That stinky time of year: no deals for YOU, peasant

Well, for September, the South Point promo is a joke and the Four Queens promo is nonexistent. Room rates all over town are skyrocketing and there are no deals to be had that I can see. And of course, restaurant prices have been jacked up--the Palms lobster buffet now costs $650 plus resort fee (betcha didn't think that restaurants would charge resort fees!). So I consulted my mental notes to see if this seasonal shift is historically normal, or this is yet another new shit development.

It turns out that this worsening isn't atypical. Used to be, August was a dead month because the entire city was a pizza oven and sane people vacationed anywhere BUT Vegas. Then the football season would hit, and I've read that the population in Vegas would increase by one-third for that reason alone. And now, of course, you have all the residents returning from wherever they fled to for the summer.

So it's back to Vegas taking full advantage and putting the squeeze on everyone. My Four Queens and other offers have been slashed in half, even though my play over the last few months has been greater. I'm not seeing any other offers, however feeble, in my email.

The consequence for me has been to shift my upcoming fall trip from Vegas to Reno. Reno's fall is a shoulder season because it's between the summer (glorious in Tahoe) and ski season. So, there are deals to be had there and the room rates are MUCH lower. And nowadays, the VP is better and the table game limits are lower--and very little 6:5. So, no effin' reason to go to Vegas, as far as I can see.

If anyone's interested, I can post the Reno bargains that I've detected for the next couple of months.

I've got some decent mailers for my oct trip.    Free food, play, rooms.    Sahara, palms, el co, and Tuscany so far.    I'm a bottom tier player at all of those.

We are loaded with offers as well for our next trip, and planning another after that

And of course I'm going in Sept with the wife as it is her Bday.  Oh well.  

I've noticed this as well in Septembers.  Guess I will play a lot of poker then.  

We have a car so I may give downtown Henderson a shot like some have suggested just to mix things up a bit.  At least that might be some fun.  

Well, certainly as a one-off, you can use your LVA coupons at Emerald and Rainbow--and this is the last time there will be two separate coupons, as their players' clubs have merged. Join the players' club and get a free meal right away, so you might save the meal twofer coupon for next time. The wheel spins are easy to earn and they're worth $36 combined (I think).

You might like the atmosphere. I love to play multiline games that have good paytables, like NSUD and 10/6 DDB. You can also find 99% UX for PENNIES, which is my favorite time-killer game. In fact, every game in there can be played for 1 cent denoms if you so choose, and most will go up to $3 a spin.

I suggest that you go to EI on Tuesday, as they have the best of their promos on that day--$1400 coin-in gets you $20 cash back. That same promo is available at Rainbow on Sundays. Only takes a couple of hours at modest denominations to earn that cashback, and then you can do the wheel spin(s) and enjoy your free meal at the coffee shop. Might make you wonder why you ever played anyplace else.

Tuesday will actually work for me.  I've been wanting to try and get here.  Thanks for the info!

Also take advantage of the deals in the coupons that you get when signing up for the rewards club.  I used the $10 coupon for the bakery on Water St and it was outstanding.  Be aware that Tuesdays are Senior and Military appreciation day at Emerald Island.  They get 50% off at the restaurant.  There are times during the day when it gets really busy.  Check for the times when there are multipliers at Rainbow.  Last week, I went there between 10am and noon and got 25x points.  It said for invited guests but I was told at the players club that meant anyone with a players card.   Whatever day that you go, enjoy your time there.  Have a great trip.

The point multiplers apply at both EI and Rainbow at the same times: 25X 10-noon, then 2-4, then 7-9. (Also one other, later 2-hr period.) The slight catch is that they don't apply to multi-line VP, so my favorite point accumulation play is to hit the 1-100 coin NSUD bank toward the back of the casino. The points are only worth 0.066%, but a 25X multiplier elevates that to +1.65%. And as you note, there are merchants outside the casino(s) where you can spend your points.

It's true that Tuesdays are a bit of a madhouse with the senior/military discounts, but timing is everything. They switch from lunch to dinner at 4 pm and from breakfast to lunch at 11 am. That's when they put the daily specials on the menu board. The best time to hit the restaurant is at the changeovers. So I arrive in the morning, play the NSUD 25X until noonish, hit the restaurant for lunch (or maybe breakfast), resume play at 2 pm, and then plan for an early dinner. A modest $1000 coin-in will earn me $16 in food comps, which will buy pretty much anything on the menu.

For point earning promos like the Tuesday cashback, only base points count. So what I do on Tuesdays is:

Earn 1400 points

Get $20 cashback

Spend my $22 in points at the restaurant

Then I might play some more. Something like 10/6 DDB Spin Poker is a mildly positive play (even without the point multipliers being available), and it's a blast.

I keep expecting them to tighten the screws, especially since the owner sold the property last year (he still runs the place), but so far, no significant changes. They still have all the daily drawings, the "gameside delights" free snacks, the free tacos, hot dogs, and pizza at 6:00 (which one depends on the day), the free Baskin Robbins/root beer floats at 8:00 (weekends), all the recurring daily promos, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.

It's an object lesson for all the other locals' casinos in Vegas that have descended into assholery. Obviously, all these promos and freebies cost money, but they keep people coming in the door and result in a positive bottom line. They cultivate customer loyalty in a time when almost all the other casinos expect you to kiss their feet for the privilege of being there.

I took advantage of the 25x points last Wednesday.  I must have played for around 25-30 minutes before my CMPS got so bad that my shoulder felt like it was on fire.  Didn't have much luck but even the best of casinos can not pay off at times.  This month the half price vendors are Chef Flemmings bake shop, Chinitas tapas and sushi, and Juan's flaming fajitas and cantina.

Do you prefer EI or Rainbow when eating?  I'm going to try to persuade the Mrs to take the trip out to Henderson for this one on 9/10 hopefully.  If I promise her a meal, I think I can pull it off.