[mbellotti]

It is used in the term "life hacking", yes. Originally I had an explanation in the post but I cut it for length (and relevancy) so here's what I was up to: Casinos give out free "slot credits" like candy. I got $30 dollars for taking the bus to AC, $80 for eating at a certain restaurant, etc. The trick is you cannot cash out your credits, only play them, but you can-- of course-- cash out your winnings.

Except the odds of you winning anything over pocket change are astronomically low, so most people gamble away not just all their credits, but all their winnings and some of their own money to boot. That's why the casinos are so eager to give you free credits for everything.

What I was doing was playing the penny slots on the lowest bet level and cashing out anything over ten cents. I was making about 60 to 70 cents on the dollar ... which sucks if it's your dollar, but the whole point was it WASN'T. I was using the slots to convert the casinos free credits to cash.

......Not what I would have done if given free choice of activity, but like I said, my friends wouldn't let me play blackjack :D If I have to sit for hours while the bride-to-be brags about her bullshit "system" for hitting jackpots, I might as well make a little money.

[vegashacker]

Cool. Where are you getting these deals? I stumbled into Casino Royale a month or two ago and got one of their fun books. The problem was that the only way to cash out was if you got one of the jackpots. So your expected value is > 0, but of course the chance of winning is very low. My email's in my profile if you feel this has now spiraled sufficiently off-topic.

[gromy]

My experience with this (in Nevada) has been that the slot will keep track of your total credit value and cumulative winnings, so if you play a $30 credit for 10 minutes and hit "cash out," it should give you your total winnings, while keeping the remaining credit in the machine. ie. you don't need to print a cash out voucher every time you win.

For anyone in the bay area, Grand Sierra in Reno has the best promotions I've encountered for free play ($50-100) and free weekend hotel rooms.

[nwhitehead]

The theoretical payoff of sticky bonuses is one minus twice the house edge [1]. The house edge of slot machines varies between 5-15%, so with optimal play you should be able to get out $.70 to $.90 per sticky bonus $1. By cashing out earlier than optimal, you get less return at a steadier rate (a reasonable tradeoff).

[1] http://wizardofodds.com/gambling/glossary/#sticky_bonus