North Carolina "Raffle Reels"

I went to Harrah's Cherokee this weekend. It's a nice place in a beautiful area. I'd heard that this casino featured skill slots where the player can choose to hold a set of reels and spin again. There were some of those there. I played for a couple hours and got killed. The variance seemed to be MUCH higher than I'd anticipated (sample size is too small to be sure).

The vast majority of slots at Harrah's Cherokee are something called "raffle reels," which I assume are similar to the bingo-based games that are in other markets (CA, OK, others). Does anyone know how these raffle-based games work? It looked like the casino had many popular video slots in a raffle-based format.

It's some sort of second-chance lottery that the Cherokee have determined fulfills the "element of skill" requirement of state law. However, I've never seen any financial data released regarding drawings or payouts.

That's the only "casino" within an almost 300-mile radius, unless something has opened recently within southern West Virginia. And it's not even what I'd call a real casino. If you're a full-blooded Eastern Cherokee you get a check for something like $8,000/year from that place. Kids get this amount withheld until they're 17 or so, then get it as a lump sum. This has all the predictable side effects.

Quote: 7outlineaway

That's the only "casino" within an almost 300-mile radius, unless something has opened recently within southern West Virginia.

You're right, mostly. In terms of distance by the road, from Cherokee it's 325 miles to Greenbrier and 364 to the Mardi Gras (formerly Tri-State). If you measure as the turkey buzzard flies, it's a bit less: ~230 to Greenbrier and ~220 to Mardi Gras.

Quote: 7outlineaway

And it's not even what I'd call a real casino.

I agree. It's the closest legal gaming establishment to where I live. Been there once and have no reason to return. There are (supposedly) on-going discussions between the tribe and the governor regarding details for a new compact that would permit table games, but there always seems to be a reason to delay a decision.

Quote: Doc

I agree. It's the closest legal gaming establishment to where I live. Been there once and have no reason to return. There are (supposedly) on-going discussions between the tribe and the governor regarding details for a new compact that would permit table games, but there always seems to be a reason to delay a decision.

I thought the quasi-electronic blackjack was fun. I definitely preferred electronic cards and real chips at Cherokee to real cards and electronic betting at Barona.

What's with the other gambling establishments in the western-NC area? Like the gazebo-looking thing on hwy 23 just on the NC side of the GA/NC border... You couldn't pay me to go into that thing and give them my money, but it was intriguing at the same time.

Quote: rdw4potus

What's with the other gambling establishments in the western-NC area? Like the gazebo-looking thing on hwy 23 just on the NC side of the GA/NC border... You couldn't pay me to go into that thing and give them my money, but it was intriguing at the same time.

Ha, I know exactly which building you mean. They're called sweepstakes and have sprouted up due to loopholes in NC law. As I understand, they're not strictly random the way Nevada slot machines are but pay off based on some sort of paramutuel system. Some areas of the state are OK with them as they raise tax revenue and/or suck in out of staters. The mountainous areas in NC are more libertarian in general than the rest of the state is, and with the Cherokee casino and existing tourist traffic I can understand they'd be pretty tolerant of the things.