Back to false advertising

I have noticed a side bet played in Tahoe where a player bets on getting a BJ off the top of the pack. If the player catches the BJ with the side bet, the D then pushes a button and spins this little 'wheel of fortune' type wheel. Upon first glance, it appears that any space on the wheel would have the same chance of hitting, much the same as a roulette wheel. I also noticed that the spaces on the wheel are all the same size and I'm guessing there are about 18. Most spaces have the number 10 in them. Other spaces have larger numbers and one space has the number 400 in it.

I have never seen the wheel hit a space larger than 10. That leads me to believe that what we see and what appears to be a fair non biased wheel, is not what the player really gets.

I believe this is a form of false advertising if it is fact some spaces hit more often than others, especially the ones with low denominations.

Of course it's not random...it's just like the wheel at the top of a "Wheel of Fortune" slot machine. The $1000 payoff it probably a 100,000 to 1 longshot. The wheel is a visual representation of what is called in slot lingo a "virtual wheel". The virtual wheel exists only in on a computer chip and is actually much much much larger in diameter than the wheel you see displayed at the table. Since the actual game is played on a computer chip...the wheel that you see is just the computers way of showing the result. The wheel itself that you see above the table is not the game itself...merely a means to display the result.

Like on a slot machine, the reels no longer are the game...the reels merely display the results of the actual game that occurs inside the machine on virtual reels.

I believe that if a wheel is displayed in a manner that would lead a player to believe it is random and that all possitions have the same odds of hitting, it should be as such. Otherwise, it is false and misleading advertising. Shame on any gaming commission that allows its continued use.

One can reasonably expect the 'big wheel' carnival game, to have equal chances of hitting each section which I believe it does.

If the wheel on the BJ table looks to be manual rather than mechanical then I would expect equal chances of hitting each section, if however it is electronically controlled then I would expect it to be less than random.

Bigplayer is correct. Not only am I a dealer but I started in the slot department. Reels on a slot machine all have 20 stops, but the computer chip inside the machine can have any number of virtual stops. It works like a pick 3 lotto. Combination 27 5 17 might be the jackpot, while 10 10 10 might be absolutely nothing. The reels may look like it was "close" to a winner but in fact is wasn't. In the same example, combination 27 5 18 would line up 2 of the jackpot symbols but the third reel was something totally different. This example is close to the jackpot even though the third reel may not even show the double diamond or whatever even on the screen.
The Wheel of Fortune bonus spin works the same way. The display shows about 20 payouts, where it appears that 1,000 has the same chance of coming up as anything else. Now 100,000 to 1 as bigplayer mention is a bit extreme, its only about 100 to 1, depending on the settings (yes, there are settings set by the casino in all machines but cannot be changed unless a gaming control officer is present to break the protective tape). So out of 100 actual combinations 10 numbers may be the lowest amount, 5 numbers for each middle amount and 1 number for the jackpot amount. Its like filling a bowl with different color bubble gum balls
10 red
7 blue
5 green
3 yellow and
1 white
now close your eyes and pick one out of the bowl. Get a red? Then you got the crappy prize. NOW PUT IT BACK IN THE BOWL. Mix them around and choose again. Notice the gumball does not get thrown out, it gets put back in to the mix.

This is the way slots work, and in the case of your Wheel of Madness, I would assume it works in the same manner.

They don't tell us that the spaces on the roulette wheel all have the same odds of hitting. We just assume they do because of what we see on the layout. This is how the problem occurs of misleading the public into thinking that other wheels that have similarity to roulette or big 6 also have the same odds of hitting.

Can't we assume that when a person looks at a roulette wheel that if they do a little math, they can see they have a 1 in 38 chance of hitting an individual number. Therefore, if a person looks at the Wheel of Madness with 18 spaces, they can assume they have a 1 in 18 chance of hitting any certain individual space? Therefore, the "400" space would appear to have a 1 in 18 chance of hitting.

Who is going to protect us? Obviously not the various GCBs around the country, they are too tied to the casinos. Not the attorneys general of the various states. The states need the tax revenue. Not the state legislatures, they enjoy spending those tax dollars in their districts so that they get re-elected. The non-gamblers don't care, so long as the casinos produce enough tax dollars that they don't take a hit in increased income or property taxes.

This problem is probably what would call "intractable" in computer science. Unfortunately.

The only solution is to not play unfair games. But too many believe in "the big win will get me out of this hole" syndrome, and keep playing away no matter how bad the casinos zap the rules...

Information should be available if you ask. If someone won't tell you, they probably just don't know the answer and will want to save face by telling you "they're not allow to say" or something like that. 99 perceent of dealers or floorpersons don't know how much of your dollar goes toward the jackpot on Carribean Stud. Ask around and you'll get all sorts of answers including the "not allowed to say". I don't know how it works at other casinos but 60 cents on the dollar goes toward the jackpot. To get back on topic though, the pit manager should be able to tell you the odds of getting the '400' space on the wheel. It shouldn't be classified, because they need to inform the public if asked, only because of sound business practices, not legal reasons, but it is not required to be posted for all the world to see what a crappy bet it is.