Cluster Keno by L. J. Zahm |
A reader recently wrote in, asking about all the progressive
video keno jackpots, and wanted to know whether they were worth pursuing.
In the past, I’ve tried to hit progressives, and have been
successful hitting only a solid 8-spot. The progressives usually are set up for
8-, 9- and 10-spot tickets. The 10-spot tickets must be difficult to hit because
they often go for years before someone hits one!
Casino personnel say the problem is that many players bet
less than the maximum four coins required to win the progressive, and that
several 10-for-10 winners captured only the minimum prize and not the
progressive.
Some players speculate that when a machine hits 10 out of 10,
it will take a long time before it hits it again, considering the odds are
nearly nine million to one of catching all 10 spots.
But so-called experts say the chances remain the same,
regardless of what the machine has hit or paid out. Frankly, I’m skeptical.
Because the odds are so high on the 10-spot progressive, I
usually don’t spend much time or money chasing them. But I will play for an
8-spot or 9-spot progressive.
Of course, half the excitement of playing video keno is the
lottery-like payoffs. Equally important, the payoffs look closer to the actual
odds than, say, video poker payoffs. For instance, the odds of hitting a royal
are about 42,000-1. However, the standard payoff is only 800-1 or $1,000 on a
quarter machine. A comparable video keno jackpot (in terms of odds) would be
hitting seven out of seven numbers, with a probability of about 41,000-1. Yet
the keno payoff is a healthy 7000-1. On a quarter machine that means $7,000 for
a bet of four coins (a single coin returns $1,750!).
Obviously, there’s a lot more math involved when you take
the entire game into consideration, and factor in the various hits, but bottom
line for me is this: why would you chase an 800-1 jackpot when you can pursue a
7000-1 prize with about the same chances of hitting it?
Getting back to progressives, I think they’re worth
pursuing, partly because the “consolation” or lesser payoffs can be
substantial. As we all know, you don’t have to hit the top award to make money
playing keno.
Hitting the minor jackpots, or consolation prizes as I used
to call them, is important, because they are the ones that can keep you going,
or even make you money, until you can land the big one.
Here are a few examples: The 8-spot has a nice payoff for
hitting seven out of eight numbers – $1,652 for four quarters bet. And with
odds of 6200-1, the chances of catching seven of eight is nearly seven times
greater than hitting a royal flush.
Last year, I regularly tried for the 9-spot progressive at
Palace Station. I hit 8-of-9 a few times, but never hit all nine numbers. The
only time I did catch a 9-of-9 was playing on a Four Card Keno game (which had
no progressive jackpot), which still paid a cool $10,000.
There’s nothing wrong with catching only 8-of-9, which pays
$4,700 (for four quarters bet). The odds of hitting eight numbers are about
30,600-1, which are about 25% lower than the odds for a royal, but the payoff is
still a superior 4700-1 (as opposed to the royal’s 800-1). The 9-spot also
offers a seven of nine payout of $335 and, with odds of 1690-1, can often be hit
at a sitting.
The 10-spot offers similar consolation jackpots: catching
eight of 10 is attractive with a payoff of $1,000, but because the odds are
about 7300-1, it doesn’t offer the value of hitting a seven of eight, whose
odds are actually less (6200-1) while the payoff is actually more ($1,652).