Prepping for an Enjoyable Casino Visit
I’ve been busy the last couple of weeks preparing for our trip to Harrah’s Cherokee October 24-26.
It has reminded me, as has been the case for 39 years, that my preparations for a casino visit can actually take more time than I spend at video poker machines when I get to the casino. This was true when Brad and I lived in Las Vegas and made frequent trips to local casinos. And although the preparation may be a little different for a visit like this one, a once-every-few-months out-of-town longer stay, the basics are the same.
Having a host is always good! Having a host who’s taken care of us for many years is invaluable. Our corporate (as opposed to a single-property) host knows our wants and wishes. So my first task was to contact him to make reservations.
My 2021 play made me Diamond Elite, so I was eligible for three comped nights over the weekend. Our host also knows my family, making a room reservation for our “drivers,” daughter Angela and son-in-law Steve. As an Army veteran, Steve has the Caesars Rewards Salute card, which puts him in the Platinum tier and eligible for room discounts. Our host got him a comped room for two of the three nights, but his former play wasn’t heavy enough to get the Saturday night comped when Cherokee is always extremely busy. (I miss the days when Brad and I both played heavily and could always get two or more completely comped rooms for family.)
The host also takes care of the little details that are important, like putting in the request that our rooms be near each other. He also checks to see that my credit line is up to date, since I hadn’t accessed it since our last visit in October. (I’ll contact a property host after we check in to talk about discretionary comps for food or other charges.)
My next task is to carefully scour all my paper mailings and my online account to see what free play, food offers, and promotions will be available during my stay. I also check my account on the CZR app on my phone. Often, extra offers will pop up there that did not appear anywhere else. This trip I have three different free-play coupons, specific to certain dates. There also are two drawings. But all are on the hard-copy old-school calendar I’ve used for 39 years, so I won’t miss a thing!
The last and perhaps the most important prepping item for me is networking. This is an ongoing process year around; I correspond regularly with friends to share information about changing casino conditions all over the country. But I ramp it up just before I’m planning a visit to a casino at which I don’t regularly play. I check online resources, like Facebook groups that concentrate on specific casinos. And I put out a call on my own Jean Scott Facebook page for recent information from players who’ve been to Cherokee recently. I was pleased to learn that my favorite machines are still intact. That’s always good news.
But these family trips to Cherokee aren’t just about gambling. I’m interested in room recommendations, food options, and the general service and atmosphere. And I’ve been flooded with valuable particulars that will help this visit be smoother and more enjoyable.
So now that most of the advance technical details are taken care of, I can concentrate on refreshing my video poker skills, practicing, and testing myself on a computer software program.
As is common for us, this casino visit is also a family vacation. Angela and Steve, as well as enjoying outdoor activities, will be helping to take care of Brad and enjoying some casino action themselves. However, it looks like it’s going to work out that we will have a surprise family member who will join us.
Many long-time readers have followed our family casino adventures since our grandchildren were babies and visited us in Vegas in their strollers. I might have written how toddler Zachary and Grandpa Brad were chasing each other, crawling all over the hotel-room floor, howling like the animatronic wolf they had just heard at the noisy light and water show in the lobby at Sam’s Town Casino. And perhaps I shared that baby Kaitlynn didn’t enjoy the show at all, so her stroller had to be quickly pushed away and she had to be comforted to get her little screams go away.
Well, 27 years later, evidently Kaitlynn is no longer afraid of wild animals. On March 13, at the southern gateway in northern Georgia, she embarked on a thru-hike, 2,194 miles, of the Appalachian Trail. And it looks like she’ll be on the part of the trail that goes very close to Cherokee while we’re there. We’ll be so happy to provide a soft bed, hot shower, and hearty non-trail-mix food for a short break I’m sure she’ll welcome.
