*** MIA *** $0.25 8/5 JoB on Multi-Strike machines has been downgraded to 250 coins-per-coin for the Royal Flush with no 5th coin bonus (playing all five coins results in a top award of 1250 coins, not 4000) making it a 96.1% game.

Same Day Cash Back: Available to all players. You may redeem your cash/comp balance for a cash voucher at the Club Mystic desk ($5 minimum to redeem). Your current cash/comp balance is displayed when you insert your Club Mystic card into a machine. Cashback OR Comps. 6/5 BP entry -- both banks of "Fast Action" progressive machines have been removed (please remove from listing). 6/5 BP remains on machines 1c/5c/25c/50c/$1/$5 scattered throughout the casino. A recent (July, 2008) mailer indicated that Club Mystic card members will soon be getting downloadable freeplay offers that must be played through a machine when they are, rather than the vouchers currently sent out that are redeemable for cash.

*** MIA - *** (2) 25c 6/5 BP PROG (RF) "Fast Action 4-of-a-kind" banks of 8 machines each. Each bank has its own progressive for 4 2s-4s, 4 5s-Ks, and 4 Aces.

Mystic's players' club (aptly named, "Club Mystic") underwent some changes in December of 2006. Things are still a little wacky -- points on your card have little significance, comps are based on your play over your previous visits and are not yours to keep once you've earned them, etc. On the other hand, they did shed a little light on how their comp process works. Reward Credits ("points") determine your card level (see below for a description of the different levels). Reward credits are earned at the same rate for all card levels. After asking many employees over many trips, I have determined that points accumulate at the rate of one point per anywhere from $2 to $8 coin-in. I have been told that it varies based on what type of machine you play, what denomination you play, and how long you play at a particular machine (more than one employee has told me that moving from machine to machine hurts the number of points you earn for the same amount of coin-in). Comps are earned based on your club card status and total dollars played. In other words, comp dollars are earned at a different rate depending on how much you have previously wagered at the casino. Blackjack comps are based on a minimum bet of $10 and total play time, and those comps are not available to be redeemed for cash. As mentioned above, comp dollars are NOT yours to keep once you've earned them. "Complimentaries are valid for 90 days including the date they were earned and thereafter automatically expire. Example: If you earn $10 in comps on March 1, you have until May 29 to redeem the comp." Because of this, there is an ever-moving window for your comp dollars, and if you don't use them all, you'll wind up losing some of them. The best advice is to not attempt to bank them, but rather use them up whenever you can. The best way to make sure you receive every comp dollar you've earned is to try and keep your comp balance at $0.00 (by using them frequently). Every time you drain your comp balance, you effectively reset the start of the 90-day window, which is a good thing. (A minimum comp balance of $5 is required to redeem, and there is a limit of $1,000 in complimentary redemption per day.) Players can see their current comp balance by inserting their club card into any slot machine or video poker card reader. The reader will display the number of reward credits, and the current slot comp balance. Same Day Cash Back is available to Platinum and Elite Club Mystic members only. According to the brochure, "Same Day Cash Back allows you to exchange your points for cash. (Slot play only)" Cigarette comps are available to Platinum and Platinum Elite cardholders, and to any club member with an ADT of $400 or more (based on the previous ten visits). As stated above, slot club points are reset to zero for all players on January 1st of every year. Earned comps are not affected by this reset. The points are used to determine what players' card level you have achieved over the past year. There's a white card for 0-599 points, a blue "Classic" card for 600-5,999 points, Gold for 6,000-21,999 points, Platinum for 22,000 points, and a "Platinum Elite" card for 60,000 points. Each card (save for the white card) comes with certain perks. Blue = 10% off restaurants and 5% off at the gift shop, Gold = 15% off restaurants and 10% off at the gift shop, plus free valet, Platinum = 20% off restaurants and 15% at the gift shop, free valet, free health club membership, invitations to special events, etc. Platinum Elite gets a special thank-you letter for helping to build the casino (and 25% off at restaurants, 20% at the gift shop). Slot club points have no other significance except to help you keep track of points earned for their "First Class Cash" bounce-back cash system. The week runs from 2:01 AM Monday to 1:59 AM Monday. Every 200 points earned in that week earns $5 in bounce-back cash. Cash mailers are only issued for $5 or more (0-199 points = $0), with every 40 points above 200 being worth an additional $1. With the introduction of Same Day Cash Back for Platinum and Elite members, First Class Cash now only applies to white, blue, and gold card members. With a minimal level of play, Mystic sends out monthly marketing mailers which may include discounted or free hotel room coupons based on level of play, and other random coupons including small cash offers, restaurant coupons, or coupons for the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux-owned gas station across the street from the casino. Depending on level of play, additional mailers for other promotions are sent out, often with coupons for "bonus entries" for casino promotions, free show tickets, etc. Obviously, the more you play, the better the marketing offers. Finally, note that Minnesota's tribal compact limits video poker payouts to a maximum of 98%. I'm not sure how progressives factor in to that as I have seen some progressives at Mystic push games above that, although I'm sure the total payback for the machines (including the high progressives) keeps the games under 98%. As such, you will not find "good" video poker in Minnesota.

Updated slot club information to reflect recent changes in comp policies (see below). Not much has changed at Mystic Lake in regards to video poker. One bank of "Fast Action 4-of-a-kind" bonus poker moved -- about 15 feet from where it used to be. That's about it.

In their most recent monthly mailer, Club Mystic announced that some "exciting changes to Club Mystic are coming soon." A few months back a survey was sent out to Club Mystic members regarding Club Mystic comp policies - perhaps some changes will be made based on feedback received...

This is the starting point. I have not analyzed every video poker game in the casino, but will strive to add additional machines and information on future visits. Please e-mail me (with "Mystic Lake Video Poker" or similar in the subject line) if you know of a machine that should be added. Thanks. - knagl _at_ aol dot.com CASINO/SLOT CLUB INFORMATION - Updated: