A Textbook Trip Report – Part 1

Twenty-five years ago, I started writing how-to books and articles about ways to play smarter in a casino. Over that time, I occasionally talked about the experiences of other players, but almost every idea I ever discussed came from the knowledge I gained from the 39 years of personal hands-on play Brad and I did in the casino, always seeking the best advantage we could find.

But now we’ve arrived at a time when we need to make major life changes. I always said that the best thing about casino life was that it was something Brad and I could enjoy together, but these last few years, his declining health has greatly curtailed this. However, we did have a short casino visit together recently and I’m sitting at my computer starting a trip report about it. I got to thinking about all those years of play and how the casino environment has changed so much. This might be my last trip report and I started wondering how different it might be from those I wrote in the early days so long ago.

Any wonderfully new ideas? Or is it just a textbook review, pretty much hitting the same basic points I’ve been emphasizing in my writings the last 25 years? I guess you readers will have to decide.

Choose Your Goals

I’ve always had two goals in planning a casino visit, whether it was for a few hours to a nearby locals casino when we lived in Vegas or a long flight for a four-day stay at a casino across the country. I was always looking to combine advantage gambling and non-gambling fun.

Our recent trip was a five-hour road trip from our home in Georgia to Harrah’s Cherokee in the beautiful Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. The advantage gambling part was playing good-schedule video poker with enough added benefits to make it an over-100% play. Actually, this flows over into the fun factor, because we enjoy playing our very favorite game, Deuces Wild.

On this trip, the non-gambling fun activities took up the major part of our stay. First, we had plenty of quality time with family. Daughter and son-in-law Angela and Steve, who live near our home at Legacy, picked us up, then we stopped in Atlanta to pick up granddaughter Kaitlynn. From our arrival, everyone was mixing their time in the casino with activities elsewhere.

Kaitlynn was happy to once again be near her beloved Appalachian Trail and persuaded her dad to go with her on a “little” hike, just eight miles, to relive some happy memories from her previous summer’s 2,190-mile adventure. Angela enjoyed sharing the music of her generation with Kaitlynn, putting good use to the two comped tickets my host provided for the Air Supply concert. And on the way home, in Tiger, Georgia, we stopped, perhaps for the last time, at Brad’s favorite place, Goats on the Roof, an attraction that we usually visited every time we were coming or going to Cherokee the last 15 or so years.

Another enjoyable activity this trip, one which we have often included in our casino visits down through the years, was a Frugalite meet-up. Sometimes old friends attend whom we haven’t seen recently, but this group was made up of Internet friends,  players who’d followed my writings for years, but now we could meet in person. It’s such a joy to chat with enthusiastic fellow players. And subsequent to this meeting, two attendees hit royals, with one getting two in a short period of time. You can’t tell this group that there wasn’t good karma in our get-together! (If you’re a friend on my Jean Scott Facebook page, you can find some discussion and pics of this.)

Do Detailed Pre-Planning

I’ve always said that I probably spend more time planning our casino visits than I actually devote to playing the games. My first job is checking casino communications. That used to be the USPS mailbox. Although I still get some mailers that way, more frequently now, it’s my computer Inbox and the casino phone app/website account.

I started thinking about this Harrah’s Cherokee visit when I received a we-miss-you email offer for $150 free play to be used in July or August. I hadn’t played there since March of ’22. Yes, that’s hardly the amounts we were used to, considering the high level of play I’ve always given them. But one of the problems I found in the past was that Cherokee treated me like a local who could buzz up there every week or so to collect $300. (Maybe if they ever use AI in their reward system, it will see my zip code is a four-hour drive away.) And the offer amounts go down quickly if you don’t play often. But at least this was an offer good for a longer stretch of time and it would provide a small EV (expected-value) boost.

Last March on a trip to Reno, I put on some heavy play to get well on the way to my goal of reaching the CZR Diamond Elite level (75,000 tier points) for next year. After double-checking on vpFREE2 that the $5 NSUD (the 99.7% Deuce game) was still there, Cherokee is still the closest property where I can find the highest EV video poker schedule to finish getting the 22,000 more tier points I needed.

Now it was time to contact our long-time host for a room reservation, which he could easily comp. He’s a regional host who’s not attached to any one casino, but can take care of trip arrangements for any CZR property. We’ve been lucky over the years to find many both regional and casino-specific hosts who’ve given us exceptional service. I realize that these days, many hosts are very limited in what they can do for customers outside strict company comp policies. But not only have I still been finding some who have learned how to broaden or work  around some of these, I’ve talked to others who are using my talk-nice and don’t-ever-demand advice and often being successful in getting some extra benefits. Also, sometimes a long history of play at a casino will make up for a slightly lower level of action.

Be Flexible

Speaking of advice I’ve given in the past to my readers, sometimes I have to remind myself of it.

Case in point: I originally planned this trip for just Kaitlynn, who would drive, and me. Brad would stay home in the care of Steve and Angela. But just a couple of days before the Friday reservation date, Angela and Steve both found out they were free for a three-day weekend. Angela really wanting to see Air Supply and Steve never needs an excuse to head to the mountains. So wouldn’t it be nice if we all went and Brad could also, with the whole family helping to take care of him? But we needed a second room. A weekend at the end of the 4^th of July holiday week? I checked the prices online and it would be over $1,000 for the extra room for the two nights! Far from a frugal option.

The original reservation was for one comped room. Back when Brad and I both played heavily, it was no problem to get a second room comped for family or friends. But I was doubtful that I was playing enough for two these days. I’ve always been hesitant to ask for a comp if I wasn’t pretty sure I qualified. I wavered — until I remember what I’ve been telling all of you for years. Just ask … nicely. So I did – in the round-about non-demanding way I often suggest: “Steve does have a veteran’s card and has played some at the sister property … if it isn’t possible that’s okay … etc., etc. I didn’t have to mention that this might be one of the last times Brad would be able to go to a casino; we’ve been very close to this host for probably 15+ years, so he knows our personal circumstances.

Anyway, I did the just-ask – and it was successful. The host put both comped rooms in my name and since I’m Diamond Elite, that saved a pricey resort fee on the second one.

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I was afraid this anatomy of a final trip report might not fit into one blog entry. Remember I said pre-planning often takes longer than the main action. Stay tuned for Part 2 when I discuss a textbook ending, an amazing grand happening, and a surprising-or-not future plan.