Last week I received a nice note from a reader named Jerry, who said he’s a 30-year resident of Las Vegas and enjoys playing video keno.

He was writing in response to a comment I made about playing at the El Cortez casino in downtown Las Vegas, where they used to have the older IGT Fortune, two-screen keno machines.

It’s always interesting to hear from someone who has had a history of playing keno in Nevada.

Jerry, for instance, recalls playing at the old Maxim hotel, whose casino also used to have the upright IGT Fortune machines.

I, too, played there, and ate in the somewhat borderline buffet. (If memory serves, we received free buffet passes for cashing payroll checks there.)

But the keno was as good as the old two-screen machines could muster. The Maxim, along with Palace Station, Arizona Charlie’s, El Cortez, Las Vegas Club, the Skyline, Stardust, Nevada Palace, also come to mind as spots where the older keno machines ruled!

Jerry noted that he had some good fortune playing the Fortune machines, and that’s always nice to hear. I remember doing very well at the El Cortez, until the company changed out the computer chips, after which it seemed like the jackpots dried up.

In his letter, Jerry made a few requests and posed a few questions. Actually, it reads something like a questionnaire, but I’ll try to answer his questions.

Jerry would like to know:

1. Where and what kind of machines I play?

2. How many minutes or hours are played on a machine?

3. How much money do I put through the machine?

4. What "clusters" or patterns I used, and how many times I changed clusters? Also, do you attribute winning to any pattern, or does it really matter?

5. How many times I go out and gamble without having a winning session.

I think these are very good questions, and as far as some of the details about money amounts, I’ll defer to the IRS for right now.

In the meantime, here are some answers to Jerry questions:

1. The kind of machine I play is usually a Game King from IGT, which features Four Card Keno, regular keno, as well as Multi Card Keno (also known as 20-card keno). As I’ve pointed out before, I stick to the "locals" oriented casinos in Las Vegas because they seem to have a better selection than the Strip casinos. They include Palace Station, Arizona Charlie’s, Jerry’s Nugget, Gold Coast, the Palms, Orleans and Red Rock, just to name a few.

2. I play about an hour or two on a machine. It depends on how the machine responds; that is, whether it is offering small jackpots to get things going.

3. I won’t say exactly how much money I spend gambling. But I play nickel denominations on Multi Card Keno, quarters and dimes on Four Card Keno and mostly quarters on regular keno.

4. I think I’ve been pretty specific in identifying my clusters. I like to use the first two columns playing Four Card Keno, and the bottom two rows playing 20-Card Keno. The only reason I stick to certain patterns is because it’s easier to keep track of them.

5. Of course, it’s "luck" whenever you win. But is it possible to be "more lucky" with one pattern over another? It seems like it’s possible. Especially as you evaluate your results with your patterns.

6. I have very few losing sessions. That’s only because I’ve learned to stop, even when I can only cash on middle-of-the-road jackpots, such as the 7-of-9, 7-of-10, 6-of-8 or 6-of-7. As I’ve noted in recent articles, it seems the machines nowadays are so tight that often times you need to be content with just winning 20 percent to 50 percent of what you’ve played (your bankroll).

Well, I hope that answers a few questions. I would just like to add, about the reference to money spent, you have to be able to play within your means. If you only have a $20 bill, you can play nickel keno, or even 2¢ Multi Card Keno. If you have hundred bucks, you can play Four Card Keno in the nickel and dime denominations, or regular quarter keno (one card keno). Money management is always the key to gambling, and hopefully you’ll find the discipline to stick to your game plan.