I was reading an article from the Anderson Herald Bulletin, asking the question ‘Will slot players become race fans?’
Hoosier Park and Indiana Downs (I love handicapping horse races at night time tracks that I can play here in Vegas while it’s still early evening!) have gotten slots this year.
For all of us handicappers, the answer to this question was as easy as picking a 1 to 5 shot. With no disrespect meant to slot players, the mentality of those playing the slots and those handicapping horse races is almost diametrically opposed.
“The horse racing industry lobbied hard to get slots at the tracks, telling lawmakers last year that the money brought in by slots could be funneled into horse racing purses. Bigger prizes attract better horses, they said, and that means more money for breeders and more interest in racing.
That may be the case, Wilcke and other experts say, but creating racing fans from the slot machine crowd can be difficult.”
Difficult?
A slot player sits down, takes out a bill, puts it in the machine, and in seconds is banging at keys, getting action every few nanoseconds. Even with video poker, there are some very simple strategies that will keep the player from losing too quickly.
But the slot player knows or should know that he is playing a game that cannot be beaten long term because he is playing against fixed odds against him.
Perhaps he hasn’t thought that far ahead. Perhaps he’s just there for relaxation.
But I had to laugh at this line from that article:
“People are looking out at live racing and seeing it take place and saying, ’How do I bet on a horse?”’ he said. The track is helping new horse racing fans with pamphlets explaining the betting system.
How do I bet on a horse indeed! Live racing, simulcasting, win-place-show, exactas, trifectas, superfectas, pentafectas, daily doubles, pick 3s (not to be confused with the trifecta, sometimes referred to as a ‘triple’), pick 4s, pick 6s, etc., seems to me completely overwhelming to the slot player.
Not to mention that before he makes one of those bets, he would have had to handicap the race.
Great. There are track programs, racing forms (both online, like posttimedaily.com and printed), tip sheets, touts.
I’m a handicapper. Although I’m usually handicapping horse races, If I’m predicting the outcome of that question, I’d say it’s an easy bet. The slot player picks a number, bets a few bucks on a horse, cheers it as it runs (or doesn’t), and then after a race or two, grabs another bill from his pocket, puts it in his favorite machine, and is back in thoughtless gambling bliss.
Read the whole article here:
http://www.theheraldbulletin.com/local/local_story_217125540.htm
Copyright 2008 By Michael Pizzolla
