was in reference to the Florida Lottery's list of ball sets in use on specific lotto drawing dates. This list is published on their web site, specifically the link http://www.flalottery.com/lottery/games/lotto/1653mach.shtml. Occasionally the words "Travel Set" and "End Travel Set" appear on the list and Maxine wanted to know what this meant. I thought I knew the answer, but just to make sure I wrote to the Florida Lottery and asked them. They graciously replied and confirmed that occasionally they take the lotto drawing "on the road" for promotional purposes and that they have a special set of balls and equipment for this purpose. Easy enough. Maxine's second question was harder. I'll use her own words (slightly edited): If and when I do have a winning lottery ticket, I read that I should not sign it and instead take the ticket to an attorney ASAP. Once you sign your own name on the winning ticket you are at the mercy of the state's Lottery rules. Your name will be made public and you'll have to go through their little publicity show -- getting your picture taken holding a goofy oversized check with the winnings on it. Once your name is made public you are going to be hounded night and day by all kinds of scam artists (that would be a nightmare). If you have the law firm handle your winnings, you are listed as a trust and can remain anonymous. Is that true, Don? Good question, Maxine. I was aware of team players forming trusts or corporations for tax purposes. I discuss this in my book The Lottery Book, The Truth Behind the Numbers soon to be published by Bonus Books of Chicago. But anonymity? I simply didn't know. Checking various lotteries around the country I observed that every time there was a prize paid to a trust or corporation, it was also true that the members of the trust or corporation were listed by name elsewhere on the web site. It did not appear to me that one could remain anonymous by forming a trust. Nevertheless, I am not a lawyer; maybe it is possible and simply nobody has tried it. So I wrote to I. Nelson Rose, Professor of Law at Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa, California with the question. Professor Rose is a noted authority on the relationship of gambling issues to the law and is a frequent contributor to this web site. Professor Rose was kind enough to send me a reply. Essentially he said that lotteries and the IRS want to know the names of winners. In rare circumstances the lottery might be persuaded to keep a person's name secret; usually not. They will, however, help to make sure that nobody knows how to find the winner if the winner does not want to be found. I replied to this and asked Professor Rose if his answer meant that there is no need to hire a lawyer and form a trust. He told me that I was correct but pointed out that this was not a legal opinion and that he could not guarantee that things work this way in every state and province. Professor Rose gave me permission to quote him in my book and his exact reply will appear there. So, Maxine, I don't think you'll be able to remain anonymous. That said, I hope that you get to have your picture taken holding one of those "goofy" big checks! Thanks for the interesting question. |
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