3/1/2002
We’re back from the fun-and-sun-filled Frugal Gambler cruise to the Bahamas. There were some long-time LVA subscribers in our group, plus others who decided to subscribe after I explained you just couldn’t leave home without it – at least not if you were headed to Vegas.
We had good “luck” at some negative-expectation games on this trip. First, before the cruise we took in a few jai alai games in the Dania fronton. We managed to pull out a $57 profit, much to my surprise; I always tell Brad that I think the games are fixed. My neck always hurts when I leave, all that looking back and forth during the games!
The video poker schedules in the ship’s casino (Holland America’s Westerdam) were atrocious. For example, when I first scouted the machines, I thought I’d found a couple of machines we could play, 9/6 Jacks or Better – not quite positive at 99.5%, but okay for us for purely entertainment. Then I noticed that the payout for 2 pair was even money, the same as one high pair. Hey, I’d rather play Little Green Men than video poker with a return of 86.7%. So we ended up playing a few hours of blackjack. We used to be able to count cards, but no longer play much BJ and are out of practice. So we just relaxed, played basic strategy, and ended up winning more than $200.
We checked out two casinos in Nassau. Our group had a slot tournament at the Crystal Palace, which is a fairly large modern casino with table games and all the new machines. We lost $25 in a nickel Yahtzee video slot machine, but watching the dancing dice entertained us for a long time.
We just looked around at the huge and beautiful Atlantis resort on Paradise Island. The aquariums are fantastic. The casino is quite large and beautifully decorated. The only “good” video poker was the high-limit $5 and $25 classic schedule 9/6 Jacks or Better, so we passed on playing that. We played some new nickel video slots for a little while, for “research” purposes, but after losing $20 we decided that was all we wanted to invest in this “job.”
We really didn’t have much of a desire to gamble on this trip. For one thing, there were no positive-expectation games. And more importantly, because we live in Vegas, a vacation for us these days is NOT gambling! So we were quite happy with — and surprised about — the $260 we picked up just “messing around” and having fun.
A special alert: If you see Brad in a casino, say something to cheer him up. You see – he’s in the “doghouse.” He took our brand-new — not one coupon had been used yet — LVA coupon book to the Palms in case he got four 7s and could use the bonus coupon – and then he lost it! THE WHOLE BOOK, worth hundreds of dollars!
3/9/2002
Two weeks ago in this column I talked about the new coinless machines and told the story of one player who lost $800 because he trusted a fellow player to watch his malfunctioning machine while he went to collect a drawing prize of $2,000 at the Palms. Later, I received this e-mail (slightly edited) from a friend:
“Your story was not completely accurate. The man involved is my friend and he admitted to me that he ‘panicked’ when he heard his name called. Knowing he had only three minutes to fight his way through the crowd and make his way into the Key West Room, he didn’t stop and think — he just hit the Cashout button a couple of times! The ticket didn’t jam (if it had, you’d get a flashing light and the beeping sound); he simply tried to cash out in the middle of a hand, which of course you can’t do! All the thief had to do was finish the hand, then cash out!
“On a positive note, my friend later told George Maloof (Palms owner) what had happened to him, and asked if there was anything he could do to help. The ticket had been cashed, and it’s not the casino’s policy to reimburse a player out of its own pocket, but George had a floor supervisor stop by my friend’s machine and put on $200 in credits. Very nice gesture, I think! Just guessing on this point, but George probably had surveillance view the tape of the “”theft,”” and they’ll be on the lookout for the culprit should he return to the Palms.”
That WAS a nice move on George’s part, but not surprising to me. First of all, George is just one nice guy; he has been our good friend ever since we were filmed at the Fiesta (which he owned before the Palms) by the TV show “Extra” several years ago. And one of the reasons I like playing at the Palms is that you often have the hands-on owner right on the casino floor. The night Brad won $2,000 in a drawing, George came around later to congratulate him right at his machine.
Can you imagine a top casino executive in most casinos concerning himself with one low-rolling player who got taken for $800 because of his own mistake rather than a casino error? The chain of command in large-corporation casinos has so many levels between the player and the top that “never the twain shall meet.”
In that same column two weeks ago, I told about a scam to watch for when you’re playing the new coinless machines. Here’s another possible con trick, albeit not as slick as the other one, reported by another friend of mine. It happened to him several nights in a row when he was playing at Terrible’s in the middle of the night.
“A guy sits down next to you (you have lots of credits!), or maybe one seat away. He puts a small bill in the machine, plays a couple of hands, then asks you to watch his machine while he uses the restroom. Of course, you agree. When he returns, he plays a few more hands, only for a minute or two, then cashes out and leaves.
“After this happened a few times I decided that the other person was hoping I would ask HIM to watch MY machine while I used the restroom! If I had, my credits would most likely be gone when I returned, along with my new ‘friend’””!
It pays to always be on guard. Anywhere there’s money, there’s likely someone around who would like to get yours.
3/14/2002
I’ve mentioned here before that I’m a total Las Vegas information junkie. And Brad and I often benefit financially, because we can use this information to our advantage. However, sometimes I read casino news or gambling-related items that just make me shake my head:
1. “XXX Casino was fined $100,000 for failing to recover and account for an estimated $32,000 worth of slot machine tokens found loose inside and under game cabinets. This is the third time the casino has been cited for failing to keep proper track of metal tokens.”
My comment: I guess good slot machine housekeepers are hard to find.
2. A story in the Las Vegas Review-Journal by Jan Moller says that Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman joined a growing list of Nevada public officials who believe a statewide lottery would help the state solve its budget problems. “I think we need it,” Goodman said, arguing that it’s better to have Southern Nevadans buy lottery tickets in their own state than having “half of Las Vegas hanging around the state line.” The story continued, “Some gaming industry insiders are even warming up to the idea of a lottery. Mandalay Resort Group Vice President Mike Sloan, who sits on the Governor’s Task Force on Tax Policy, recently suggested it as a way of helping to close an anticipated budget gap.” (See www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2002/Mar-01-Fri2002/news/18208849.html.)
My comment: There are a lot of puzzles in this one. I wouldn’t think casinos would “warm up” to competition, but I guess they will support any program that will produce more state revenue so lawmakers won’t think about taking more of THEIR profits. And I’m sorry, but I just can’t understand why anyone in Vegas would pass by umpteen casinos chock full of many good betting opportunities and drive 40 miles on traffic-choked I-15 to Primm and cross the state line so they can make one of the worst bets there is.
3. From the Las Vegas Sun: “”I bought the Desert Inn so I could have stuff to play with. That’s what turns me on in life, building stuff that makes people say, ‘Wow.’ The opportunity to be the first American company (in Macao) to do the kind of things we do there, to make the best hotel in Asia, is so delicious that it’s irresistible. It’s not about money, although I have no reason to believe it won’t be profitable. It’s about personal gratification.”” Thus spake Steve Wynn, Las Vegas casino developer and one of Macao’s three new casino license holders.
My comment: Ooh-kay.
4. From an Associated Press report out of Jackson, Mississippi: A crackdown on underage gambling has made children’s arcade games illegal in Mississippi. Legislators may exempt Chuck E. Cheese from gambling laws. Mississippi’s amusement company owners are hoping to ride the broad coattails of the Chuck E. Cheese’s pizza parlor/kids arcade chain to get relief from this state law, which makes their gaming machines illegal.
(See lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/gaming/2002/feb/06/512997986.html)
My comment: Now that’s not nice!
5. “There’s a new themed slot machine in production featuring Budweiser Beer.”
My comment: Smart move by a slot machine manufacturer — as if casinos don’t have their PR hands full handling the anti-gambling critics who bring up moral issues.
Meanwhile, Happy St. Patrick’s Day — and within the next few weeks, in support of balanced reporting, I will include in this column a letter from someone who thinks some of the things I say about being frugal in a casino are pretty dumb.
3/29/2002
A couple of weeks ago in this column I reported some “weird” gambling news — but I promised to give you balanced coverage by revealing what some people think is “weird” or downright dumb about some frugal tactics. Here’s a sample post from Skip’s VP board:
“”Some of this frugal stuff Jean and other people on this list do to save money in casinos is, well, weird. Why do some people here seem to be so concerned about saving a buck or two? I mean, I could see that if someone was on a very limited budget, it would make a difference. But I presume everyone here is financially stable. If you’re not, you shouldn’t be gambling in the first place.
“Having established this, I think it’s safe to say that the average player sends thousands of dollars through the machines daily. It seems to me that to save three bucks on a tank of gas, or to go out of your way to get some free popcorn, is rather trivial. Look, if you were going there anyway, I guess I would take advantage of it, but many people seem to be excited about coupons that provide very little value compared to the amounts we are all flinging through the machines.
“Personally, I have seen many coupons that I would never use because I would never step foot into some of those casinos. Either they’re real dives, or they’re so out of the way that it seems ridiculous to me to drive all the way out there just to redeem a $5 blackjack coupon.
“Lord knows I’m not looking to criticize anyone here, but am I the only one who feels this way?”
I know that this writer is not alone in her feelings. She isn’t the first to point out that my frugal ways aren’t for everyone. Actually some of my frugal ways of years gone by aren’t even for me anymore!
Take couponing, for example; we don’t do as much of it as we used to. If Brad and I have two big coupons, like $25 matchplays, we make a special effort to go to a casino and use them. But even then, we try to combine that with some other good gambling activity (or a shopping errand) in the same area to maximize the use of our time. We rarely use $5 matchplays unless we are in the casino anyway — although we still sometimes plan a small-coupon run up and down the Strip as our “exercise of the day.” I still like to get “paid” for keeping healthy.
Back when I was younger and poorer, I thought frugal meant cheap. I found it hard to “splurge” on something nice I wanted if there was a cheaper alternative. With age comes wisdom — and a bigger bank account. Now I think of frugal as getting good value for your money. I can comfortably go for a more expensive option — especially if it’s on sale!
I know I sometimes still carry being frugal to an extreme — Brad is always telling me we are in the “future” I was always saving for. But then I find solace in the fact that there are people who are more nutty about being frugal than I am. Not too long ago I heard of a person, who like me, always had a Ziplock bag in her purse. But, hey, I never took one to a casino buffet, like this person, and filled it with soup.
3/29/2002
Watch for this new comp wrinkle: A casino sends you a nice offer for a free suite for two nights. You’re thrilled – until you read the fine print somewhere on the invitation: “”The complimentary suite is subject to your participating in adequate tracked casino play during your visit. To receive the complimentary suite, you must earn XXX points or your credit card will be charged $199 per night.”
Comps have always depended on your play; that’s understandable. And if you take advantage of a mail offer for a free room and don’t play, you shouldn’t be surprised it the casino doesn’t send you more free room offers. But from the player’s perspective, if a casino wants to tell you how many points it takes to get a suite, let them do it in a straightforward way, not in a way that looks like they are trying to “trick” you. A wise casino visitor always reads the fine print; casino “free” does not always mean REALLY free.
BRIEFS
From a California friend: “I was visiting my local Indian reservation’s new high-limit room, just out of curiosity. I found four multi-denom/multi-game machines. They came in $5-$10-$20-$25 varieties, with Single-line, Triple/Five, Ten and (yikes) Fifty Play games available. Let’s see, at max play, that’s $25 x 5 = $125 x 50 = $6,250 per play.” That’s all I can say – yikes!
The “Score For Four” scratch-card promotion at Main Street Station covers straight flushes as well as quads. Be sure to ask for a scratch card if the employee forgets to give you one.
The Suncoast has greatly modified the coupon book you get when checking into the hotel. All those wonderful matchplays are gone. The only valuable coupon left is one for a 20-coin bonus for any video poker hand over 500 coins.
Some input from a reader on the Visa card that Harrah’s offers: “$1,000 charged to the account will produce 200 points and $5 in cashback. According to my calculations, that’s 1 point per $5 charged and 1/2% cashback. Nothing to write home about, but an average of $1,000 per month will get me 2,400 points per year toward maintaining Diamond status.” This could be a good option for those who get a lot of benefit from their Harrah’s Diamond player’s card. (Sorry, I just found out that this is wrong. Only points earned by playing the machines count toward getting to a higher card level.)
Speaking of credit cards, we use our Visa Las Vegas card for most of our purchases because of its 1% cash rebate (although we still sometimes use airline cards to collect miles when they’re worth more than 1%). However, there’s been a change in the Visa Las Vegas program; all the old casinos have withdrawn from the program. The new ones (where you now have to cash your rebate checks) are the five Park Place casinos in Las Vegas: Caesars Palace, Bally’s, Paris, Hilton, and Flamingo. You can apply for the card at any of these casinos or call 800/955-9296. (I can’t seem to verify this -watch for an update in a later FF column.)
Want to find out when there will be a TV program on about your favorite city –(Vegas, of course)? Go to http://govegas.about.com/bltv.htm, where you’ll find a whole week’s rundown on any TV program that’s even slightly related to Vegas: documentaries, films about or shot in Vegas, etc. I have this site bookmarked in my Favorites and check it every week.