I was catching up on “Today’s News” on the LVA homepage and saw this September 24 item: “ECan Tops Market.  According to Majestic Research, which tracks "game usage" (i.e., number of bodies on the games) at Vegas casinos, Eastside Cannery is #1 in the locals market during the third quarter of 2008.” 

I was wondering when they took their survey. If it was on September 15, that was the first day of a 10-times-points promotion and I saw more skilled VP players than I had seen in one place since Tuscany had their 4-to-a-royal promotion several years ago. Some had driven in from Nevada border states and even flown in from points more distant. However, it is not just those players who live and die by their math calculations who are attracted to good promotions. There are hundreds of Vegas locals who may not be able to figure the math of a promotion but when they see 10x points, they will guess that it is good and make an effort to take advantage of it. 

So, if the newly opened East Cannery was wanting to plump up their database, this 10x promotion was a good idea that worked. However, it may have been more successful for the players than for the casino. What was to be a continuing promotion on Mondays and Wednesdays the rest of September was abruptly cancelled after that first Monday. So if the 3rd quarter survey was taken a couple of days later, the results would have been much different – you would have seen a much less crowded casino floor. 

A personal note here: Although this was a super promotion, with a strong EV (theoretical return), Brad and I lost about $4000 that day, even counting the $4000 we earned in bonus slot points. High EV does not guarantee short-term wins. However, after gambling with a good advantage percentage for 23 years, we have proved without a shadow of a doubt that it is the key to long-term profits.    

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The premiere edition of the "Coast Connection" appears in today's Review-Journal. This is a 20-page insert similar to the one Station has been offering the last few months. It contains property-specific coupons (including those valuable match plays!) and information about gaming promotions, food specials, and events for each of four Boyd casinos -- Sam’s Town, Suncoast, The Orleans, and Gold Coast. A handy feature is the October Event Calendar for each casino that lets you see a lot of information with one quick glance.

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Friday, Brad and I got lucky at the Palms. We scored a total of $48 on our six Megabucks free pulls (regular and check-cashing ones) – which is $48 more than we usually get. And when we cashed our checks, although Brad got a free Budweiser (that he can’t drink because of the meds he is on), for the third time in the last four months or so, I got $50 free play! Best results since I got the double-your-check swipe a couple of years ago when I cashed my Social Security check.

Yes, the government keeps encouraging us to use direct deposit. In fact, one government organization told Brad he MUST use direct deposit for one of his pensions (VA or civil service, I can’t remember which) unless it would “cause him financial difficulty.” So he signed and sent in the official request, checking off the “financial difficulty” square (but not explaining about casino check-cashing benefits) and they haven’t bothered him since.

Saturday brought another smile. A 30% coupon had come in the R-J insert from Savers, my all-time favorite thrift store (with branches in all parts of Vegas), and I spent a couple hours shopping, once again amazed at all the bargains you could find if you looked carefully.

Now, before you write any smartsy-fartsy comments, I have plenty of money to buy anything I want in the fanciest (and most expensive) store in Vegas. But that doesn’t give you any extra points in the frugal game that I love. I don’t shop as much in thrift stores these days as I did when my daughter and then my grandkids were little, because I’m into simplifying my life and that kind of shopping takes a lot of time and energy, neither of which I have an abundance these days. But it was fun to go with a frugalite girlfriend: Brad enjoys this game better in a casino. Dollars saved are dollars earned – plus we earned a bunch of frugal points,

Then Sunday brought a really lucky and surprising event. My mystery free play at Green Valley Ranch, usually around $20, plus or minus a few dollars, was a whopping $500!

Sure, we’ve had weekends with bigger wins – much bigger. But probably none that earned us more frugal fun points!

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I just heard (from a skilled gambler who shall remain nameless) that a friend of his saw a well-known “promotion scrambler” get handcuffed and taken in the back at the 4 Queens casino sometime last month. “He was working several peoples’ cards on their promotion--the same promotion that you wrote about in your blog. Evidently he was paying people to use their cards.”

This report does not surprise me. There is a small number of players who not only feel that “all is fair in love and war” but in casinos too. And juicy promotions can bring out the greed big time. A big slot club signing bonus going on? Gather up some of the homeless and bring them to the casinos – pay them a little bit and take the biggest chunk of the bonus for yourself. A big check-cashing bonus promotion going on? Get your non-player friends to cash their paychecks at that casino and “buy” the valuable bonus coupon they get.

I have been writing about ethics and gambling ever since I had a whole chapter subtitled “Strange Bedfellows” on that subject back in my first book, The Frugal Gambler. Here’s what I wrote in the section called “The Casino as a War Zone”: “After I’d been gambling for awhile, I realized that very little in a casino is black and white, ethically speaking. Going into a casino is kind of like entering a war zone. It’s you against the house, and it starts to seem like the house has a license to steal. So if you get a chance to steal something back, you rationalize that it’s only fair. When I started thinking that way, I knew I had to formulate my code of casino ethics. I’m not going to tell you what that entire code is, because it’s a personal thing. You’ll have to come up with you own code if you intend to ‘fight’ in this battle zone.”

I went on to say that my code is always being tested -- and that is still true today because gambling ethical issues are still in a large gray area. But I must warn you that casinos ARE taking measures to ferret out those that they feel are abusing the system.

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I have gotten a lot of e-mail on this subject over the years, especially from couples. Many like to use one of their cards for their major play days and save the other card for when they are playing a shorter session and don’t want to ruin their daily average, which often determines their mail offers. Or, they want to both play on the same card so they will get to a higher comp tier faster. Or, one plays more than the other so after the frequent-player gets to the top-offer level, he/she plays to get the spouse’s account at the same level so both will get the top mailers. 

Although most casinos have a rule in their players club printed material that each person is required to play on his own card, this is often not strictly enforced, except for some promotions, like a marathon where multiple players on one account would give an unfair advantage.   However, playing on each other’s card is not usually a problem, especially if each has the same last name and/or shares the same address. 

Recently, however, one well-known video poker expert found that this issue could be a problem – a big one! Bob Dancer writes about it in a very interesting Internet column called “When the Rules Are Enforced.”   And you will also want to read his follow-up column, “Subtitle: Hoisted on my own Petard!”  

Bob’s experience does give one something to think about!

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I’m back. I haven’t been sick and we haven’t been traveling so that’s not the excuse for being absent here for so long. It’s the recession! No, we haven’t gone broke or run into any financial problems. In truth we are having one of our better years in the gambling department. It’s the fault of the darn casinos! They are fighting the bad economy by revving up their promotion machines. And one of the hardest things for me to do is to ignore a juicy casino promotion! 

Although this is a glorious time for “advantage scramblers,” Brad and I find we still need to watch that I don’t plan too many video poker hours in our schedule. Our energy levels just aren’t the same as they were when we started 24 years ago. However, the last month or so I think we have tried to take advantage of a few too many promotions and we are tired – we still haven’t rested up from our 8-8-08 marathon playing sessions. So we are going to slow down now – and I will have more time to catch up on household paperwork and do more writing, including giving this blog more attention.  

(As an aside: I am also working on another book. I know - I know I said I wasn’t going to write any more books, but this time I am working with a co-author who is doing the lion’s share of the work. It is my long-time friend and editor, Deke Castleman, who is steering this new project, Frugal Vegas, a guide to finding value in all the things you do in Vegas besides gambling – rooms, meals, transportation, entertainment. The less you spend on all these the more you can save for your gambling bankroll – if you are a gambler. And if you aren’t a gambler, then the less your Vegas vacation will cost you.) 

Anyway, having so many promotions in town does allow one to pick and choose those that fit one’s bankroll and goals the best. We often use the ice-cream-cone model to decide where to play. An example would be our choice of Green Valley Ranch (and other Station casinos the choice of others). First the “cone” is a good video poker machine choice. Then the first “dip” is the gas/cash promo running Sunday through Thursday. Then we look at our mailer for this month to choose a day when we also have bonus points or we can use the 5x coupon from the Stations magazine we found in our local paper (or in the dumpster :). A third “dip” is that we will also be getting credit for our play that will determine what our future mailers will be.   Now add the “dip” of weekend drawings.   Then the “cherry” on the top is the BJ coupon (also from the Station monthly magazine) we will use to add value to this total play. 

We love it when we can stack up our casino treat.  You will too when you see the financial advantage!

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In today’s R-J you can find the August edition of “My Station,” the glossy 23-page magazine full of information about and coupons for all the Station casinos. There are no longer any all-Station coupons; each property has a page of coupons specific for only its own casino. Although there are coupons for food, drink, and entertainment items, the most valuable ones are an up-to-$25 matchplay for table-game even bets and 5x points. 

These coupons are not as valuable as they were during the last two months. Besides the fact that each is property-specific, they have done a better job clarifying the details, especially whether you can print them off the Internet. You can’t. The fine print on the matchplay states: “Reproduction or copying of this coupon is strictly prohibited.” The 5x points is “available any day of your choice in the month of August” and is “valid any one calendar day.” To activate the 5x bonus, you must put your name and Boarding Pass number on the coupon and turn it in at the Rewards center. 

If you are from out of town and can’t pick up today’s paper and get this magazine, you might ask for a copy at the players club. Last month they had copies they would give out – perhaps they will continue that practice in August? Be sure you read the fine print on each coupon. For example, to use the Red Rock 30% spa discount, you must show a Nevada driver’s license. 

For a household that has more than one gambler, you might want to buy extra papers today to get more magazines. I might send Brad dumpster diving tonight to look for the extra copy we need. In fact I might even go with him – people throw away some really good stuff in our condo complex!!!

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I guess I got a little hyper two days ago when I was talking about the good but frustrating Bounce Back Bonus promotion that the Stations is running at Green Valley Ranch and Palace Station. 

I try to never lose my cool with casinos. After all, I spend a lot of very enjoyable time in them and they provide Brad and me with enough comps to allow us to live a very luxurious life. So that wasn’t very nice to say that I was going to go out and try to beat them to death. In fact, that isn’t our style at all. I know casinos are not non-profit organizations – at least they don’t plan to be! I know they are companies that are trying to make a profit and I accept that. And Brad and I never entered the gambling arena with the goal of “making a fortune.” In fact, let me quote from the summary chapter of my first book, The Frugal Gambler. It is titled “Breaking Even is a Terrific Thing.” 

This was written when we still lived back in Indianapolis and were mainly just quarter VP players. People would ask us how we did when we returned from an extended stay in Vegas. Very often we would say that we broke even on the gambling and got all our expenses paid.  People would be disappointed that they wouldn’t hear a dramatic story that involved large sums of money changing hands. “Breaking even is about as undramatic as it gets,” I wrote. 

“But here’s how we figure it. At the end of the year, we’ll have spent up to five months in casino towns. If we stay free most nights, eat free once or twice a day, see a few free shows, play up to eight hours a day, and recoup what we do spend out of pocket, we’ve actually made money by breaking even. We haven’t had to spend any of our own money, so our ordinary income continues to go into the bank and pile up. Anything we don’t spend is the same as winnings.” 

Of course that was 1997 and many things have changed. We now live in Vegas. We play much higher than quarters and we don’t have the energy to play long hours any more. We have been lucky and won some big amounts at times, but our goal to “break even” really has never changed. We have never “beaten any casino to death.” Our biggest hit, ½ million in a Caesars tournament, didn’t hurt the casino – they were going to give that to one player anyway. 

So playing an hour or two at Green Valley Ranch or Palace Station on some days during this promotion is not going to be a death threat to their bottom line, by any stretch of the imagination.. We hope to grind out a small profit, of course, but if we only break even, we will still be happy gamblers. 

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For the last two months Station Casinos has included a glossy magazine, twenty-something pages, in the R-J newspaper and in many of the regional issues of the free weekly View that comes in the mail. There is a page or pages for each Station casino, including descriptions of entertainment and/or food choices and coupons for that particular casino. 

On one page near the back, there are 4 coupons that can be used at any Station casino. One is for bingo and another is for a mystery gift. But the most valuable two are for 5x points on any day of your choice and an “Up to $25 Match Play.” 

However, if you didn’t get one of these Station magazines, you are not out of luck. The whole magazine is online, including all the coupons. And although some of the coupons state that “reproduction or copying of this coupon is strictly prohibited,” the casinos are accepting coupons you print out from this “official” online copy, even though they come out very light and look very “phony.” (Click on the coupons to make them bigger and then click on “enlarge” to increase the size even more. However, I still had to get out a magnifying glass to read the fine print on these.)  

All coupon redemptions require a Station players card and they expire July 31. The bingo coupon limits are “one coupon, per person, per day.” The match play and 5x coupons state: “Valid at property of choice, one time, one per guest.” However, at least some of the casinos are interpreting this as one per day, just like the bingo coupons. I’ve had no problem using match play coupons, printed off the Internet, several times already this month, at the same casino, even though they sometimes have previously swiped my card. Brad and I use the match plays on blackjack, but you can use them on any table game that offers an even bet.

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I am forgetting things more often these days, so my monthly calendar is getting more and more crowded as I use it constantly to prop up my faltering memory. But last week even my calendar let me down, and I was ready to check myself into an Alzheimer’s facility. 

Here’s the story. My host at one of my favorite casinos had been able to get me into a sweepstakes drawing even though I hadn’t been mailed an invitation. (This is one of the reasons to have good relationships with casino hosts!) I had planned our schedule for this event carefully, putting the information on my trusty calendar that we would earn double entries for our play on Thursday. It would make sense to do all our play on that day instead of spreading it out over the 3 days of the event since double entries would improve my chances to cash in the drawing. 

So Wednesday I stayed home for an “organizing” day so Brad and I would be free to put in some major play on Thursday. When we got to the casino on Thursday, I went to VIP to get a marker and we were discussing the sweepstakes. I mention that we were looking forward to earning double entries to give us a better shot at the drawing. One of the executives there said, “Oh, that was yesterday, not today.” 

I was sure he was wrong, “I have it on my calendar that it is today.” 

He pulled out an informational sheet that the employees were given and sure enough it said that double entries could be earned on Wednesday. 

“But how did I have it on my calendar for Thursday?” 

The executive was sympathetic and even rummaged around until he found an official invitation – the one I hadn’t received – and I read once again that double entries would be given only on Wednesday. (That was the first day of the event, and it made sense because it encourages out-of-towners to come in earlier and perhaps give the casino more play if they stay an extra day.) 

I left the VIP room very disheartened and when I got back to where Brad was saving our two SpinPoker machines, I was really fuming and so mad at myself for making another of the stupid mistakes that seemed to be more frequent for me these days. Some of my mistakes or memory lapses are just inconvenient and sometimes they are silly, and Brad and I just have a laugh about them. But this one wasn’t funny at all – and it might result in the loss of some major money. 

Brad said we couldn’t cry over spilt milk and we couldn’t change the situation, so we better just start playing and forget about it – maybe we would get called in the drawing anyway, with the entries we would earn that day. 

I started playing but I couldn’t shake my disappointment and I was still upset that I could have made such a stupid mistake. We always play 9/6 JoB on these machines so I was playing mechanically, my mind not on the game but trying to figure out how and why I had made such a major calendar blunder. 

Suddenly my machine locked up and I saw four 3’s. Great! Since we were playing $2, a dealt quad (on 9 lines) would pay $2250. That was a great start to this session – a bit of a cushion for this volatile game. But then I saw the little box that comes up, telling what you hit and I saw a whole bunch of words – it went away so fast that all I could read was “2,3,4 with….” And then there flashed, in big bold numbers, $14,400! I looked at the screen again and I saw that not only had I been dealt four 3’s but the 5th card was an Ace! 

I knew exactly then what had happened but I double-checked the name of the game I was playing – of course, it was Double Double Bonus!! I had been so upset when I sat down that I hadn’t checked that I had the machine on JoB. That is usually the final thing I check before I start playing since I know many machines default to DDB when there has been no play for while. 

Brad and I just looked at each other in utter disbelief. I said that there must be one VP god who has been charged with taking care of seniors with failing memories 

There is a PS to this story. I found out the next day, checking the e-mail invitation from my host, that he had given me the wrong date for double entries. When I drew this to his attention, he was able to rectify his error and give me double entries for my Thursday play after all. 

It would be a real storybook ending if I could report that my name was called in the sweepstake drawing. But it wasn’t. However, I was happy that the calendar mistake wasn’t my fault – and I probably can delay for quite awhile checking into a home for the senile. And a $12,150 “mistake” in my favor will make this whole episode a very happy memory for a long time.

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