Three different people posted the following: I assume you don't recall Michael's work at the Barbary Coast. Say, how did that turn out for them? If you're curious, it's called Bill's now.
Hey, I got a question for Gaughan, "How come there are no FPDW at South Point?
The FPDW were taken out a long time before he sold BC. Gaughan sold the Barbary Coast, along with the other Coast Casinos, to Boyd for $1.3 million in 2004. In 2006 he bought back the South Coast, renaming it South Point, for $576 million --- which was less than it cost to build. Insofar as the "How did that work out for them?" question, I'd say "pretty well." When I started teaching at the South Point in 2008, I requested they put in quarter FPDW, 10/7 DB, and 10/6 DDB. They did --- in the corridor by the slot club booth and the statue of Benny Binion. They lasted a little over a year. The reason they were taken out is that Gaughan has an over-riding philosophy that all video poker machines should be treated equally --- for mailers, promotions, etc. Making them $2 = 1 point or $4 = 1 point or not available for promotions (like other casinos do who still have these games) was not something he was willing to do. Without making those changes, the machines were losing more money than he was comfortable with. I argued with him at great length to make an exception for this bank of machines --- and I was unsuccessful. The machines never came back.
I doubt they will. Since then, FPDW are gone from almost everywhere. The primary place they exist now is Stations/Fiesta --- who have a very aggressive policy of restricting players who have the gall to play these machines appropriately. It wouldn't surprise me if they were removed altogether from these casinos before we see 2013. There are many players who have played FPDW for years. It's easy to get an edge at that game. These players don't want to put up with lesser games where it is harder to get an edge --- and it requires a lot of study to gain competence in these other games. I don't blame the players for feeling that way. Doing things the way you've always done them is comfortable and doesn't require learning new skills. But the world has changed and it's not going back. If you want to succeed at video poker today, you either need to fight over the few remaining FPDW machines (for as long as you're welcome to do so) or adapt to the many other ways there are at succeeding at the game. It's not always true, but frequently the players who complain the loudest about this are the ones who are least able to adapt successfully to the changes. Success at video poker follows a Darwinian Survival of the Fittest model. Approximately as many players succeed today as did before --- but they are not all the same people. A new guard of players have used computers and studied and gained the skills to replace some of the old guard. The old guard used to be able to win at this game and are now finding they don't have the ability to compete with the new guard without studying --- which they've forgotten how to do. And they are not happy about it. And so they complain bitterly and play the blame game. Bob
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