Almost all video poker at Rama has been relocated to the northwest corner area, near the Willows Restaurant. The only exceptions are the machines in the High Limit Slot area, and the eight machines offering 20 coin 9/7 double bonus located west of what was the main video poker area.

Great comps at Rama.
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Based on what I think I saw there last week, they have four machines in the high limit area offering 9/6 JOB (and 9/7 DB) for $5/$10/$20/$50/$100, and five machines on the wall by the side entrance to the high limit area with 9/6 JOB at $2/$5/$10 , and 9/7 DB at $1/$2/$5/$10. All are single line 5 coin machines. I want to double check my notes before suggesting these changes to the database.

*** MIA - *** (4) $2 (10-coin) MG 9/6 Bdlx outside side high-limit entrance.

CR has renovated the Sports Lounge and there are no longer any bartop VP machines there, including the 25c/$1 (20-coin) 9/7 DB.

They have taken out six triple action poker machines, and replaced them with six triple/five play machines. The pay scales and games are the same as they were before.

ALL of Rama's slot and VP machines, even the $100 slots in the high roller area, are TITO. Also, CashBack can now be redeemed at cashiers, not just the Players Club desk.

The triple/five play machines have been refurbished. They all have crisp, bright graphics, and speed controls. Best of all, they are now TITO. There are six additional 20 coin $0.25 mg machines with 9/7 double bonus poker. They are in the vicinity of the Couchiching Court buffet.

Bad news on my favorite (ok - only) play at Rama. The $1 Game Kings were downgraded sometime between Labor Day and last weekend. The 9-7 DB, which used to pay 800 for the RF on any number of coins bet, now requires a maxcoin ($20) bet to get the full royal odds. Same thing for the other games (Bonus, Bonus Deluxe, DW, JB - the JB used to pay 500 only). They made these machines TITO at the same time.

BOUNCEBACK COUPONS - I think I've figured out their system. If I earn 200 points in a visit ($3K coinin) they mail me, the very next day, a bounceback coupon worth 0.5% of my total action. This coupon, redeemable for cash, is good for 21 days from the original visit. I believe that their formula for bonus cash is 0.45% of coin-in. But it's rarely exactly that, since they always round up to the next dollar. There is a threshold coinin amount below which bonus cash seems not to be awarded. I think that it's around $3400.

Four of the five $5 machines previously in the high-limit area have been moved outside of it. They are now located outside the side door to the high-limit area.

The inventory remains pretty much the same, but some machines have been moved. The "$0.25" MG machines previously situated near the Couchiching Court Buffet entrance are no longer there. Twelve of them are now located near the entrance to the poker room, while an additional six are in a carousel arrangement near the food court. As before, these are $0.25 machines, but you have to play 20 coins to get the full 800 for 1 royal flush payout. The best game on them continues to be 9/7 double bonus. The six $1.00 MG machines previously between Megabucks and Red Hot 7s have been moved too. They are now directly opposite the entrance to the poker room. Nothing appears to have changed on them, so you can play 9/7 double bonus poker for a total of one to twenty credits, all with the 800 for 1 royal flush payout.

The six $.25 ten coin triple/five play MG machines that were located in the north-west corner by the entrance to The Willows restaurant have been moved. They are now with the other six similar machines near the poker room. In my opinion, this is a much better location for them, since one can see at a glance if there is a machine available (no need to run across the casino), and the aggravating noise and commotion from the lineup for The Willows will no longer be a factor.

The best game I have found there is 9/6 JOB. It is available on multigame triple/five play 10 coin $0.25 machines, and multigame single line $5, $10 and $20 machines. You have to play 10 coins per line on the multiline machines to get the 800 for 1 royal flush payout of true 9/6 JOB. In reality, you are playing the equivalent of $0.50 triple or five line 9/6 JOB. In rereading my earlier post, I noticed that I referred to some $2 9/6 JOB. I forgot to look for them on this most recent trip, so can't confirm if it's still available or not. There are some $1 machines in the central part of the casino to be aware of. They have on them what I would call "fake 9/6 JOB". No matter how many coins you play (you can play from 1 to 20), the royal flush payout remains constant at 500 for 1. Oddly, these machines also have on them 9/7 double bonus poker and what Bob Dancer refers to as pseudo NSU deuces, both of which also have a constant royal flush payout no matter how many coins are played. In this case, however, the payout is 800 for 1. Yes, you can play for $1 total, with no payscale penalty. There is a total of twelve machines offering the triple/five play 10 coin 9/6 JOB. There is a bank of six at the north-westerly corner of the casino, by the entrance to the Willow restaurant, and another bank of six close to the easterly wall, between the high-limit slot area and poker room. In the high-limit slot area, there are five $5, one $10 and two $20 single line multi game machines with 9/6 JOB on them. I think they are true 9/6JOB, but I have to confess that I did not doublecheck to ensure that the royal flush payout is correct. I'll do so next week, if someone doesn't beat me to it. The 1-20 coin $1 MG machines are in the central part of the casino, between Megabucks and Red Hot 7's. There are six of them. They have 9/7 DBP and pay the full 800 for 1 for a royal flush no matter how many coins are played. There are sixteen $.25 20 coin MG machines by the Couchiching Court Buffet that have 9/7 DBP on them. As well, all of the MG machines in the high-limit area that have 9/6 JOB, also have 9/7 DBP, i,e, five $5, one $10, and two $20. In addition, there are four more $5 MG machines just outside the high-limit area that have both 9/6 JOB and 9/7 DBP. ** Cashback is at the rate of $5 per 100 points. For video poker up to $1, points are earned at the rate of one point per $15 played. This calculates to a cashback rate of 0.33%. At the $5 (and,I assume, higher levels), points are earned at one point per $30 played, for a cashback rate of 0.167%. According to their pamphlet, "Casino Rama reserves the right to inactivate your account if you have not been rated for a nine month period". In addition to cashback, the Casino also awards what they call "Bonus Cash". This is not mentioned anywhere in the literature I have seen, nor at the Casino itself. It normally arrives by mail three to five working days after the day of play that generates it. The voucher must be cashed in person at the casino. It is good for 20 days from the date it was issued, which usually gives you three weeks plus a day or so from a visit to get back there to cash it. Based on what we have received, Bonus Cash is 0.45% of coin-in. There is a minimum daily amount of play for which Bonus Cash is available. I suspect it's in the area of $4500, but I don't really know for sure. In addition to the foregoing, a meal account is created from which meal comps can be obtained. I don't know the exact formula they use, but it seems to be quite generous. We haven't been turned down yet, and have had some pretty large meal comps. If I had to guess, I'd say meal comps are about equal to the c ashback. There is a monthly mailing sent out. It normally contains a $40 food voucher for two, entitlement to a one night stay at the hotel, and entitlement to free concert tickets. We have never asked for a discretionary comp, so don't know if they're available, nor have we attempted to contact a casino host (that's on my to-do list).