Just some random thoughts on DDC

[romantic_road_kill]

I am kind of new to the boards, I tend to lurk and try to catch codes when I can. Over the last several weeks there has been an outcry for codes, various changes with spins, friends, etc. we have all read and wrote about this ad nauseum.
I love DDC. The interface is great, compared to some of the others that I have tried since (yes, just like all of you) I cant seem to win.

Some things we should probably keep in mind;

Things like DDC take money to keep going. Bandwith, server fees, maintenance, all of that cost money (ask our awesome ADMIN here). Keep in mind too, there are other financial aspects to keep in mind as well. Slot machines such as the "House" and "Brady Bunch" probably cost as well, because someone out there somewhere holds the rights to those shows, as well as the likenesses to the characters portrayed. In a deal like that, we are talking contracts and lawyers...do I even need to elaborate on that?

Someone created this game to make money. Money is a motivating factor in everyday life. Someone didnt spend (what I figure) to be 100s of hours (or more) writing code just so a bunch of people could come and just win win win. I know, I know, the game says "free to play" and it is, but just like anything thats "free" there is a catch. In this case, if you play for free, you get what you pay for.
I have never purchased chips, but at some point I may be inclined to do so to simply support the game I love to play. Some have said that "just like Vegas, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose" that is correct. I have won big and lost big on the Vegas strip, but I dont go griping to Mandalay Bay management when some d-bag splits 9s when the dealer is showing a 6.

This is a game, it's entertainment...if it isn't any fun anymore, walk away.

I do hope they get their stuff together and provide a bit of a better experience, but again, at the end of the day, this is someone's job, their livelihood, possibly with a family to support.

For the record, I do not work for DDC, I am just a retail manager that loves nothing more than to have a few spins on Davinci Diamonds after a long day at work.

[sadjack]

While I appreciate most of your thoughts, this is not Mandalay Bay. No matter how many chips you win you can not get your money back yet alone make a profit. Maybe you don't buy chips that's fine, but many of us do. I don't mind buying chips sometimes it's a form of entertainment but these chips can become costly and so I expect a reasonable amount of playing time for my money. It used to be that way but not so much anymore. As I said here before I liken it to purchasing a concert ticket and having the band come on stage, play a 10 minute set then say goodbye thanks for coming, please buy another ticket for tomorrow nights show. If your going to pay for entertainment you deserve a fair product.

[romantic_road_kill]

I agree with your point too sadjack. We should get more than 10 minutes (if we are lucky) a day. This morning on my spins I received 6k, 5k, and 12k. I have resorted to only playing about every 3 days as thats how long it takes to get the chips to make it worth my while to log on.
These are games of chance, again sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. I understand about financial strain on the wallet.
There are other options to play games such as these without a major financial investment. You can walk into any Wal-Mart and buy a $10 casino game for the PC and when your chips run out, they give you more.....for free.

[Vamp]

very well written post. Thanks for being a part of the community OP. Thanks for the kind words as well.

[Sunnyvale]

Yes, the original poster's heart is in the right place, however, in the bigger picture, let's put things into perspective.

The owner of this site, IGT (International Game Technology) is a publicly traded, well-capitalized multi-billion corporation. We need not burden ourselves with outside thoughts of two dorm buddies code-writing a gambling site and their biggest worry is scraping up enough cash to extend an exceeded 200GB bandwidth plan to 500GB just to finish the month out.

IGT made the sizable investment acquiring Doubledown for 500 million dollars in January 2011 for two (main) reasons - even at the dismay of some shareholders. Yep, that's a mind-blowing amount for an 'app', isn't it? Well, it depends what your business forecasting crystal ball reveals to you, I suppose.

R&D:

Since IGT, for years, made their living off of mechanical slot machines, laborious amounts of work would have to go into one machine. Even the 5-wheel digital machines needed assembled and test-driven before being released to the casinos. Always at risk was if the machine would be a hit in the casinos. Now, it's just a matter of digitally dressing up your themes and send them out into DDC and see if it's a hit or a miss. Data collection is instantaneous. It will give a fairly clear fail/success picture for a minimal amount of labor involved. Sample time testing here gives IGT literally millions of free hours from those free chips. Talk about win/win.

Why Pay For Chips?:

It's mind-boggling. It defies logic. Hey, we're IGT's testing guinea pigs! Shouldn't all chips be free? But charging for social gaming sure is lucrative. Just because IGT generated 2.15 BILLION in revenue in 2012 doesn't mean they turn a blind eye to trends. DDC accounted for 2% of revenue in 2011. In 2012, IGT recognized growth to 7% from this casino. That's 150,500,000 in real world currency - and no payouts. Not a bad way to boost your Research and Development dept, eh.

Online Gambling's Future:

Okay, so now we've established why IGT is here; it's obvious where IGT is heading. It's just a matter of time before ignored tax revenue collection finds the proper legislation to start lining the US government's pockets. Las Vegas has strongly lobbied anti-online gambling legislation and it's pretty obvious why. Their investments are in the mega-billions in physical property. The entire city is enveloped in physical gambling staying in existence. So are many other cities, reservations, river boats and what-have-you. Gambling spawns off an insane amount of service jobs but for how much longer can lawmakers hold back the tsunami of tax waves for a couple thousand cocktail waitress, concierges, chefs and maids?

IGT is betting sooner than later. Facebook has been in fights for online gambling app controls for a few years now. And they're making forward progress in nations were online gambling is legal. So online poker has left a bad taste in many American's mouth after the Fulltilt scandal, (which is one key sticking points holding back US legislation) the re-entry point for legislation will have high requirements for security and capitalization assurance from potential gambling site/app owners. IGT and Facebook (just to name two) will certainly qualify. It's a slippery slope. Here's a company that has to pit it's staple physical business against a digital, no-heavy-lifting future. If they get it wrong, it's game over. I'm not so sure the physical casinos will survive if/when online gambling goes greenlight.

Does DDC Put Us On A 'Cooler' To Buy Chips?:

I would guess no. The mathematics of casino gambling utilizes house-advantaged games. Play any game long enough and sooner or later.... well, you know how that story ends. And that's another essay for another time, perhaps.

[Sunnyvale]

The owner of this site,

Just to clarify.

Meaning Doubledown Casino, not this site we're posting on. Awkward wording. Sorry about that.