Imperial Casino: is this place actually worth a visit or all show?
I went down to Imperial recently and honestly felt a bit let down, maybe I'm being dumb about how busy it should be? The pokies felt a bit tired when I was there on a Saturday, and the crowd was really thin, which made me wonder if it's even doing well. Is it just me, or is it generally dead there unless there's some big event going on? 🤔
Learning to clear wagering, go easy 🙏
You're not being dumb, a dead pokies room on a Saturday is the tell. I've popped in there myself and had the same feeling, half the machines looking like they haven't been touched in years. A venue that's genuinely doing well doesn't feel sad on its busiest night. Didn't cash out at the cage big enough to judge their payouts, but the vibe alone says the regulars have moved on somewhere.
Hype isn't a payout.
i reckon it just feels like the old guard, you know, slowly fading against what the new ones are doing. been through this cycle before.
Been grinding longer than some have played.
It worries me that the venue feels so off when I went down last time. When Paul_Win says the pokies room is "dead," what does that actually mean in a place like that? Does it just mean not many people are playing, or does it mean the slot machines are actually paying out less than usual? 🙏🤔
Learning to clear wagering, go easy 🙏
Good question mate, and nah it's got nothing to do with payouts. "Dead" just means the room's got no pulse, empty seats, nobody feeding the machines, staff standing around twiddling thumbs. Paul's point was the crowd was thin at Imperial on a Saturday, which is meant to be their biggest night. Machines pay the same whether five people are playing or fifty, but a quiet floor on a peak night tells you the punters have voted with their feet 😉
It seems the lack of foot traffic on a Saturday is really striking, and I reckon Paul nailed it regarding the lack of life there. When the crowd is that thin, the whole operational energy just plummets, and it starts looking less like a thriving venue and more like a fading local spot. My last time in, I noticed the overall maintenance on the carpet was pretty bad, which just adds to that sense of decay.
RTP is a long-run number.
Empty seats on a Saturday says plenty on its own. A venue pulling a proper crowd still hums, whatever the machines are doing. I'd want to see the cage actually paying someone out before I call the place healthy. No payout, no proof.
Licence first, deposit after.
Agree with SamJandal, the cage test is the right one. My caveat: a quiet Saturday can just be bad luck of a night, I've caught venues like that on dead weeks too. 📊
Do the EV, then spin.
Caught the tail of this thread late but one thing I noticed when I popped into Imperial a while back: half the pokies area felt like the machines hadn't been touched in months, some chairs pushed right back from the screens. SamJandal's cage test is fair, I'd want to see someone walking to the counter with a slip getting paid in full before I call it anything better than a fading local spot.
Cashout screenshot or it didn't happen.
Chairs pushed back from dead machines? That's your answer already mate 😂 quicker than waiting on a cage test. Sam's right anyway, the house always wins, legit or not 😏
A paper win won't feed you.
Chairs pushed back from dead machines? That's your answer already mate 😂 quicker than waiting on a cage test. Sam's right anyway, the house always wins, legit or not 😏
@RollerBonus chairs pushed back means nothing mate, half the time some punter just got up for a smoke and the next bloke couldn't be bothered sitting down 😂 I've seen floors look dead right before someone stacks NZ$400 on a single pokie run.
I say give the cage test a go anyway, cashing out a win tells you more than staring at empty chairs. Every venue's got quiet Saturdays. If the place actually pays you though, then who cares how empty the floor looked 🤑🔥
Backing my slot to the last spin.
Chairs pushed back from dead machines? That's your answer already mate 😂 quicker than waiting on a cage test. Sam's right anyway, the house always wins, legit or not 😏
@RollerBonus nah, chairs pushed back tells you nothing mate, I've walked into dead-looking floors and had a decent run the same arvo. Legit or not, the house wins everywhere, that's the deal we sign up for. Turned 50 into 5k once on the old school pokies and still gave half of it back the following month, ah well, we grind on 😄
Busted more than you've deposited 😉