Station Casinos starts a marketing campaign this weekend for a new video-poker format that industry executives say will change the way video poker play is bought.

Marketed as "Guaranteed Play," the format allows players a certain number of hands no matter how badly play goes.

A player buys 75 hands for $20 or 200 hands for $40, but it still pays out on the same 25 cent, maximum bet, pay table.

The format is also available in the $1 denomination.

"People who gamble want to be entertained," said Jay Fennel, Station Casinos' corporate director of slot operations. "When video-poker players play, they are going after that royal flush, the big payout. It's getting guaranteed play time to try to get that big hit."

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