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President Obama just declared an H1N1 Emergency.   I had predicted weeks ago that was coming!

And I am starting my 8th week fighting whatever-it-is. Last week I spent 3 days in the hospital with lots of testing that eliminated a lot of maybe-this-is-the-problem issues. And I have more tests tomorrow (Monday) but that will be as an outpatient. Thank goodness. It’s hard running our “life command center” from a hospital bed – although I kept my calendar and cell phone by my side. 

I was in Spring Valley Hospital – same hospital where Brad has been in the past - and just a few minutes from our condo so it is very handy. Nice facility - all rooms there are private ones and at night you have a beautiful view of the Strip lights. I had to laugh during an only-in-Vegas moment when I was being admitted. They gave me a list to check off all my belongings and under the Money Column one of the items was “Casino Chips.” 

I just have not been able to answer all your nice e-mails, but I do really appreciate all the kind words.

In the meantime, here are a few tidbits about driving around Vegas that might be helpful to some of you:

 •Dean Martin Drive (formerly known as Industrial Road) is a very handy way to avoid I-15. You can pick it up near Downtown, at Wyoming (between Charleston and Sahara) and go south on it almost all the way to the M Casino (turning left onto Southern Highland at the south end to actually get to M). Along the way you can turn onto Rio Drive to get to the Rio/Palms/Gold Coast; turn onto Trop to get to NYNY/Excal; turn into a little connector (forget the name) to get up onto Hacienda and get to the back garages of Excal, Luxor, and Mandalay Bay; stop at Silverton; get off on Silverado to go to South Point: and then continue south to M. This street is almost never crowded, even when I-15 has become a parking lot.

 •Koval is a construction nightmare from Trop to Flamingo. Avoid at all costs. It might be longer to use Paradise/Swenson but it is quicker.

 •The Airport Connector, our favorite shortcut from the west side of town to the east, is  in construction mode and will stay there for about a YEAR!

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No, I didn’t die – but for the last few weeks I thought that this bug-that-is-going-around (whatever name they give it) was trying to kill me! When I was talking about the swine flu in my September 11 entry, I didn’t realize that I would still be talking about it on October 16. Wow – this bug can be one nasty enemy. I tried to fight it by using my usual technique of iron mental determination – ignore it and it will go away. It didn’t. 

Fortunately, however, when I finally used some good sense and went back to the doctor, she figured that I probably have a shot immune system and developed a secondary bacterial infection. Hurrah – not much you can do about viruses but now I can take a pill! So I am on a strong antibiotic and hopefully will soon be good as new – or as “new” as a 70-year-old lady can be!!!! 

So, within a few days, I plan to be back blogging more regularly and giving more gambling hints that will help you keep and/or put more money in your pocket! 

Thanx to all of you who wrote, concerned about my absence. I feel very loved and that is very healing!

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Back in my September 11 entry I wrote about my battle – and then Brad’s - with flu-like symptoms since early in that month. I never got tested to see if I had the swine flu since my symptoms weren’t severe and I figured I’d feel better in a week or so.  Brad did have more severe symptoms in the beginning and, since he has heart problems, his doctor did test him. We were a little surprised at the results. The nasal swabs came back negative for swine flu, but the throat culture they took came back positive for a staph infection. He was put on antibiotics and in another week or so, he had seemed to regain his strength and was able to go about his normal routine. 

On the other hand, although I mostly got over some of the initial symptoms quickly – sore throat, achy body – some of the other symptoms have remained, now 5 weeks later, including eye problems, chest discomfort, cough. The most debilitating problem, however, has been constant severe fatigue that doesn’t respond to rest. 

You might ask what all this has to do with gambling and/or Las Vegas?  

Perhaps not as much as the subjects I usually cover here. Or -  perhaps more so. I’m not an extremist about anything or a perpetual worrywart, but I do think casinos can be a definite threat this winter in the war against the swine flu. For one thing, a place where groups of people congregate is always a hotbed for viruses.   Another problem is that the recession has caused casinos to cut their workforce numbers, including those that clean. I have noticed a definite decline in the general cleanliness in many casinos - dirty bathrooms, grubby machines. 

There is another issue if the swine flu becomes extremely widespread. Casinos are not “necessary” businesses. Would health departments ever shut them down during an epidemic? Or, might some casinos have to shut down if there are not enough healthy employees to run them? 

I guess this whole subject has captured my attention more because I have been dealing with it personally for over a month. Actually I didn’t connect some of my long-lasting symptoms with the swine flu. I have struggled off and on with fibromyalgia for over 30 years and it can have some of the same symptoms, especially extreme fatigue. However, results of all my Googling point to the opinion that I am probably still fighting the swine flu. 

Some people I talk to say they are afraid to get the swine flu vaccine. I think I am in the camp that says you should be afraid not to get it!

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Going through our October casino mailers the last few days, a couple of unusual bonuses for “slots” caught my eye. I am used to seeing ongoing promotions for bonus-point days that give more points for slot play than for video poker play, often twice as much (6x vs.3x at the Cannery Casinos) or even better (5x vs. 2x at Silverton).   However, in October, South Point is offering no bonus-point days for video poker but 5x points every day for slots.   And Ellis Island has added three 12x-point days just for slots, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursday. 

Some people use the word “slots” to refer to all machines in a casino, whatever the game. When I use the word, I am always excluding video poker from the slot category - and casinos are doing a better job these days in spelling out what they mean. For example, in the above-mentioned promotions, South Point says you get 5x points on “slots and video reel machines.”   Ellis Island says you get 12x points on “all reel and video reel machines.” 

But these definitions can be confusing and open to interpretation, particularly when casinos talk about “slot machines” in connection with a bonus promotion. Sometimes all machines are treated the same, i.e., if the bonus is awarded on all W-2G jackpots. If it is a royal flush bonus, obviously that would refer only to video poker machines. Where one might need to check details would be on a multiple-points bonus – are keno or blackjack machines considered “slots”? 

Most people know that Brad and I play video poker almost exclusively. However, you might see us playing a little social blackjack on a cruise ship or notice us at a crap table or another casino table game when we have coupons. 

But down through the years you might have been surprised to see us occasionally at a slot machine and wonder why we have strayed from video poker. It could be that a promo a casino is running is “juicier” on slots than on video poker. Or, there is some script or coupons that can only be redeemed in slot machines. (That happened in a casino in Venice, Italy.) Or, the slot machine has a progressive or it is a bonusing machine that has gone into positive territory. It could be that we know a casino may give much better rewards (like higher bounce-back) to a gambler who “mixes up” his play than to someone who only sticks to the best video poker games.  

However, on rare occasions we might just be in the mood for some recreational play and see a new slot machine that looks entertaining. I could just call it “research” – but there is no sin in just having fun!   We need to relax more in our golden years anyway!

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After I wrote about daily average earlier in the month, I received this e-mail from a reader: 

One thing you might warn your readers about is “what is a day?” for the computation of a daily average.  I’m a night person so I like to play all night when I have the full range of VP machines to pick from and no distractions.  I have been tripped up on the what-is a-day question enough times to make it my business to 
TRY to find out the answer. I have quite a lot of experience trying to extract information from players clubs, hosts, marketing departments, and whomever else I can grab, but it isn’t easy to find the answer to this question. 

Some casinos start their player day at midnight.  Many, many start at 2:00 AM. (It took me forever to find out Fitzgerald’s starts at 4:00 AM.) If you’re in a casino that starts at 2:00 AM and play from 10:00 PM  ’till 3:00 AM. You have played for TWO player days, thus diluting your daily average.  95% of the time, if you ask at the player’s club, they will tell you midnight, but for the sake of computation of daily average, thist isn’t always true. To make matters even more complicated, if a casino is offering point multiplier days, these almost always start at midnight.  Anyone starting to play at midnight in the hopes of getting lots of points is running the risk of ruining their daily average. 

I personally make it a point to start any new play after 2:00 AM (the 
Fitz after 4:00AM) and hope for the best.

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I love lists, especially ones that have frugal ideas for having a good time in Las Vegas without hurting your pocket. Here are a couple of lists I have seen on the Internet recently and they point you to even more lists!

1.  Vegas Budget Extenders 

2.  In Las Vegas, 21 ideas -- all under $21 – This LA Times article, by Steve Friess, fellow Huntington Press author, has some budget ideas that were new even to me! Thanx to SaveLV.com Daily Update, itself a thrifty powerhouse, for steering me to this article. 

There is so much information packed in the above links, one could keep busy every waking moment in Vegas without gambling at all!!!!

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Many of you have written to ask whether Brad and I would ever be at some public function where people could meet us – to exchange coupons, to have me autograph your Frugal books, or just to chat about frugal gambling. 

Well, this coming Saturday, September 19, is just such an opportunity. Since we both are feeling better - finally over the flu (or whatever we had), we plan to be at the monthly luncheon at the Gold Coast buffet organized by vpFREE. The group meets in front of the buffet and enters together promptly at 11:30 a.m.  

Haven’t signed up to vpFree yet? No problem, you can subscribe at vpFREE-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.   This is free site. Duh! Maybe you guessed that by the name! I predict that if you play video poker, you will wonder how you ever got along without the information you find there. And even if you only play slots, you will find it a good resource about slot clubs, comps and other related subjects.  

Hope to see a lot of you all Saturday.    Bring your coupons and be prepared to make some new frugal friends!

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I got a lot of questions after my September 7th blog entry, most of them about the subject of casinos using daily average to determine what rewards and offers to send you in the mail. Here is a sample: 

How do we, the players, know if our play is based on daily average? Will the players club disclose that information? What about a host?  

Do you by any chance have a list of casinos in Vegas that use daily average? It would sure help us to know. 

I wish that there were simple answers to these questions, but there aren’t. I’m forced back, as I am so often, to my old standby statement, “It depends on the casino.” And in this matter, I must also answer, “And it’s not easy to find out. 

Occasionally, you can find out at the slot club as you can at the South Point Casino. Ask them what the requirements are for the various mailers they send out (to locals only) and they will give you the figures that you can write down and tell you what the qualification period is. (See my September 2 blog entry for more details.) This is one casino that does not use daily average; you can play as much or as little in any one day of the month. Only your monthly total counts. 

However, the front-line slot club personnel usually are not privy to marketing department policies and details. But it is worth a try to ask to speak to a slot club supervisor, who can occasionally be knowledgeable and helpful. 

What about hosts? Sometimes they can enlighten you and sometimes they just shake their heads and say that marketing is as much a mystery to them as to you! 

One of the ways I find out about puzzling casino policies is to peruse gambling forums, particularly vpFREE and/or one of its regional forums. Lots of people reporting on their experiences sometimes give one enough information to put the puzzle together. 

I do have some specific information,   Harrah’s – they do worship the God of Daily Average but they have lots of more minor gods, including Theo. I study them constantly and still can’t exactly figure out why they do anything! 

It used to be true, in Vegas, that Strip casinos mostly used daily (or trip) average – and that is still the way it is. Locals casinos almost always used monthly or quarterly totals. However, that is changing. The Stations seem to be tinkering with their system and sometimes (always?) include daily average as a factor. The Palms has always used daily average – a major frustration for me and many locals who want to go in and play more often. But if we can’t play big on some day, we just don’t play at all there. We will go to another locals joint where we don’t have to worry about ruining our daily average. 

A rule of thumb I use if I don’t know for sure whether daily average is a factor in a particular casino: I assume it is and try to give as much play as I can in as few days as possible. When I want to establish myself in a new casino, I play big one day and try not to be tripped on any other days. Then I have a high average whether that is important or not. 

So no, I can’t put a list of casino here to help you. I wish I could but the way casinos change, it would be out of date before I finished typing it!

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Brad and I have been fighting flu symptoms for a week. First time I noticed anything wrong, I was sitting at a video poker machine with a game that required the JoB strategy, one I have played for almost twenty years and I can practically play in my sleep. Suddenly, I am seeing five cards and I have no idea what I am supposed to do with them. I concentrate really hard and it comes to me – I should hold the pair. I play for about 10 minutes, concentrating hard on each hand, hoping I won't make a silly mistake.   Finally I tell Brad, who is sitting beside me, “I know I am getting Alzheimer’s – I just can’t think. And besides I am getting a terrible sore throat. I want to go home.” 

When I got home, I was feeling really lousy – but I figured I was just having one of my sinus infection episodes. I get these every once in awhile so I took some sinus medicine and went to bed. The next day I was achy and feeling exhausted so continued to rest.  

My doctor sister happened to call and I told her my symptoms and she said it sounded like I had “what was going around – the swine flu.” My daughter called within the hour and was telling me about my granddaughter, Kaitlynn, being down with the swine flu – that it was going around her high school and many students were out. 

Hummmmm……what had I been doing on the previous few days. Back to begin another year as a volunteer in a kindergarten in the school down the street. Twenty-three little ones with the usual number of coughs, grubby hands, and runny noses. I guess it was inevitable. 

I Googled “swine flu” and found there were 38 million references, but I picked a few and found these possible symptoms:  high-grade fever, chills, muscle aches, headaches, sore throat, dry cough, vomiting, diarrhea, and confusion. No one has all of the symptoms, usually just two or three and they last on average 3 or 4 days and most swine flu cases are mild.   You can’t positively diagnose swine flu without a lab test but they are assuming that if you have some of these symptoms you probably have it since it is “going around” and it is too early for the regular flu season. I just heard on the local news that there was a sudden jump in the number of swine flu cases here in Vegas – 300 reported in the last few days. 

On the 3rd day I was feeling much better and we were happy that I must have had a mild case and I hadn’t given whatever I had to Brad. I worried about his getting the swine flu because most of the deaths reported from it were because of “underlying medical problems.” 

Well, our happiness about the situation didn’t last very long. A couple of days later Brad got very sick very suddenly in the middle of the night, spiking a high temperature. Unfortunately we happened to be in a hotel in Laughlin at the time so decided to wait it out. And the next morning he said he felt fine – had sweated out whatever bug or virus had attacked him. However, by the next evening he was running a fever again and feeling achy and exhausted so we drove back to Vegas the next day and saw the doctor today. 

At the doctor’s office they took a throat culture for strep and nasal swabs for the swine flu, but by the time the results are back, hopefully he will be well. But if he would have any further complications, they would know better how to treat him. 

They say, like for the regular flu, that the tiredness and cough may linger for a couple of weeks after the other symptoms are gone. Seems like the wisest plan of action for us now is to continue with lots of liquids, Tylenol, and a sensible rest schedule.

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