Author: Jimmy Jazz

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A Case for Diamond Elite Status at Caesars

I’ve had a love/hate (mostly hate) relationship with Caesars over the years. Early on, in the mid-’90s and early 2000s, there was enough value to get Diamond status. Over the years, however, the value of Diamond has diminished greatly.

Last year, I made Diamond Elite (75,000 tier points). Normally, it would be $750,000 coin-in on some bad video poker machines to achieve that status.  Even if you could find a 99% game that was $10 per point, it was still an expected loss of $7,500. Probably not worth it.

Tier multiplier days changed that. They run frequently at various properties and are between 4x and 10x, with a cap. If you play a good VP machine (99%) and even $20 per point and play only on 10x bonus days, your coin-in now becomes $150,000 and a 1% loss would be $1,500. What do you get for that?

  • $600 airfare reimbursement. Not as good as $600 cash, but it’s a nice perk. Let’s put the value at $400.
  • Four drinks a day with a $25 max per day. It’s hard to put a value on this, since it depends on frequency of travel and how much you value a drink. Let’s call it $15 per drink and 12 per year. That’s $180
  • $75 a month sports bet on Caesars app. You have to run $100 in bets through first. Let’s put that cost at $5 with a pretty big variance. And the $75 free bet is worth about $34. $34 – $5 = $29 per month, times 12 is $348 a year.
  • Celebration dinner ($100 max). Let’s put this at $70.
  • Lounge access (where available). Since this is property dependent, I’ll just call this one nice perk with no cash value.
  • Redeem Reward credits for free play at 1-1 at online casino and sports book. Maybe $50.
  • Free cruise for two. I’ll put a value of $500 on this. Lots of conditions, port charges, etc.

So adding up the value, you’re getting about $1,548 in value for your $1,500 loss. Add in the value of the free rooms and various other offers and it’s a positive play.

This makes a lot of sense if you travel a lot and your travel destination includes Caesars properties. There will also be some additional mailed offers from your primary casino.

To make this work, you have to play mostly on 10x points days and find a decent VP machine to play. That’s the most difficult part.

You may also be able to use the Caesars Diamond Elite for some tier matching at other casinos.

Here the link to Caesars Tier benefits.

It’s worth at least exploring the option. Also, if you earn status, you get it for the current year and the next year. So there’s the potential to double up on some of these benefits. I haven’t fully explored that option yet.

Also see my Las Vegas Savings Tips page for more ideas.

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Hugo’s Cellar’s Split-Plate Deal

I’m a big fan of Hugo’s. It’s a step back in time and walking down the steps seems to take you into a different world. The noise of the casino is replaced by the conversation of people enjoying a great meal in a classic setting. Call it dated if you want. I view it as a tribute to old-school Las Vegas, where the customer was king.

Now, you can order two complete dinners and I’ll bet you will have plenty of leftovers. Sometimes, however, you don’t have a fridge in your room for the leftovers or just don’t want to bother with boxing stuff up and taking it with you.

If you order just the tableside salad, it’s $28. Ordering a split plate gets you the tableside salad, plus all the normal dinner accompaniments (bread plate, sorbet palate refresher, dessert platter) and the cost is $40. Plus, they split the entrée for you. This is one case where one-half plus one-half is more than one. We’ve done this move several times and it sure seems like we each get more than half of an entrée.

Wait people rarely mind splitting an entree, especially if there’s no split-plate charge. That way, they can bring you a lot of food for the price of one meal and most people, except for the worst stiffs, will tip like they paid for both meals. Also, if the waiter tips out the kitchen staff generously, they get in on the deal too.

While you’re at Hugo’s, if you’re brave, order a martini. They bring you a full martini, plus some extra in a little pitcher on ice. You get almost three full martinis out of it. Last time I was there, it was $14. It’s probably higher now, but that same drink at Circa would be $65.

Also, the wine list is tremendous and very reasonably priced. I’ve seen the same bottle of wine cost $100 more at other steakhouses downtown. Jon the sommelier is delightful and makes ordering wine a pleasure. He doesn’t try to upsell you and really enjoys his job.

Finally, the Kona coffee experience for two is $14. Well worth doing at least once.Overall, Hugo’s for dinner is a wonderful treat.

Also, check out my Las Vegas Savings Tips page for further suggestions.

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Hi Matthew Promotion at Circa and the D

The Hi Matthew promo at the D and Circa is for real.

Admittedly, it feels a little strange walking up to a slot booth and saying, “Hi Matthew.” You think they’re going to look at you like you have three heads. But I’ve done this several times without any issues.

The promo is good twice lifetime at the D and Circa, but only once per day. You receive one $25 matchplay chip. Just walk up to the booth and say, “Hi Matthew,” or ask, “Is the Hi Matthew promo still going?”

And as long as you’re doing this promo, you might as well hit the D boarding pass promo and the El Cortez boarding pass promo. The D gives you two $25 matchplays if you show them a Southwest boarding pass within 24 hours of arriving in town. I think this is good each time you fly in, but I haven’t confirmed that.

Show any boarding pass and the El Cortez will give you $25 matchplay, a free drink, and a wheel spin for $10-$1,000 in freeplay ( usually $10). You can’t do the El Cortez MRB coupons and boarding pass offer in the same day; it’s one offer per day per person.

If you combine all the offers, you have $125 in matchplays , $10 in freeplay, and a free drink.

It’s a little walking to hit all three casinos, but worth about $70. Even if you skip El Cortez, you’ll have $100 in matchplays, worth about $48. Plus, you can also use the Members Reward Book for various downtown offers.

Elsewhere on this site is “Las Vegas Savings Tips,” with a table that shows other ways to save money on travel to and in Las Vegas.

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Las Vegas Savings Tips

Welcome to the Las Vegas Savings blog.

Ever since Gambling with an Edge came to an end, I wanted to create a spot where I could list cost-savings ideas for Las Vegas travel, while readers can contribute their own cost-savings ideas. Anything that saves you time or money when traveling to Las Vegas is what this page and the accompanying blog are all about.

The Las Vegas Savings Tips page with the table has money-saving tips in chart form. Various sites list potential savings tips and I will reference some of them there. But in my travels to Las Vegas over the years (an average of five a year for the past 35 years), I’ve learned some things that I haven’t always seen in print and I’m sure you have ideas as well.

There will be more extended discussions and descriptions of the listings in the table in this blog.

I look forward to your ideas and suggestions.