More than 220 slot players from across the country gathered Monday at Harrah's Reno in hopes of taking home a $1 million Halloween treat. In the end, that prize -- and the title of National Champion of Slots -- went to Geri Batchelor of Rutherford, CA.

Batchelor, a 36-year-old office manager, captured the $1 million grand prize at the Harrah's Millionaire Maker National Championship of Slots. She beat out 222 other finalists who advanced to the Reno finals.

The rules of the tournament were simple. Each player started with zero points. After three 15-minute rounds of play, Batchelor emerged with 22,198 points, the highest of any competitor, to capture the $1 million grand prize paid over 20 years in annual installments of $50,000.

"I'm going to take my parents someplace really nice," Batchelor said. "They've done a lot for me -- they've always supported me -- and it will be nice to pay them back a little. I'm also going to take care of my friends."

Las Vegas city officials are considering giving their official seal of approval to VegasOne.com, a proposed online gambling site backed by a group of former casino executives. The proposed licencing agreement would give the city of Las Vegas 5% of the website's gross revenues and 25% of its profits in exchange for official approval by the Las Vegas city government. The website's owners believe the official seal of approval would give their site an edge with online gamblers wary of being ripped off.

There are just a few problems. Internet gambling is illegal in Nevada and under attack by the United States government. To avoid any problems, VegasOne's backers suggest the servers would be placed in Australia or Europe and casino software would prohibit American players from wagering.

Under the proposed agreement, the city of Las Vegas could potentially earn millions of dollars annually, money that would be used for public works and improvement projects. At a council meeting on Monday, Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman proposed a short test run before giving final approval to the idea. At press time, a final decision hadn't been made.

Dear Mark,

Las weekend in Reno, I introduced my girlfriend to the game of craps. At first, I had her watch so I could explain both a pass line bet and placing the 6 and 8. She then jumped in playing the same wagers as I did. After one hour, she's up $200 and I'm down $50. Is that beginner's luck or what? --A.P.Concord, CA

Hogwash to beginner's luck. The reason your girlfriend won more than you is that your dice timeline (the period that you were on the game) was different from hers. You started playing your hard-earned money on the game before she exposed hers. When she joined the game already in progress, she initiated her own personal sequence of rolls, with the dice heating up from that moment on. Maybe she'd like to pool all results.

At least, Alex, you are showing her some of the best wagers you can make on a dice game. The pass line bet and placing the 6 and 8 both have a house edge well under two percent.

Get more expert tips from Mark at www.dealmein.org

In a grouping of video poker machines, known as banks or carousels, all of which may look exactly the same, casinos will often 'mix-in' several VP machines with inferior pay programs (short/partial pay). Most often in such a bank of regular non-progressive, non-bonus VP machines, only 1 or 2 may be the Jacks or better 9/6 (nine coins for a full house, and 6 coins for a flush), while the rest are 8/5, 7/5, or even worse, 6/5.

This means that one player, on the 9/6 machine, will be winning more for the same hands than the other players. A 9/6 VP will generally hit the royal flush each 40,000 hands played, or every 80-100 hours of play, while the 8/5 each 45,000 hands, on average; the 7/5's each 50,000 hands; and the 6/5's only once about each 70,000 hands played.

If you bet 5 coins, all winning hands are paid out multiplied by a factor of 5, except for the royal flush. This is a bonus amount designed as an incentive to play five coins. All those players who play less than maximum coins are setting up the best payoffs for those who do.

More tips next week. In the mean time, visit Gayle's web site at www.easycasinogambling.com

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As luck would have it, it's not how you play the game but where you play the game. Lina Visconti, author of Feng Shui, Going With The Flow, suggests positioning yourself and your computer "within an environment so that you have the most benefit from the positive flow of natural energies". Basically, the idea is to create good vibes, or "chi" in your home. Unhealthy or stagnant energy is said to bring bad luck, money problems and ill health.

So if you're playing online and you want to make a few extra bucks, try putting your computer in the left-hand corner of the room and away from the window; this is called its money point.

Read on for more good luck information at WINNERonline

Seems like lots of new casinos are offering bonuses when you sign up for the first time - this gives the public a chance to check out the games and the facilities at little to no cost, but hopefully for some of you who have followed this series, you have been turning this bonus money into winnings as well!

In the previous installments, you had a chance to try out Captain Cook's (Microgaming) and Prestige (Boss Media). To provide a bit more variety, this week we're going to visit Windows Casino, which uses the Real Time Gaming software.

Click to take the tour

My husband and I recently returned from a great trip to Las Vegas! We stayed at the Rio Suites where we've been staying twice a yeat since 1992. We really enjoy the friendliness and helpfulness of all the Rio staff and we like the beautiful spacious suites with in-room coffeemakers, refrigerators and safes.

This trip we decided to be participants in the Masquerade Show in the Sky at the Rio. For $9.95 each, anyone can participate. We were given a backstage tour and information on the various floats , then we were dressed in costumes and rode in the show. Crazy and fun! If you haven't seen the show, go! We haven't had a lot of luck gambling at the Rio, however. Our favorite and luckiest place is Sam's Town.--S. Entwhistle

My wife and I recently had a great trip to Vegas thanks to the Rio. Since we had been there last year to play, they offered us a great package price for three nights and four days. We stayed four nights and ended up getting the fourth night comped . The restaurants are really nice, the cocktail waitresses are the best you will find anywhere on the strip, the shows are good, and the casino games will treat you as well as anywhere I have played.

We had a room on the Strip side of the west tower and the nighttime view was awesome. You can get a free shuttle to Harrahs on the strip and go to the other casinos from there. Our five days and four nights ended up only costing us $42/day for the room and the meals. The Rio comped everything else. I would recommend the Rio to anyone for a great getaway.--S. Jones

Send your trip reports to . If we publish your report you'll receive a certificate for 2 nights free accommodation redeemable at a number of U.S. destinations. Some blackout periods and other restrictions apply, but it's free!

Last week, we told you about the online travel agency Tripeze.com. A reader checked them out and sent us this info:

I just checked their fares for the week of Nov. 18-24 out of Detroit (DTW) to McCarran International. The price I booked for two people was $540.00 Canadian through a travel agent in Windsor. Tripeze.com's cheapest fare was $630.92 but what was truly amazing was that Sun Country flight SY99 out of Detroit and returning SY94 out of McCarran which is the flight I booked was their fourth cheapest flight and it was for $1174.86 for two tickets. I would not recommend them to anyone. I hope you pass this along to all readers.--C.T.Fuller

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For those of you with Harrah's Total Rewards cards (available at all Harrah's locations) you can now access free, play-for-fun games at Harrah's newly redesigned Web site. Check them out at www.harrahs.com. I've played them and they're pretty fun! Your editor, Steve Johnson, .

See you next week!

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