There are hundreds of things I do in order for Brad and me to be successful playing video poker – that is, making money at the activity – but the one that may be the most important – it certain is the one that keeps me the busiest – is staying on top of casino information. I feel like a large sponge that demands constant moisture, and I spend hours a day feeding this demand, soaking up information in the casinos, on the Internet, in magazines, books, and newspapers, and from fellow gamblers. 

Case in point is the information I have learned about Station Casinos just in the few days since I got back from Europe.  

1. The Stations may be switching back and forth their qualification schedules for figuring their mailed free play. I found this out by reading a recent Bob Dancer’s article from CasinoGaming.com.   (If you don’t read this column every week, you are missing out on a valuable source of information. You can go back to the archives and catch up on this rich resource from the last three years.) 

2. I was reminded of the cold hard bankroll facts about the Deuces Bonus Multi Strike game that we love/hate at Green Valley Ranch, again in a recent Dancer article, this time at another Internet site, Video Poker 365.   (This also is a rich resource for VP players where Dancer and I both write articles on a regular basis.) 

3. I received this post about our recent European trip: “I am fairly new at the comp game. It would be great to learn how you applied the Stations points to your trip expenses. According to their Web site I am eligible for "travel bucks." Is that what you used, and how does it work?”  

Yes, that is what we used – and you have learned one good comp game hint, that of going to a casino Web site for information. Casino Web sites vary greatly in how much information they give, but I’ve noticed a welcome trend toward their being more player friendly and helpful. 

Station travel bucks are only available to players on the Platinum, President, and Chairman levels. We used them only because we have “old” points, those accumulated before they changed their system and you can redeem points for free play. Although you can use new points for travel bucks, this would not be a good use if you were Platinum since it takes 1200 points for one travel buck and you can redeem for free play at the 1000 to 1 ratio. At the two higher levels, the ratio for each option is the same, 1000 to 1, but we would not bother using our new points for travel since Prestige Travel, which handles the travel arrangements you make for Station travel bucks, charges a fee for each reservation. 

4. Friday I noticed there was no Jumbo Jackpot at Green Valley Ranch.  I asked about this at the slot club desk.  They said that when all the individual casino jackpots have been hit, they plan to go back to a Station-wide progressive.  No further details on what this would be, whether it would be like it was before. I’m guessing it will be cut, but who knows the minds of casino executives!

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