Washington does not allow any games of skill in slot machines. (There are some casinos in eastern Washington that do not have compacts with the State and they have real slot machines and video poker.) All the machines in western Washington that look like slot or video poker machines are really video lottery terminals with no skill element.

http://www.wsgc.wa.gov/docs/Tribal/machine_history.htm

QL

I'm a little confused (given the complexity of Indian gaming laws & compacts, I'm probably not the only one). Are you saying that there are video blackjack machines in Washington state that are set to allow the the dealer to "peek" at the next card on a hit, then bury it in favor of the next? Or is blackjack considered a game of skill? It seems to me that you are suggesting weighted outcomes for games other than blackjack, at least blackjack as it is normally played.

I believe that it would be extremely rare to come across a video blackjack machine that has been set to deal cards in anything but a random fashion, comparable to that of a properly suffled deck of real world cards. If I understand you right, QL, you're not claiming that Washington would allow something to the contrary.

What he's saying is that the machines in these parts of Washington look like slot or video poker machines, but play like "scratch-off" lottery tickets. That's why they call them "video lottery terminals."

When you buy a game on them the outcome has been decided in advance, just like if you were to buy a scratch-off lottery ticket. This is also known as "class II" or "player banked" gaming, because it's not random, they've decided how many winning tickets there will be and how big the winners will be in advance, allowing them to set any "win" for the house that they want.

Thanks for All of Your Observations and Opinions
 

My wife will be glad to know that essentially there is little or no "undue" influence on the cards dealt in an electronic 21 game. I appreciate reading the dialogue generated by my query.

Correct, dhuey. Not only does Washington allow something to the contrary, they disallow something not to the contrary.

That being said, I don't know of any faux Blackjack machines personally. There are definitely faux video poker machines. I have seen them.

QL

Here's someone with much credibility on the subject:

Mr. Dhuey:

I was asked to respond to your question regarding card facsimiles. Regulations for games that use card facsimiles can be found in WAC 230-40-010 and WAC 230-40-070, which you can retrieve via our Web site (www.wsgc.wa.gov), (under the tab "Rules and Laws" - these are "Rules").

The randomization is achieved by means of a computerized random number generator. The state does not have a rule that specifically address the degree of randomness required, however the approved software has been tested and passed by both the state gambling lab and an independent gaming lab. These labs look at issues such as system integrity and fairness (including whether randomization is sufficient).

In the approved blackjack facsimile games, the dealer must accept the next randomly drawn card, and cannot bury it to the advantage of the house.

Please feel free to e-mail me directly if you have any additional questions.

Robert Zaher
Tribal Electronic Gaming Coordinator
Washington State Gambling Commission
[email protected]

Interesting response. I'm glad there seems to be regulation against looking ahead in the deck and picking favorable cards. However, he doesn't address the main point, which is completely pre-programmed results present in all the faux video-poker machines in western WA. These do not deal randomly from a deck at all.

QL