I also made a trip to the El Cortez after a 3 year absence. "Matois" hit it right on the head. The details would be too much for this format. It got to the point where one or two pair on DDB was a miracle. Deuces Wild was one big joke.

The only problem is this is happening at all of the local casinos. Video Poker came out around 1978 and I've been playing since then. I play extremly long sessions 2-3 days a week at Local Casinos only. No More! The last few years have been devastating.

I clearly see a pattern that defies the mathematical odds of a so-called "random shuffle" of a deck of 52 cards. Again, it would be too much to explain all my observations on this post. I will attempt a short version if I'm allowed enough space.

It's called the "Same Rank Anomaly" (SRA). This phrase was dubbed by a VP expert I used to write articles for. It works like this.

Keep track of all your discards. You will soon notice how often the same value card returns with a different suit. For example, discard a 6c and see how often a 6 of another suit will appear. I'm only using the 6 as an example, it happens on any valued card. The same with a 2 or 3 discard hand. This time make note how many times your returned cards are reversed. Discard a 6-8 and you may be surprised to receive an 8-6. Then there are time when just one of the cards will come back in the opposite position with a stranger such as 6-J. I've had many hands with 3 discards with the returned cards being the same with different suits. Normally it will be 1 or 2 cards.

I have many hours I could discuss regarding VP and it's downfall since 1978. The above is just ONE of my negative observations. Believe me, it gets worse and I don't see it getting any better.

In a nutshell: YES! All the slots and VP have been tightened drastically (amongst other manipulations). Believe that with all you heart. The days of playing to have a good time, even with the expectations of losing a few dollars, are long gone.

I agree with Patricialv and 777Irish.

Many of us locals are retired and simply desire a casino that is clean and offers a fair play for our money. None of us expect to win on every visit. I have played countless hours on BH at all the major properties.

The only positive I see is they all offer more full play machines as compared to the strip. The negative is, all the games (including FP) are just as tight as anywhere on the strip IMHO.

I play very long sessions of video poker and I'm disgusted with the infrequent payoffs. What good is a full play machine if it only spits out a decent hand after spending your entire bankroll for the night.

I'm looking foward to my first visit to the East Cannery next week. I'm having good vibes and I'm hoping they come through as the best locals casino on BH.