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Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Horse Racing, Slot Machines, and Las Vegas fun is just the beginning with Sigma Derby

By Tommy Lorenzo


A recent post-midnight jaunt to Downtown Las Vegas led me to the vintage gaming area on the second floor of The D Hotel and Casino. The first thing I heard as I approached the myriad of old-school coin operated slot machines was a voice yelling "c'mon two-three, c'mon two-three!" Surely I had heard this type of exclamation many a time at the race and sports book or perhaps walking by a craps table, but at a quarter past midnight on the second floor of The D? The reason for heading to The D in the first place was to check out the Long Bar on the main floor. I headed upstairs to simply snap a couple of photos of the sports book for a future review. I had no idea that I was going to spend the next two hours having a heck of a good time.

The sports book located in this area had long closed for the evening and there are no table games in this area, but the space is filled with vintage slot machines and the star attraction here is the Sigma Derby machine. There are a number of things that makes Sigma Derby fun. The free drinks, meeting new folks (I met people from Maryland, Minnesota, and California), and the chase of hitting the 200-1 jackpot. And a lot of people agree about the fun as Sigma Derby has quite a cult following, including their own Facebook page.

An occasional video poker or video blackjack session while watching a sporting event at one of the casino bars is the extent of my slot play. However, being a horse racing fan combined with the fact that there is no sports book action happening at "12-something" in the morning, the thought of joining this Sigma-Derby party was intriguing. Little did I realize how much fun I would have not only playing the game, but interacting with several of the folks sitting in on the fun - I made friends and enjoyed libations with folks from California, Minnesota, and Maryland. And as it turns out, this Sigma Derby thing has a bit of a cult following - a Sigma Derby Facebook group has been created for fans of the game to interact.

Playing Sigma Derby is pretty simple. An exacta combination (1st and 2nd place in exact order) is chosen by the player prior to the start of the race. You can bet anywhere from one to 200 quarters on each exacta bet you make. The biggest payout is 200-1, but the usual payouts range from 3-1 to 12-1. But alas, that 200-1 will come up and sometimes hit for a "jackpot" win. Each horse race (think miniature horse and jockey racing around a miniature model of a race track) goes off approximately every minute or so.

My fun on the machine lasted for about two hours. Total investment was 10 bucks and I had plenty of comp drinks (The D floor staff is outstanding), met some fun people, and had quite a few laughs. If you happen to find yourself in Downtown Las Vegas, checking out the fun at the Sigma Derby machine is worth it - whether it's in the middle of the day or the wee hours, you never know who you'll meet or if the 200-1 jackpot hits!




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