Haggard corporates huddle over their conference-table laptop spreadsheets revealing red lines pointing down, empty coffee cups, half-eaten pastries, hair askew, bloodshot eyes.
“Ya think if we just get them in the door, we can make it up in …?”
Next month? Next quarter? Next year? Ya think?
Like this is a new idea? Maybe they’re catching on. See, an empty hotel room night is lost revenue forever. By my calcs, they’re staring at 15,000-25,000 empty rooms every weekend night. Midweek. more like 50,000. We may be seeing their breakeven revealed.
And as any good scuffler worth their stacked coupons knows, that’s good news.
Here’s Bobby Vegas’ common-sense recipe for success:
1) lower your costs coming in,
2) spend as much time as humanly possible on their dime, through comps, deals, coupons, WHATEVER,
3) and play the best games for you with the lowest edge.
Winner winner steaks for dinner! You’d prefer salmon? Fine.
Folks, there’s something you must always keep in mind: Time is your enemy. The longer you play with even a slight negative edge, the more likely they’ll win your money. Slots? Fuggedabouddit. The casinos know that many players like to forget it and hope for the best, tipping back the free drinks.
So if you care to win, or at least break even and have a grand old time, use EVERY advantage they give you, playing on their dime and on their time, eat on their comps, and use every free play, matchplay, two-fer, and discount and coupon you can beg, borrow, or fish out of the trash. (Thank you, Jean Scott.)
Old scuffler reminiscing.
“Now way back in the spring of ’25 when the cracks started to appear, there was the Plaza and that young Jonnie Jossel. My oh my, a smart boy, even bringing them in with bingo. Maybe try Bobby Wilson?
Then Downtown Grand followed, almost matching Plaza’s all-inclusive $125 a night deal, food, drinks, parking, and NRF. Now everyone from Boyd at the Fremont to Caesars at the Flamingo is offering two- night stays with $50 food credit for $150.
There’s that NRF again, a Bobby Vegas abbreviation for NO RESORT FEE.
Maybe it’ll catch on, like, a Bona Fide Bobby Vegas-Approved NRF Deal!
Plaza’s doing it, Downtown Grand does it, Four Queens, Golden Nugget, Treasure Island sometimes, and a few others dipping their toes in the NRF pool.
Yo, MGM, Caesars. Maybe you can work on those Strip food and drink prices, so we might get more than French fries and a Coke for our $50. Fremont? No problem, but can comps be used in the very nice new food court?
Me, I’m waiting for them to pay us to walk in. Remember the Stardust? $17 a night, complete with a $10 bounce-back and buffet coupon.
Just wait, people. It’s like fishing or hunting. Patience … patience … patience … then POUNCE!
LV has lost a lot of us to non-smoking, better deals, and being closer to home. Not much LV can offer that I can’t get elsewhere, a lot cheaper. When LV goes NRF, NS, and brings some decent VP paytables back…we might think about it.
Trying the Palms this trip. Hoping for better value than the strip.
Just not the same anymore, Everytime you turn around another fee for this or that, I can find alot better games in Biloxi, and they actually act like they are happy we are there! No pissed off dealers, grumbling all the time. Real 3 2 BJ!! I used to make 3 or 4 trips a year, in 2025 only 2. Might only be 1 next year, unless they start acting better!