From SaveLV.com:  Printable coupon sheets for the Fremond Street Experience are now available at www.VegasExperience.com/coupons. Simply enter your email address as the Username and “RealVegas” as the Password to download and print.   

From M Resort Spa Casino: End of Summer Festival 09 at the M Pool, September 6, from 3-8 p.m. FREE admission. Fun for the whole family. Kids Corner, with face painting, temporary tattoos, and balloon art. Food and drinks for sale. Free entertainment by Loveshack and Nitro. Fireworks at 8 p.m.   Click on link for more details. 

From the Palms: “ Not so ugly deuces are back at the Palms in the High Limit room. Come Play Big and Win Big!” (Unusual to see a casino use a term so specific, one mostly used by knowledgeable VP players. NSUD is a name coined by Skip Hughes many years ago for a deuce game with the following paytable – 1,2,3,4,4,10,16,25,200,(4000 for 5 coins). It is better than many “ugly” paytables, but not as good as the “classic” original Deuces Wild game.

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Yes, some casinos are fighting the economic downturn by increasing promotions. Good way to keep old customers and attract new ones. After all, customers are the lifeblood of all casinos. Yet, some casinos are fighting the economic downturn by decreasing slot club benefits, the one thing that will drive away even many long-term loyal customers. 

Here are some specific details: 

The Venetian is continuing its on-going practice of frustrating customers by trying to micro-manage their slot club system. Go to their Web site for their new ironically-named “Resort Loyalty System” which cuts point values the biggest percentage I have even seen since slot clubs began!   

Some casinos are now basing their bounce-back (BB) mailers on whether you win or lose, i.e., Hard Rock and Gold Coast. They have every “right” to do this, but it does not make their customers happy. In fact, many will play about the same amount every month (or every quarter, depending on the qualification period) and then when one time their mailer amounts take a big plunge, they are given a because-you-won answer. Many vow they will never play there again. The old timers will remember the time, and not that long ago, when casinos just looked at your action and rewarded you accordingly. They figured everyone wins at least part of the time, and they knew that if they cultivated the customer and encouraged him to continue to play, they would usually still make money on him in the long term. Bean counters are big on looking at the short term! 

Some casinos go to even more extreme measures. Sometimes Wynn doesn’t just cut your BB amounts; marketing will cut off your mailer completely and disqualify you for any events like drawings and tournaments. Casinos sometimes try to identify skilled video poker players but they often have no idea just how to do this. Looking at short-term results can have them making a lot of misjudgments. A drunk who doesn’t know a paytable from a coffee table can win more on some days than the most skilled player on earth. Actually someone who is unknowledgeable about video poker strategy will usually get more royals than a knowledgeable player. And the biggest example of casino ignorance – and one I have seen more than once – is 86ing someone who gets dealt a royal on a multi-line machine – as if there is any skill involved in this.

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(I hate the word “lifestyle”!) 

Many people have asked Brad and me whether we play video poker every day and are surprised at our answers. 

No, we don’t play every day. Actually if you count driving time in traffic-choked Las Vegas, we spend more time going to and being in casinos doing non-gambling (albeit gambling related) activities than actual hours on a video poker machine. Picking up free play (playing it through once when we aren’t going to play any more than that) takes up the biggest chunk of time. We have around 50-70 different pickup times a month, for one or the other of us or both, depending on how many casinos in which we are active players – and how many casinos keep trying to lure us back with free play when we decide to be inactive! Fortunately Brad likes to “run around” more than I do so he does the lion’s share of free play pickup when there is no extra play to be done at that time. That means he is out in casino most every day. 

On the days I am in a casino with Brad, we usually eat our main meal wherever we will be stopping anyway and have comps to a restaurant we both like. We eat more at buffets because we can get more vegetables and generally eat more heart healthy. We do most of our major high-level play when Brad and I are together (so we have someone to sympathize with when we have big losses!), although Brad sometimes does some lower-level play when I am tied up in my office with writing projects. I spend a good bit of time organizing and trouble-shooting when I am in a casino. Brad hates details (“just let me play”) so it’s up to me to see that points are credited correctly, to find all the fine-print details of promotions and slot club benefits, to record all the necessary details of our play that the IRS will need, and to talk to the host to see what off-account comps for which we are eligible. 

What do I do on the many “nightgown” days when I never leave the house? Well, in the last 12 or so years I have written 4 books and hundreds of articles. I answer every e-mail I get – and I get tons of them. I read almost everything about gambling I can get my hands on or can find on the Internet. I am on many gambling forums and read most of the messages although I don’t have the time to post as often as I would like.   And planning our gambling schedule so we will have the maximum chance for profit takes many many hours a month. 

And then we have all the real-life (non-gambling) matters any family has. Although Brad and I work together on our broad financial picture, I take care of the never-ending details. We keep in close touch with both of our scattered families by e-mail and phone – and as many visits back and forth as I can organize. We have a cleaning lady every two weeks, but we still have the usual household duties. Brad helps out with the laundry and fixes our yogurt-Grape-Nuts-fruit-almonds and green tea breakfast every morning and our simple dinner when we don’t go out to eat – soup/sandwiches, Lean Cuisine, or leftovers from our last too-big casino restaurant meal. 

Today is a nightgown day and that means I had time to write this blog. But I must go now – it is almost 100 degrees this week and I desperately need to go clean out my walk-in closet that is so jammed with winter clothes that I can’t find a sundress to wear! I must be brutal and ruthless and throw away beloved but outdated outfits and anything size 10 or smaller – I am never going to naturally be skinny again – and if I get cancer and waste away, I can go out and buy mini-sizes!

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Have you been to the “LVA Store” recently, just a click from here at http://www.shoplva.com/? 

If not, you might not realize some of the new frugal options. For example, we now offer 18 titles as e-books, with prices well below their hold-in-your-hand brothers (or sisters!). Of course you will have to decide whether the book you want is one you might read just once or one that you will study over a long period of time. E-books are great for that one-time read or as a resource that you will consult just once in a while. Also you can print out small sections that you might want to use more frequently. Of course, you can print out a complete e-book if you don’t mind the expense of paper and ink. 

I have two books now in e-book form. The first is Tax Help for Gamblers, which many people have downloaded as an e-book that they will consult when they are dealing with tax issues, both when filing their initial returns and if/when they receive scary letters from the IRS. Frugal Video Poker is also available in e-book form. Many experienced gamblers have downloaded it to read through one time to glean some possibly new kernels of information and then use as a resource when special gambling circumstances arise where they need more information, i.e., video poker tournaments or quad promotions. The beginning video poker student or infrequent recreational player may opt to pay a little more for the paperback because they will be referring to it frequently, especially if they have the companion Frugal Video Poker software and they want to practice using the lessons in the back of the book. 

Another great frugal option you might have missed in the LVA Store is the “Bargain Bin.” Some of these are damaged copies, returned unsold from bookstores, but usually just the cover is imperfect. The text inside is complete. For example, you can order a damaged copy of More Frugal Gambling for only $3 and get the information inside that has helped thousands of video poker players earn/save thousands of dollars. You can also get a damaged copy of The Frugal Gambler for $3. This is the green cover completely updated edition that replaced the original red-cover edition. 

With the economy the way it is these days, gamblers need all the information they can dig up so they can stretch their bankroll further, winning more/losing less. Hopefully the above will give you some new ideas as to where to dig.

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Just spent 3 nights at Harrah’s in the Big Easy. Some people we talked to on our trip thought it was pretty funny that people who lived in Vegas would make a trip to New Orleans to gamble. One joked about carrying coals to New Castle and a busman’s holiday. Although we do just like the atmosphere in New Orleans, to tell you the truth, we went this time because Harrah’s made us an offer that we just couldn’t refuse, one to the tune of $2100. 

Brad is regaining his strength, albeit slowly, but took the travel very well, his first trip since he “died.”   It was his first time to cope with security measures since he got his pacemaker. Although he can go through the security arches (just no security wands), on his way home they insisted on a hand pat down instead – but they didn’t find any weapons except a big fat bankroll with which to fight casinos. This was thanks to his 20k dealt royal on a $1 Five Play machine plus two more singles. 7 royals in two days – I guess he has his game back on! 

However, I am sad that I must bring some bad news from Harrah’s New Orleans. On April 1 they changed the Reward Credit redemption schedule for their partner restaurants. Although you can redeem your RCs on a one-to-one basis for all the restaurants in the casino and in the hotel (Gordon Biersch, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, and Grand Isle), the redemption for other partner restaurants is now on a two-to-one basis. That means it takes $2 in Reward Credits to pay for every $1 you spend at “outside” restaurants.

Reducing benefits is a sign of the tough times casinos are facing. And don’t be surprised if there is going to be a lot more of this. On the other hand, some casinos are ramping up the promotions to get more customers into their properties. So, cherry-picking is the name of the game, as it always is whether good times or bad!

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http://www.videopoker.com/ – Play all the IGT video poker games, including new ones like Quick Quads Poker and Ultimate X Poker.   Practice when there is no risk to your gambling bankroll. 

http://savelv.com/ - “Save Money on Las Vegas Hotels, Entertainment, Dining & Fun Things To Do.” You can subscribe to get daily updates by e-mail. 

www.lasvegasgamblingedge.com - Charles Lund has always been good at collecting information and putting it into lists that are helpful to gamblers who want to play smarter, especially video poker players. After being on various sites on the Internet, he now has his own Web site and information you might not find anywhere else, at least in such an organized fashion. As well as lists about casino promotions and benefits, he also has categories for detailed Las Vegas information, like Free Attractions.   I have added it to my “Favorites.” 

And if you want a comprehensive list of links to video poker information, subscribe to vpFREE at vpFREE-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

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Gambling Podcasts

Steve Bourie interviews many well-known gambling names on his monthly podcasts, Anthony Curtis, Max Rubin, John Grochowski, to name a few. This month he and I talk about getting the most for your money when visiting a casino. Also last March we talked about gambling and taxes.  You can see the list at http://americancasinoguide.com/podcasts.shtml and click on any to listen.

Mini-slot Tournaments

Excalibur is starting midday mini slot tournaments Thursdays through Sundays. I know there are others held at Ellis Island, Terrible’s, NY-NY, to name a few. There are more listed at http://lasvegasadvisor.com/tourneyresults.cfm. However, for up-to-date information on any of these, you might want to call the casino near the time you plan to participate. These mini-tournaments have a habit of coming and going with little or no publicity. Some are free; others have a small entry fee, typically $20.

Shuttle To/From New M Resort 

There is a shuttle between the M and the Fashion Show Mall, 7 days a week. Call for schedule near the time you want to ride for up-to-date information.

Machine Stickers

For years on all video poker machines at any Harrah’s property it took $10 to earn one point. Recently in Atlantic City, a few of the video poker machines with better paytables (mainly 9/6 JoB) were changed to give one point for $20 coin-in. Fortunately the machines have a sticker informing the players of this change.

In fact, putting stickers on video poker machines is a relatively new development that players must watch for. The Palms and the new M sticker machines that aren’t eligible for promotions.  Stations casinos sticker their Optimum Play machines stating that they require $4 to earn one point (versus 1 for 1 on other machines). 

I’m all for stickers on bad-schedule video poker machines. What about this sticker: “You cannot win on this machine!"

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I recently received this post after I wrote a rather glowing blog entry about the video poker at the new casino M:

“My dear Mrs. Scott,

It's quite obvious that you are no longer in touch with the nickel/quarter players. From the information you've supplied on the video poker schedules [at M] I would never consider playing there. Marnell [owner of M] did the same thing to the Edgewater/Colorado Belle that he's done at M Resort. He took out every 9/6 machine and put in inferior 8/5 bonus. Most players aren't professionals like you, Brad, Bob Dancer and all the other writers. We're merely looking to play the longest and get good slot club benefits. 

The Boyd properties: Gold Coast, California and Main Street Station, all have significant 9/6 in quarters and comp meals for play without the use of points. Gold Coast offers many 4x, 5x, and 6x points during the month. I'm equally certain that most of these casinos have full pay games in far more abundance than M Resort. The Boyd properties offer very good mailings as well. The Four Queens offers the same cash back and has eight 9/6 machines 5¢ to $1 MD MG and quite a few 8/5 bonus progressives. The Plaza downtown is showing a great many quarter 9/6 on vpFREE2, which I'll be checking out next trip. 

According to vpFREE2 the Las Vegas Hilton has a ton of 9/6 in nickels and quarters. I believe the vast majority of casual video poker players have done at least some investigating of strategy and know what a decent pay table is. For us the better game is 9/6 since that is the strategy most of us use. For nickel/quarter players that are only going to gamble a couple of days and nights, the M Resort doesn't have great pay tables!!!! 

Other than this little disagreement I think your blog is great. Hope Brad and you keep getting royals wherever you play.  Thanks!"

First, I am so glad you still seem to “like” me in spite of the one criticism you have. And I appreciate your pointing out your disagreement in a polite and gentlemanly manner. 

To your main point, I have been noticing that many casinos are cutting down on offering 9/6 JoB at the lower levels, even if they keep it at the higher ones. Sometimes they offer it only at the $5 or higher denominations and this cuts out even the numerous $1 players as well as the quarter ones. 

I do realize that many players know only one VP schedule strategy and that is usually 9/6 JoB. I guess I had temporarily forgotten that fact because I was so excited that M offered a game that had a higher EV than JoB (99.5%), even on the quarter level – a deuce game we call NSUD (Not So Ugly Deuces) with an EV of 99.7%. 

What is the answer to these problems? First, you had one good answer within your own post: Play somewhere else where there is JoB and good extra benefits. And I was so glad you mentioned vpFREE2 since I was needing to write about this new database anyway. For years I had been recommending the vpFREE Web site and its good database as THE place to get valuable information on the location of good video poker machines. However, that database is no longer being updated because there is now a new database at vpFREE2 (http://www.vpFREE2.com/). 

This new database is still experiencing some growing pains as they transfer data from the old one. And there is some delay in inputting new information, like on the M Resort VP inventory. But when the kinks are all straightened out, this will be a much better database, with more features than the old one. Right now you can sign up (for free) and go into the “ADVANCED” section where you can input the game you want to play. So whether you are a nickel/quarter player or a high roller, you will be able to find where you can play any particular game, in the particular format you prefer (Multi-Strike, multi-line, etc.), and at the denomination your bankroll can support. 

A second suggestion I can give is that if you want to become really serious about playing VP, you might want to learn a second game, in many cases this might be the NSUD I mentioned above. In today’s VP world, it is getting very difficult to have only one game in your arsenal to use against the casino.

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Just got home from the VIP Grand Opening gala, before the M opens to the public at 10 p.m. We got our invitation through a host who used to work at another property where we played. (This is one of the good reasons why I recommend cultivating a relationship with a host.   We have followed some hosts through several property changes!) And one comment about this party besides the great food offered as we traipsed from one restaurant to another. I have not seen so many dressed-up people in a casino for a long time – and so many men wearing ties! It was stylishly fun! 

This new property is stunning, especially the arrangement of the restaurants so that most have terrace dining that overlooks the large pool complex. This will be the place where much of the entertainment action will take place, including concerts, themed pool parties, festivals, and other events.

But no matter how beautiful a casino resort may be, many of you will be like Brad and me: Show us the video poker! Although the machines were not open for play at this VIP party, we could check out the paytables – and they were VERY good. NSUD (a 99.7% deuce game) was available from single-line quarters to $25 Five Play! Lots of 8/5 Bonus in many denominations. There is one bank of 10 machines with 100%+ games on the quarter level – Full Pay Classic Deuces Wild (100.7%), a 100.6% Joker Poker game, 10/7 DB (100.1%), and 10/6 Double Double Bonus (100%). Be advised there is a sign on this bank: “Not included in any casino promotion.” (These machines also take 4 times the coin-in to earn a point, $4 in to earn one point.) 

The slot club pays .3% on all slots and most VP. (1 point for each $1 coin in and 333 points equals $1.) You can redeem your points for free play right at the machine or for cash by going to the slot club. You can also redeem your points (at the same redemption value) for meals, drinks, retail purchases, pharmacy purchases including insurance co-pay and prescriptions, spa and salon services, hotel stays, gasoline and car wash purchases. 

As locals, we will be waiting to see what mailings we will be getting after we put in some significant play one day this week! That and what promotions they run will determine whether M will be a casino we will add to our playlist!

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Royals flushes - you never know when they will hide for seemingly eons. And then when you just about give up ever getting one, they pop up to surprise and please you. 

After a particularly bad start to 2009, deep in a gambling hole, Brad hit a royal on Feb. 5. It certainly didn’t get us even for the year, but it surely made our spirits rise. We are used to losing streaks, but we are human and winning is always more “fun” than losing. Then the next day Brad hit another royal. Great, we are quickly climbing up out of that big hole. 

The next day, Feb. 7, we are in shock when Brad hit his 3rd royal in 3 days, all in different casinos. We are out of the hole and extra cash on hand! Time to pay off one of the markers we had taken out during our January drought. So on the 8th Brad (who always takes care of the money) was supposed to take along some of that extra cash to pay off that marker, but he forgot. I teased him about his forgetfulness and said that I guess he would just have to hit royal #4 and part of that could pay off the marker. So that is what he did!!!!!!   (Isn’t it nice he is so easy-going and does what I suggest?) 

On the 9th my calendar tells me that we are scheduled to play at Casino #5. We joke on the way. Should we think about the common concept that maybe we have “used up” all our luck – or the opposite, we’re on a roll and keep it going. Anyway Brad does hit #5. I joke with the floor people about men having all the luck and I haven’t had a royal in ages. All the gals applaud when soon after I say that I hit a royal that is a lot bigger than his. 

The rest of the story is really a “cheater.” Yesterday we were scheduled to play just a short time on 100 Play, which is no guarantee by any means of getting a royal. But Brad was dealt four to the royal and connected on two, numbers 6+7. To keep him from hogging all the glory, I hit one too. 

We aren't going to try to extend this already-over-the-top royal streak.  We aren’t playing in a casino today – Brad is resting up for an angiogram scheduled tomorrow. Need to find out why he is “dragging” these days and gets chest pain on exertion. As I write in books about video poker I autograph – we are hoping for “skillful luck.” We are counting on a little luck in the hospital tomorrow and a lot of skill on the doctors’ part to make a good diagnosis. They say maybe more stents although he already has 6 from the last two angioplasties and there could be a limit to this option. And for the first time they mentioned the possibility of bypass surgery. 

I’ll report back here when the doctor tells us what he advises.

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