Advantage Play

Las Vegas Trip Report Part 2

Las Vegas Trip Report Part 2

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I had an especially fine one, just thankful to be alive — especially since my Facebook Messenger account was hacked and contained a notice of my death. It caused a lot of consternation in the Frugal kingdom, but didn’t upset me, except for one detail: The announcement said I was 84. If you’re going to write my obituary, at least get the details right. I won’t be 84 for another month!

I’m not only not dead; I seem to be as busy in “retirement” as I ever was, which has forced to me delay writing projects. But I must get back to talking about Kaitlynn’s and my mid-October trip to Las Vegas. So many of you are requesting more details, especially about the changes I noticed from the pre-pandemic time when we were locals. Of course, the whole advantage-play situation has changed drastically and I’ve written about that here for the last few years; I’ll write more about it specific to this trip in a future post. But right now I want to concentrate on the more general changes.

First, many of the major negative changes are not unique to Vegas. COVID-mitigation measures are still sticking around, whether from continuing health concerns, an uncertain economy, or just cost-cutting measures that don’t seem to be hurting the casinos’ bottom line. Most hotels no longer offer daily housekeeping, although you might be able to request it at some. You can always ask for clean towels and needed supplies to be delivered to your room.

The nationwide employee shortage is extra frustrating for Vegas visitors who are dependent on food outlets and so many are cutting serving hours or completely closing for entire days. That means long lines and slow service at those that are open.  We were meeting a friend at 6 p.m. for a casual dinner at Bellagio where she was treating us from her large comp bank. We checked the buffet; it had closed at 3 p.m. Then to Sadella’s Café and it was the same story: closed at 3. Jasmine was closed on Tuesdays, even though the city was teeming with visitors and many casinos were heavily booked. Other restaurants either had long lines or full reservations. We finally found immediate seating at the upscale Mayfair Supper Club, which is nice, but the loud entertainment made the catch-up conversation we were looking forward to almost impossible.

I missed the personal service I appreciated in past years when there were more employees around to help or answer questions. Kiosks are taking over the hotels and casinos. Yes, a kiosk is better than a long line at a desk, but often there was a long line at the kiosk, while many were out of service. I don’t know what the concierge does, if there even is one still available at some casinos. At Paris where we were staying, someone wanted to deliver me a small package earlier than our check-in time and the concierge said they weren’t allowed to accept that. Why not? Company policy, they said. Maybe new security rules? They wouldn’t say.

However, Kaitlynn and I didn’t let such negatives ruin our visit. For one, we kept busy sightseeing. Some were “oldies” we never tire of re-visiting: The Bellagio Conservatory, always changing, and the fountains that always create a happy feeling. We’d ridden the High Roller observation wheel before in the daytime, but doing it at night was magical.

However, the number-one adventure planned was to visit Area 15. I’d watched this large multi-building place being built near Palace Station for the couple years just before we left Vegas and I’d read much about it. The descriptions were full of words like “otherworldly,” “eye-opening,” “mind-altering,” “psychedelic,” “experiential,” and always “immersive.”  But I never really understood what it was. I just called it weird and I knew that I probably wouldn’t ever visit, unless I was with a young person who could show it to me and explain everything. Now I had Kaitlynn to lead me on this adventure.

We spent four hours in just one part of Area 15, ‎Meow Wolf’s Omega Mart. And I still can’t explain it. Here is how it is described on their website: Omega Mart sends participants of all ages on a journey through surreal worlds, immersive storytelling, and playful nuggets of the imagination. There is that word again, “immersive.” You’re not looking at the work of artists; you’re actually in and part of it.

Here are a few of the hundreds of photos Kaitlynn took of our adventure. (More on my Jean Scott FB page.) I’m glad I had her as my shepherd through the weird and helping me understand that weird can also be wonderful.

Grandma to Kaitlynn:  Take a picture of me like this.

K: Okay, here is how you get here.

Immersive Art

More Vegas trip details coming up in next blog.

Las Vegas Trip Report Part 1

Las Vegas Trip Report Part 1

I’ve always said that the more fun you have on a vacation, the longer it takes to recover.  Well, my visit to Las Vegas ended more than three weeks ago and I’m just now rested up enough to tackle a trip report.

I could blame it on 28-year-old granddaughter Kaitlynn, my traveling buddy who energetically led us on long hours of vigorous adventures despite her having hiked the 2,200 miles of the Appalachian trail for the previous 6½ months. But I must take part of the blame; I was the one who planned and marched us up and down Fremont Street on a five-hour coupon run that had us hitting almost every downtown casino. Either way, every night as we hit the bed around midnight Vegas time, despite our Eastern body time of 3 a.m., when we got up eight hours later, we were both raring to set out for more excitement despite our 55-year age difference!

I will be giving you more details about our Vegas adventures in later posts, but first I want to talk about the most precious part of this visit for me – reuniting with long-time friends and meeting new Frugalites who had been acquaintances only on the Internet. I’ve purposely not mentioned any names here or identified any players in the photos. Some are  trying to keep a low profile at the casinos where they still play. But I was so happy to see every one of them.

Some of us had played together for years, all chasing the same video poker promotions all over Vegas. In fact, a couple became our neighbors for many years after moving into the Opulence condo complex where we lived. Some still live in Vegas and others drove in from their homes in Laughlin and Pahrump. Many flew in from out of state for a short-term Vegas gambling vacation as I was doing. I was pleasantly surprised to see one couple whom we had known for years who were in town for their annual escape from the summer heat in their home in Australia.

We’d made many wonderful memories down through the years by sharing in casinos all over town our many comped meals. Now some were returning the favor, including a  marvelous dinner at Hugo’s Cellar down the stairs at the Four Queens and an outstanding meal and show at the Mayfair Supper Club at Bellagio.

It was also good to be welcomed back into the Huntington Press offices once again. It’s been a wonderful 35-plus-year relationship partnering with publisher Anthony Curtis, who made possible my surprisingly long frugal writing journey.

A good many were able to attend the meet-up there hosted by Anthony. I was glad to once again see Tanya, who is responsible for so much of the production of the Las Vegas Advisor and who has helped me so much for many years with my blogs and books. And everyone was pleased to have the opportunity to meet Andrew who was in to town to join Anthony on the LVA YouTube Update video they were filming that afternoon.

There were people coming and going for the two hours scheduled for the get-together but here is a picture that was snapped when many could be corralled. That is Anthony and Andrew on either side of me and granddaughter Kaitlynn on the far left. All are  long-time frugal fans. You’ll notice one still has the red cover 1st edition of The Frugal Gambler,  published way back in 1998.

Over some beer from the mini Heineken keg brought in by one LVA fan (who knows Anthony’s favorite), there was non-stop reminiscing about the good ole days and sharing information about present gambling opportunities. Seems many are staying downtown these days and finding more bargain/comped room benefits and also more good gambling plays. Many had their LVA coupon books with them and were also using them heavily downtown. As usual, I was happy to autograph new and old copies of my books.

Actually, Anthony and Andrew were making one of their weekly YouTube videos while our meet was still going on and they talked about the meet and also put up our group photo.  You can watch it here.

Since not everyone was around for the picture-taking, I hope some of you attendees will send me more photos I can put in future blogs and on Facebook (facebook.com/queenofcomps). Attached them to an email to [email protected].

Stay tuned for Part 2 when I’ll describe some of the adventures Kaitlynn and I tackled.

Fun Trip to Atlantic City – Part 3

Fun Trip to Atlantic City – Part 3

Back home after a relaxing Florida beach vacation, I continue the story of my first totally recreational-only casino trip. And once again, as I found when I was writing about this earlier, I realize that I’m constantly using frugal tips that I picked up during the many years of advantage video poker play.

One of my top recommendations for any casino player of any game is to constantly look for promotions. Especially strong ones are often bonuses for joining the players club and we found two very good ones on this Atlantic City trip. Both the Hard Rock and Oceans gave us each $25 in free play just for signing up. We had to run the $100 through a machine once, but whatever we won after that was free money we could add to our shared bankroll.

A couple of caveats about this kind of promotion. It’s for new members only, although some casinos clean out their member lists after some years and you may be eligible if you hadn’t used the players card for long time. However, we found out that some casinos never forget you. We checked at the Tropicana for Susan, but she was still on the CZR players card list, although she hadn’t visited one of their properties for 10-12 years.

There could be another reason why you wouldn’t take advantage of this promotion: You won’t put much play on the card that first time, but later you might want to establish yourself as a higher-level player and put in major play on your first day. However, we knew we wouldn’t be going back to either of those casinos in the future, so this was a great benefit for Susan and me.

This promotion also had an extra benefit for us. It was another way to use a popular frugal suggestion for stretching a small bankroll: find free interesting activities outside the casino. In fact, any player, no matter what their goal or bankroll size, will find leaving a noisy smoky casino environment an oft-needed mental and physical break. Susan and I wanted to sightsee the whole length of the Boardwalk anyway, so this promotion paid for our tram transportation when our feet balked at making the six-mile roundtrip trek.

I know many of you have been waiting to hear about our slot machine play. I’ve left it for last, because it probably provided more fun than any other single activity. And that surprised and puzzled me. But after analyzing my feelings, I realized that it had to do with goals. With skilled video poker play, I was enjoying it, but my goal was long-term financial profit. With slot play, my only goal was to have fun.

However, I knew that I wouldn’t be having fun very long if I lost too much money too quickly, though I didn’t have a specific loss-limit figure in mind. I also knew Susan was feeling the same way. So we each contributed $200 to our trip bankroll and added the $315 surprise free play I found in my account at the kiosk.

Then we set a new goal: to do everything to stretch that bankroll so we could have more fun time.

At first, we used the technique of doing a lot of looking around for machines that looked fun, jumping from one machine to another for short-term sessions. We concentrated on finding those with smaller top jackpots, since they generally give more frequent payouts than those with big ones. But then we ran across some “Wonder Woman” machines. I’d played them briefly a couple of times some years ago in Vegas and on hearing that catchy theme song again, I remembered they were fun machines.

Well … once we sat down and played a little, we were both hooked and didn’t want to look around for any other machines. They fit our stretch-the-bankroll goal better than any machine we could find. They had very small top jackpots compared to most other machines, just $2,000-$3,000, so they had frequent hits and bonuses. One bonus was 21 free spins and that gave us a long period of play without any additional cost. They also had a tiny minimum bet – just 50 cents. Of course, if you made bigger bets, like the top $2.50, your wins would be bigger, but your bankroll would disappear very quickly and your fun time would be shortened. Another plus on this machine was that unlike on many others, you’re eligible for the top jackpots on all bet levels.

Although we loved playing “Wonder Woman” slots, we didn’t play for extended sessions, usually about an hour, before heading out for other activities. I didn’t keep exact records this trip, but we played 8-9 sessions during the 3 days. And when on the flight back to Georgia we counted and divided the remaining bankroll, we were pleasantly surprised.  From all our gambling, including table games and slots, we found that all those hours of fun had cost us each just a smidgen over $50. We decided that was a very reasonable entertainment cost!

I want to close out this report with a mention of one of the highlights of the trip, the Frugalite get-together. The group that met us in the food court of the Tropicana wasn’t large, but represented a real cross section of our gambling friends. Some were long-time friends we ‘d previously met in person, while others were online acquaintances; some lived locally or just happened to be in A.C. on vacation; and some had made a special effort and traveled a long distance to attend.

We didn’t have any special agenda for the meeting; we just pulled our chairs close together and for over 2 hours chatted about our casino experiences. We shared past thrilling gambling moments and, of course, moaned over the recent decline of good plays. And when we finally broke up and went our separate ways, I think everyone would remember this as an enjoyable meeting of kindred souls.

Thinking about this recent happy event reminds me again about the importance of friendships. One of the most cherished benefits of Brad’s and my casino life these last 38 years has been the opportunity to make so many friends that shared our enthusiasm for being wise gamblers. We’ve met many in person, during organized get-togethers or often running across each other in a casino. However, there are hundreds more we never met in person, but who have become our Internet friends, some who have written to me that they have been following our casino life story since my first book came out in 2000. Many of these are getting old, as we are, and no longer can visit casinos, but still like to read about the frugal good ol’ days.

And recently, I’m surprised and very pleased that a new generation of casino lovers is looking for information on social media. I see gamblers of all ages enjoying my Jean Scott Facebook page. And it’s amazing how many are commenting whenever I appear in a YouTube video and then buying Huntington Press products. Yes, frugal gambling isn’t just for old folks!

Keep sending your questions. I’ll try to answer them in future posts and always feel free to post in the comment section here. I still want to hear from old friends and make new ones!

Fun Trip to Atlantic City 2022 – Part 2

Fun Trip to Atlantic City 2022 – Part 2

In my last post, I talked about the trip non-casino activities; I emphasized from the beginning that this vacation with my friend Susan was purely recreational. However, that didn’t mean that we would avoid casinos. I was looking forward to introducing Susan to this exciting entertainment environment. In past years, she’d made a few brief casino visits during business trips to Vegas, but she’d seen them only as a quick way to lose too much money.

I explained in past blogs that I wouldn’t be visiting the Atlantic City Tropicana this trip as an advantage player, since I’d already reached my Harrah’s tier goals for this year. It was my chance to have a relaxing vacation and a break from taking care of Brad. However, although I was leaving advantage play, I would not – actually could not – be leaving frugal play. I found myself, almost unconsciously, using many of the same frugal techniques I’d learned and used for the last 38 years of casino play.

One of the first things I did when I reached the casino was to check the players club kiosk, something I routinely do, especially if I haven’t visited the casino for a while. I didn’t expect to find any new information; I’d been closely following my online CZR account and already knew my point balances and company-wide promotions, along with offers from specific properties where I’d recently played. But since I hadn’t been to Atlantic City for many years, I really didn’t expect to find any extra goodies for this visit.

So was I surprised to see a $315 “gift” on the kiosk screen! It was from a free-play promotion that I didn’t know about. I hadn’t seen any publicity about it – no signage indicating if it was available to all CZR players or if it was specific just to the Tropicana. Maybe it was an extra perk connected to the CZR Reward Air package I was on, but I’d received no notice of that. I’m not sure I would have known that this was available to collect on any slot machine if I hadn’t stopped at the kiosk.

This wasn’t the first time that checking a kiosk reaped big benefits. Often when a casino is running a drawing promo that you hadn’t known about, you can check your account at a kiosk and find you can register there to be eligible to participate.

Susan and I had already each contributed $200 to a joint gambling bankroll that now had a $315 boost! We were ready to see how long we could make it last. We agreed that we weren’t looking for big wins; we just wanted to stretch out our entertainment time. To that end, we did a lot of “sampling” as we hit the table-game area. Moving around a lot reduces your time at the games where the casino edge will want to feast on your bankroll.

A good way to stretch your money is to bet the smallest amount you can and the casino will just nibble slowly on your bankroll. Therefore, we looked for the minimum-bet tables.  However, I knew we wouldn’t be playing table games very long; even though it was a weekday, there were no $5 tables that would provide us longer fun time; $15 was the lowest.

We hit the crap table first. As many people are, Susan was intimidated by all the busy complex action, so she chose to watch me. I know the best crap bets, but with a $15 minimum pass line bet, I knew our small bankroll wouldn’t survive long with taking the 5x odds offered behind the line. So to show Susan a few more fun options, I instead took the 6 and 8.  That got us lucky for a few minutes, but when my short roll quickly sevened out, we decided that a $100 loss in a few minutes didn’t provide enough bang for our buck.

Next, we headed for the Three-Card Poker table. I’d never played this game before and needed the help the kindly dealer gave me. (Don’t put a chip on Play first; you have to put it on Ante. You look at your hand to see if you want to play it and if you do, then put a chip on the Play space.)

I’d checked my latest book, The Frugal Gambler Casino Guide, when preparing for this trip (another good frugal tip) and found the best simplified strategy was to play only when you had queens or better. We were lucky and got good hands and when we’d won $100, we left, cashed in our chips, and decided that it was fun to get even!

Next we played a little roulette on the stadium option. Rows and rows of machines face a screen where you can play video blackjack, craps, baccarat, and roulette. Susan’s son had asked his mom to put $50 for him on black. It took a few hands to figure out how to play our machine, but she finally won $35 to take back to him.

These stadium games might be a good choice for players who are intimidated by the live tables and they might provide lower-minimum choices. However, they also provide the opportunity for faster play that might take away any advantage the low-minimum might afford. And, of course, you don’t have the social contact that makes live games more fun for many players.

We saved my favorite table game for last – blackjack – with which Susan had some experience thanks to just-for-fun BJ sessions at Legacy. We chose a crowded table since on any negative game the fewer hands you play, or the fewer bets you make, the longer your bankroll will last. We played almost an hour, with the expected up-and-down results. After one large down, we hit a good stretch and quit when our loss was only $100. We really enjoyed the session, but didn’t want to risk another big downhill slide.

We discussed how we enjoyed our play at the table games and would have stayed much longer if the minimum bets had been lower. But after about two hours, we moved away from the pit, looking for something that didn’t shrink our bankroll so fast.

“Did you play any video poker?” you might ask.

My research in planning this trip revealed that this would not be a casino where one would probably find an advantage VP play. However, I thought I might find some of the exotic games I usually didn’t play back in Vegas because of their bad paytables. But they could be a fun short-term option to play if I found them in very low denominations. It didn’t take me long to check out the VP inventory there: extremely small proportion of the machines on the floor and very few of the newer titles and variations. In one corner, I did find one very old sticky-buttons Ultimate X, at multi-line nickels. I wasn’t excited about playing it, but I wanted to show Susan a little glimpse into what I’d been doing in a casino for the last 38 years. She didn’t get my fascination with video poker and was certainly unimpressed when I lost $100 in just a few minutes. (It’s hard to explain that short-term losses “don’t matter” along the way to the long-term win.) She was looking bored and truthfully, I was bored too. Short-term play can be a real psychological downer. So we kissed that machine good-bye and labeled it “NO FUN.”

Off we went to a game we’d found earlier, one that unexpectedly gave us more entertainment value than all the others we’d played on this trip. I’ll tell you about it in Part 3. Just a little hint: We nicknamed ourselves the Wonder Women!

Happy Labor Day to all. Brad and I are going to Florida to relax with the family over the holiday weekend. And then I’ll be back to tell you more about the Atlantic City trip, including a report about the great frugal get-together.

Fun Trip to Atlantic City, Circa 2022 – Part 1

Fun Trip to Atlantic City, Circa 2022 – Part 1

This was my first purely recreational casino trip.

Yes, my first casino trip, to Las Vegas in 1984, was mostly recreational; it was Brad’s and my first vacation together in our new wonderful relationship. Still, there was a tiny bit of “trying to do the smart thing.” I had read that table players were smarter than slot players, so I played blackjack, although I didn’t know there was anything called “basic strategy.”  Brad hadn’t read anything about casinos, so he merrily hit the slots. I couldn’t understand why I was losing my behind and Brad was coming to my table showing me heavy buckets of dollar tokens. Of course, by the end of the trip, we both were responsible for our disappeared bankroll.

When we got home, I hit the library and we started becoming life-long students of smart gambling. I’m not saying we didn’t think having fun wasn’t an important goal. For 38 years, we had more fun than we could have ever imagined. But we found that playing smart – losing less and winning more – increased the fun factor.  Kind of having your cake and eating it too!

However, circumstances change. Because of Brad’s declining health, we could no longer do casino trips together like we had for so many years. Three years of caregiving were taking its toll on me. I needed a vacation and Angela and Steve volunteered to take care of Brad. I love to travel, so where did I want to go and what did I want to do? Lie on the beach?Sightsee in new places or visit old haunts? Look for entertaining activities? Whatever I chose, the main goal was to just relax and have fun.

Fortunately, the answer came in my mailbox, a great offer from Caesars Rewards Air that was generated by my previous heavy play at CZR properties: A free charter flight to Atlantic City and a three-night stay at the Tropicana, right on the Boardwalk.  And best of all, I could bring a guest. Susan, my good friend and fellow senior resident at Legacy Reserve, was happy to help me use this comp. She recently lost her husband after years of being his caregiver, so she shared my goal to have a fun and relaxing vacation.

On August 9, we started our adventure. The first good news was that we didn’t have to go to Atlanta to catch our flight, like on some of these charter trips. That airport is a zoo!  Since I don’t drive anymore, Susan drove us in her car to the Middle Georgia Regional Airport, located in a lonely country “field” outside of Macon. We parked in the free lot just outside the tiny (compared to Atlanta) terminal to check into our flight and give them our luggage. And making us feel like we were still back in the ’50s, we walked right out onto the tarmac to climb the stairs rolled up to the airplane door. Surprisingly, the plane was a large 737 and we hadn’t nearly filled it up. But then we were informed we would stop in Augusta, where we picked up a lot more excited CZR players. The atmosphere grew even more enthusiastic when it was announced that Caesars was comping everyone to a free alcoholic beverage.

Once we arrived at the Atlantic City airport, buses were waiting to take us to our hotel. By the time we ate lunch, we were given our room keys and found our luggage awaiting us there, a smooth operation that saved our old backs! My host had requested an upgrade, so we were given an extra-large studio. This is an old casino building, but they’re doing a lot of renovation. I would call the room nice, but not fancy.

As is the usual these days, both in casino-hotels and others, there was no daily room service unless you requested it. (I miss those days when in some hotels, they gave you free play if you skipped the daily room service.)  However, we had no complaints. We had plenty of space, the beds were comfortable, and an ocean view provided us a picture-perfect full moon to enjoy at night.

Neither Susan nor I are foodies and we both got bored with the restaurant-style meals we were mostly served every evening in the Legacy dining room. Although there were many full-service and upscale dining options at the Tropicana, our mantra for this trip was “Bring on the fast food!”: tacos, ice cream treats, deli favorites, hamburgers at Hooter’s, and an unusual breakfast crepe at LaPetite Creperie. We did have one special meal at P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, where we split an orange chicken main dish. Good thing we didn’t order two entrees, because we’d first ordered to share their house-specialty appetizer, lettuce wraps. These were the best I’ve ever eaten and almost a meal in themselves.

Of course, we could have chosen to eat at other places in town: recommended famous gourmet restaurants on and off the Boardwalk and food offerings in other casinos and all along the Boardwalk. However, I had a big balance in my Reward Credits account, so we could eat free at any of the three CZR properties, Caesars and Harrah’s as well as the Trop. But we were so busy relaxing that we never got to either one of the sister properties and we easily found enough fun food at the Trop.

One of the places where we were planning to relax was the beach. Storms had been predicted, but to our delight, the first day dawned sunny and dry and we were into our bathing suits and out the casino door right onto the Boardwalk. Just a few steps over a sand dune stretched a wide beach right to the edge of the Atlantic Ocean water. Many brave souls were in that water, but mostly younger than us. We put our feet in, just to say we were “in the ocean,” but it was too cold and wouldn’t be relaxing for our old bodies.  Relaxing would be stretching out on our beach towels and soaking in the sun.

I had kind of figured that we would spend a few hours relaxing here, forgetting I hadn’t laid out on a beach for 25 years, plus I suffer heat exhaustion if I’m in the sun very long.  So about an hour of trying to get comfortable on our beach towels – I’d also forgotten sand was so hard – we decided to go back to the room. I’m glad there wasn’t a video camera pointed at us as we struggled to get up. It would have been a good scene for a comedy film. Susan is eight years younger than I am and a little more limber, but we were both laughing so hard that it was making the task of getting upright even more difficult.

She finally got on her feet, then helped me up. But by that time, I was well on my way to a sun stroke. Where we were on the beach, nearer the water, the sand was smooth to walk on, but as we make our way back, the sand became heavy and deep. I really thought I was going to pass out and Susan would have to go back to the lifeguard tower to get help. This was not part of our relaxing plan. However, I summoned up some inner strength I didn’t know I had and finally made it to the Boardwalk, where I slumped on a bench and drank some water.  After a little rest, I caught my breath and walked back into the Trop. I was gonna survive! We stopped at the deli and ordered a brunch sandwich to take back to the room where we rested and laughed about our non-relaxing beach adventure.

Fortunately, this picture was taken, by a friendly lifeguard, before we started our sunbathing.

As you all know, it’s hard for me to tell a short story. So this has become Part 1. I haven’t even mentioned gambling and yes, we did spend quite a bit of time in casinos.

Fortunately, it was more relaxing than our beach time. And although I promised you in my last couple of blogs that this was not to be an advantage-play trip, I actually surprised myself that so many of the smart-gambling concepts I’ve talked about over the years could be applied during a strictly recreational casino visit. I guess being frugal is in my DNA. Stay tuned for Part 2.

Prepping for Atlantic City Visit and Frugal Get-Together

Prepping for Atlantic City Visit and Frugal Get-Together

In my last blog, I popped the news that these days, I don’t always play advantage video poker when I am in a casino. Most of the time I do, but because of changes in my personal life circumstances and in the general casino environment, I’m also finding the joy recreational gambling can bring. If you missed reading that earlier blog, you might check it out. You might find it surprising, but perhaps helpful in coping with your current frustration with casino downgrades.

Having fun will be my goal when I, with Susan, my good friend and fellow senior resident in Legacy Reserve, head to Atlantic City August 9-12. Down through the years, Brad and I had scores of casino vacations, often taking along family. Most of these were almost completely free, thanks to the comps our heavy video poker play generated. However, because of my current limited play, I know that discounted vacations will be the more realistic goal for my future. But the savings can still be substantial. This trip is on a comped CZR air-charter package that includes airfare, baggage handling, and a room for 3 nights at the Tropicana Hotel, regular price of $800-$900.

As usual, I’m doing the research that I do before any casino trip. No matter what my goals are, I want to find the most frugal way to do anything and everything. I do a lot of Googling. I ask a lot of questions on my Jean Scott Facebook page — and a grateful thank you to so many of you who took the time to give me excellent helpful information.

I’ve been to Atlantic City quite a few times, but so much has changed over the years. Actually, the first visit was in another lifetime, a honeymoon getaway 63 years ago. No casinos were there back in 1958, but we loved the Boardwalk, which has always been a main attraction. I don’t recall many details of that trip, but I do remember the beach wasn’t crowded and we spent a lot of time cuddling on a blanket back in the grassy bush area of the sand dunes!

Brad and I have been there many times down through the last 39 years we’ve been visiting casinos. Back when we lived in Indianapolis, we made it a road trip. And once we took a train to New York City to sightsee at Christmas time, then made a bus side trip down to AC. I’d have to pull out my records that are packed away to see when we were there last, but it might have been 10 years or so ago. Not much incentive to go there once we moved to Las Vegas in 2000.

Susan and I plan major beach time and sightseeing this trip, but we’ll also be spending some time in casinos. Although Susan isn’t a serous gambler at all, she is interested in my showing her the ropes around casinos. And since my goal is to have fun, I’ve suggested we just roam around and play all sorts of games. I soon  realized my best resource to do this frugally was to grab my copy of The Frugal Gambler Casino Guide.

“Whaaat!” you may ask!  “You wrote that book. Don’t you remember what you write?”

Actually, I don’t always remember all the details of old writings. And when I wrote the chapter, “The Casino-Game Buffet,” in that book six years ago, I wasn’t thinking that I’d ever use all that information myself. This book was an update of the information in all my previous books and I included that chapter because I could see the serious downgrade in good gambling opportunities happening all over the country and knew players might be broadening out their choice of games. Brad and I were still living in Las Vegas and could still find advantage VP plays at that time, although we were finding our edge was getting thinner and thinner. But I didn’t foresee the changes coming in our personal life circumstances or how a pandemic would so drastically ruin the advantage-play environment for so many. However, I did stress in the book how I would be changing the emphasis in my writings: less about how to win and more about how to lose less.

Now, I needed to refresh my memory, studying that chapter that covered every game you might find in a casino and the smartest way to play each one in order to lose less. That will be a big part of the prep I’ll do for this trip. I know about video poker and blackjack, but what about Three Card Poker, Casino War, Ultimate Texas Hold ’em, Pai Gow Poker, big six, baccarat, roulette, and craps? Not that we’ll play all of them or that they’re all offered, but I do know we’ll tackle the slot machines. And I wrote a whole separate chapter in that book, giving the many ways to stretch your bankroll when playing this most popular choice. I’ll need to read that one carefully!

In the last blog, I mentioned that there was interest in a Frugalite get-together during my visit. Yes, it is going to happen!

It’s hard to arrange something complicated that needs reservations and a lot of organization. So I’ve chosen to plan an informal meet-and-greet, 4-6 p.m. on Wednesday August 10, in the Tropicana Hotel food court. No RSVP needed. Feel free to come and go or stay the whole time. Perhaps some Internet friends will enjoy meeting in person. I know all of you will enjoy chatting about gambling and sharing casino experiences. I will and I’m looking forward to meeting old and new Frugal friends.

The Joy of Recreational Gambling

The Joy of Recreational Gambling

Some of you may be surprised that I am writing about this subject. And I understand that; I’ve been talking primarily about advantage play for 30+ years. I’ve never said that it wasn’t fun, but sometimes it may seem more like work than entertainment.

The casino world, like all the other worlds in our life, has gone through major changes these last few years. It has become much more difficult to find good gambling options. Of course, many visitors have always considered casinos just a fun and entertaining recreational choice. But now, more and more players who used to concentrate on looking for good plays are switching their emphasis to just having a good time.

Now, I’ll probably never stop looking for good plays, but I want to tell you about a casino day trip I took just last week and a three-day vacation I’m taking in August. In both, my emphasis was or will be looking for casino fun. Some of you may need to sit down to read the rest of this blog, so the shock won’t bowl you over!

First, the recent day trip was with family to my nearest casino, Wind Creek, in Montgomery, Alabama. This is a Class II Native property that doesn’t have table games, just electronic gaming. They have all Class II video gaming machines that look very much like slot machines in other jurisdictions, but are really based on bingo games and the action on the screen is for “entertainment purposes” only.

A note is needed here: The federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act allows Native American casinos to negotiate a compact with their respective state governments.  However, there are no standard details, so the types of games offered vary from state to state. Many have slot machines only, but some also have table games and/or perhaps a mix of Class II and Class III games. To understand the complex differences between Class II and Class III gaming, you might want to do some Internet searching. I found a good explanation here.

When I first walked into Wind Creek, a large casino with over 2,000 machines, at first it seemed like any other casino I’ve ever visited, with lights flashing and constant noise.  There were rows and rows of modern-looking slot machines: multi-lines, progressives, and multi-coin denominations from a penny to $100. I looked in vain to see if I could spot any game titles I’d seen in other casinos. However, I later learned that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act specifically excludes from Class II casinos any slot machines or electronic facsimiles of any game of chance (like those in Class III), so you’ll see many machines with similar motifs (dragons, buffaloes, Oriental objects, bubbles) that you can see in a Class III casino in Las Vegas and other non-reservation jurisdictions. But they’re not the exact machine name; they’re also not played the same way.

There are no video poker games at Wind Creek.  Okay, I hear your first question.  So why were you there?

We had out-of-town relatives visiting who love casino gambling and I’d been wanting to check out my nearest casino anyway. I knew it wasn’t a place to look for an advantage play, but I wanted to do some research for a possible future Legacy Reserve bus trip. I knew all my friends here would expect me to tell them how to win! But I’ve given up trying to explain the long term to novice casino visitors; it’s hard enough to convey the concept to many experienced gamblers. Still, I was going to see if I could glean enough details on this day trip that I could give a little pre-trip talk on how to lose less.

Another reason for this trip was really the most important one. Brad was excited to visit a casino. He has lost the ability to understand advantage play, but he still understands fun.  So fun was the  goal, and I wanted to see how we could frugally stretch our fun time with the smallest cost possible.

Before this family trip, I checked the Wind Creek website, always a good first step. I immediately noticed a first-visit sign-up promotion, so the players club was our first stop when we entered the casino. All five of us joined the club, which gave us each a $10 food credit on our players cards.  We could have used it as a discount in one of their full-service restaurants, but since we weren’t that hungry, it covered lunch in their snack bar. Now we were already “ahead” for this trip, with $10 for lunch that we didn’t have to take out of our bankroll.

While eating lunch, I went over how Brad and I would be frugal, since we knew the casino had a definite advantage over us and we didn’t want to lose very much money.  We were starting out with a $100 and my main goal was not to see if we could win a big jackpot, but see how long we could stretch that hundred so our fun would last longer. Here are some of the tactics we used:

  1. Cut your losses in half by playing with a partner and a common bankroll. (Brad and I always played out of one bankroll, but friends could combine two bankrolls for short-term play.) Then take turns playing and watching one machine instead of both playing a machine at the same time. Looking for bonuses and jackpots is just as exciting while you’re watching as when you’re actually putting in money or pressing the Spin button. Plus, you now have a partner with whom to celebrate the wins and commiserate about the losses!
  2. Move around from game to game. The more time you aren’t actually putting money in a machine, the less you’re fighting the casino edge and the less you’ll lose. Brad and I moved every time we hit whatever was a bonus jackpot or we’d won a nice enough jackpot that put us ahead after a losing spell. Some people set a loss figure and if they reach it, they quit that machine to “punish” it. Any reason to change machines is a good one!
  3. Play slower. Same reason as #2.  You don’t get any credit for banging away at the machine like a madman!  You just lose money faster!
  4. Play the lowest denomination you can find, again for the same reason as #2 – less money vulnerable to the casino edge. No longer can you play penny machines just one penny at a time; some minimum bet is required.  But this casino – like at most – has a range of denominations and a choice of how many coins you play of that denomination. Brad and I always played the minimum available at the lowest denomination, which was often just around 40 or 50 pennies a hand. There was still lots of action on the scene to watch. It’s always tempting to go up a level or two, so perhaps the bonuses will be bigger. Yes, that is true, but your bankroll will drop faster and your fun time will be decreased.
  5. Look for machines with the lowest top jackpot.  There will be more little hits along the way. Those big jackpots are fed by fewer interim hits. Also, look for machines that say they pay jackpots at any level, not just with the maximum bet.

So how did Brad and I come out after a couple of hours of this very low-level  negative-expectation play? Not only did we not lose that $100, as we expected and were prepared for, it gave us two full hours of entertainment. Plus, even with our small minimum bets, we managed to win $111! Any win is good, but an unexpected one is a happy surprise. And we reached our main goal: We both had lots of fun!

And now for details about an upcoming casino vacation that may surprise you even more than this recreational-gambling day trip.  I got an offer for a CZR Air charter trip to Atlantic City August 9-12. This comp offer includes my being able to bring a guest, so since Brad isn’t able to fly, I’m taking a girlfriend who also lives here at Legacy. This will primarily be just a relaxing sightseeing and beach vacation for the two of us, since we’re staying at the Tropicana, which is right on the Boardwalk.

We know we’ll want to stop in casinos part of the time. However, since I’ve already reached the Harrah’s Diamond Elite tier level, my goal for the year, I won’t be chasing advantage plays or “working” to achieve a certain number of points. My friend, Susan, is not a gambler, so we’ll just be looking for casino fun, probably hopping from one game to another:  roulette, craps, BJ, and some low-denom exotic VP games that are fun to play, like Ultimate X,  but usually don’t have good schedules. And we’ll definitely be looking for slots that look interesting to play.

Yes, I said slots. I can call it “research,” because then I can write about them! But to be honest, I needing a relaxing get-away. I don’t particularly need it to be in or near a casino, but because of the comps, this is a very frugal vacation. And I already know I can find plenty of fun there.

This will be my first casino vacation in 38 years that is no “work” and all “play.” I can’t wait!

And to add to the joy of this trip, I’m planning a get-together for any and all of my frugalite friends who might be in town at the same time, August 9-11. I don’t have the exact details yet, but hopefully I’ll get them to everyone by the end of July. I’ll put them here in a future blog and on my Jean Scott Facebook page.  Hope to see a lot of you then!

Harrah’s Tahoe Trip Report -Part 3

Harrah’s Tahoe Trip Report -Part 3

I appreciated all the comments about my recent Harrah’s Tahoe trip and I especially was happy for those who kindly gave me some corrections. You readers are good in helping me keep the information in my blogs up to date and accurate.

Writing about the Spin Poker jackpot I hit, I said:  I was dealt 4 cards to a royal in the 1, 2, 3, 4 positions. My 5th card could have come up in 3 different positions. One would have given me one royal – and I would have been happy with $4,000. However, it came up in a corner position, which produced 3 royals. $12,000 made me very happy!

I always have gotten confused figuring out which of those nine crisscrossing lines would produce the best outcome. Fortunately, a reader helped me out: “The middle position would have produced three royals as well. Only the 3rd column works as 2, 5, 2 (all three always have to add up to 9). When needing more than one card, the combined positions matter.”

 

This photo will puzzle some people. As you see here, on the screen it looks like I was paid for only one royal. However, on Spin Poker, the result for each winning line quickly cycles through and the winning amount is only briefly on the screen. You will see that the total credits of 12,000 do appear in the lower left-hand corner. Only after that cycling process does the total amount appear, like in the picture I posted in the last blog.

I was also happy to learn from readers that not all Laurel Lounges have disappeared. The ones in Atlantic City are still open, but only on weekends and with limited hours. Laurel Lounge is open at Harrah’s Joliet, but only Friday through Sunday. The one in Cherokee is open, but for drinks only, no food. Perhaps this is the situation in other non-Vegas properties. A phone call to check before your visit might be a good idea.

Now for your questions.

Q:  Please let me know how to get a good deal like yours at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe.

A: One of the basic cornerstones of casino deals is that casinos reward players based on their play. That’s the high concept of something I’ve explained, discussed, and written about for 35 years! It all starts with using your players card every time you play at a casino and then you begin a study of the casino comp system that you’ll continue the rest of your playing life if you want to be successful.

I got a good offer for this Tahoe visit, thanks to my play the last year or so at another Harrah’s casino, in Cherokee, NC. I put in a lot of high-denomination play and reached the Diamond Elite tier level, which generated many good benefits in my casino mailings.  However, people who play at lower levels will also see some offers in their mail and the more you play, the better mail benefits you will receive. Most players should start small; they need more study and experience. Thirty-eight years ago, we started with quarters and very slowly moved up to higher denominations as we became more knowledgeable. But I’ve never stopped studying to find the best plays.

Q: Do you play JOB in Tahoe and Deuces Wild in Cherokee? Where do you practice on the computer?

A: I’m so glad you asked that question. It reminded me that I wanted to talk about how hard it was for me to switch games when I went to Tahoe.

I was surprised about this. After all, Jacks or Better (JOB) is the first video poker game for which I learned the proper strategy – way back in 1984 – and I played it off and on for the next 35 years. However, for most of those years, I could find better games, with higher mathematical expected value (EV), like Deuces Wild and Double Bonus. At times, especially for high-denomination play when there were promotions and extra benefits, JOB was the best choice. (Remember, you don’t just look for a good game; you look for a good play. That means adding together the EV of the game and the value of the extras.)

The last few years we lived in Vegas, we played Not-So-Ugly-Ducks (NSUD) almost exclusively at local casinos. When we moved to Georgia, that was the game we played on our four trips to Harrah’s Cherokee. So, I knew I should brush up on JOB strategy; it’s always a rule for me when I am tackling a game I haven’t play for a while. But I figured this could be a quick review for this most basic VP “oldie.”

So, a couple of weeks before the Tahoe trip, I sat down at my desktop computer. (As it has been since I was a child, my desk is still the most important piece of furniture wherever I live, even in our present senior apartment.) I pulled up my VP software, set it for JOB, and clicked the choice to warn me of any errors.  I also turned up the TV very loud. I wanted distractions, like you do in a casino.

I dealt the first hand. Nothing to hold so I quickly hit “Draw.” Immediate pop-up message: “Major Error”!!!

Whaaaatttttt? The software said I should have held the lone king.

Oops! My sub-conscious was still in automatic Deuces Wild mode where you don’t hold single cards (except for deuces).

I’ve talked about this in the past, how your memory cells play such an important part in video poker play. I noticed this often in the past when I was playing while I was tired. I didn’t see a hold, but my fingers seemed to be held back from immediately hitting the Draw button. Then I gave the hand a second look and saw why. My subconscious was stronger than my tired consciousness.

I’d intended to play very fast in just a couple of quick practice sessions, but making error after error, I realized that I needed a lot of practice to reprogram my memory cells. I’m not sure whether my 83-year-old brain is just getting worn out; my body sure is. Or perhaps this can happen at any age after a long time away from former learning. But I wasn’t taking any chances, so I practiced almost every day until I left for Tahoe.

I also made a conscious decision to play more slowly than my usual pace when I got there.  I was playing mostly multiple lines and one mistake expands exponentially through all the lines. I wanted to play as perfectly as I could, since my advantage was already thinner than I prefer.

Actually, I was glad that I didn’t feel the need to rush through my play. I had a goal to get to a certain tier-point destination, but there was no hurry to get there. I had plenty of hours to reach this goal. After all, this was to be a relaxing vacation and I really savored the slower pace. It didn’t hurt that I hit a couple of nice jackpots along that leisurely path.

And now here’s a little surprise for people who had wondered if I would ever again do any public speaking about gambling. Actually, when we moved to Georgia, I planned to leave the casino life completely. But it has worked out for me to return, albeit on a much more limited basis than when we lived in Vegas. And Steve and Matt Bourie, who have made many videos with me down through the years, were eager to make an updated one.  Thanks to Zoom, you can see that new one which was  just posted. Looks like I haven’t lost the ability to talk endlessly about smart gambling — we chatted for almost 45 minutes! Click the arrow to watch.

Harrah’s Tahoe Trip Report -Part 1

Harrah’s Tahoe Trip Report -Part 1

In the spring of 2019, as we’d done many times down through the years, Brad and I flew from Vegas to Reno, where a limo took us to Harrah’s Lake Tahoe.  Little did we know that this trip would be our last and that our lives would see such dramatic changes in the next three years.

Brad’s physical and mental decline led to the major decision to move to Georgia to be near my family. Then, the pandemic kept us housebound for many months, and I settled down to take care of Brad, putting casino visits out of my mind.

However, with the world getting back to the “new normal” and casinos “finding” my Georgia address (casinos do this better than the USPS!), the mail offers returned and I got a particularly good one from Harrah’s Tahoe, with airfare credit to help with the unbelievably high fares and a good amount of free play to nudge it toward positive territory. Angela and Steve knew I needed a break from caregiving duties and offered to keep Brad. I was a little anxious about this; he’s used to my always being around, but he did okay. Angela texted this picture to reassure me while I was gone, taken at a buffet he likes where he’s enjoying his favorite dessert, pecan pie.

It was with mixed emotions that I started this casino trip, my first without him since we met 39 years ago: a 70-minute shuttle ride from Columbus to the Atlanta airport, then a 4½-hour flight to Las Vegas where I met my long-time gambling friend Wilma, who had flown in from her home (independent living in a senior community just like me) in Texas. For years we’d lived in side-by-side condos in Vegas, so it was a wonderful reunion after being apart for two+ years.

We were also on the same connecting flight to Reno, where our limo awaited. This was the same eight-passenger limo that long ago had picked us up when we were two couples and even then, it had always seemed like we were rattling around a big empty room. Now with just two little old ladies, well, it seemed like overkill! Even the usual well-stocked bar was wasted on us; all we wanted were a couple bottles of water.

We didn’t hit the machines that night. It had been a long tiring travel day and we were suffering major jet lag. And with both of us at age 83, we don’t have the energy we used to. However, we did make a pass through the high-limit room to check out the video poker machine selection. Of course, we’d checked vpFREE2 early in the trip-planning stage to be sure there were good games, but in these days of constant casino downgrades, we VP players are a bit paranoid and fear last-minute surprises. However, we were happy to find some of our favorite games still there. We also checked at the kiosk and were excited to discover the details of a promotion we could do to possibly add value to our play. So now we could sink our tired bodies into our beds knowing that good fun playing conditions awaited us the next day.

When I pulled back the drapes the next morning, I was once again amazed at the picture-postcard view, just as I’d been on Brad’s and my first visit here over 30 years ago on a junket flight from Indianapolis, our small plane making a very bumpy landing at the small Tahoe airport (much scarier even than the usual tossing-around descent into Reno). The green forest surrounding the glistening blue lake this May morning had the additional artistic touch of snowcapped mountains in the distance.

The hotel itself hasn’t changed much in these last 30 years. Rooms are adequate, but more like an aging dowager who is stilling wearing her fancy fashions from decades ago. The post-pandemic changes influencing every part of our lives are very evident. Worker shortage means service is limited. No daily room cleaning, although during your stay you can request needed items. Limited hours for some restaurants and the VIP office. The indoor pool and spa are open.

There were plenty of dining options, since we could choose from those at Harrah’s and through the tunnel at Harvey’s, but some had limited hours and/or were closed some days, so we had to constantly check. Both have food courts, but you can’t use reward credits to pay there. Starbucks is popular; it opens early and closes late, so it’s sometimes the only place to pick up a snack at odd hours. We like the River Café, where you can order breakfast all day and lunch begins at 11 a.m.

We enjoyed one upscale choice, the Sage Room on the 19th floor of Harvey’s, with a beautiful view at sunset. The food and service are top-notch. We liked the shared table-side spinach salad with hot bacon dressing. Wilma opted for a very tender steak and shared a small piece with me, since I made the large shrimp cocktail my protein and had the very filling table-side baked-potato bar.

As is all too common in casinos these days, the buffet has permanently closed. We always liked this one at Harrah’s Tahoe. It wasn’t fancy, but had a good variety of down-to-earth choices. Brad always said he didn’t like any “weird food that needed a label to tell you what it was.”

Another option I really missed, one that has disappeared, I think, at all CZR properties, is the Laurel Lounge (the new name of what used to be called the Diamond Lounge). We especially liked this one for the nightly light “supper,” salads and two choices of some of the best soups we’ve ever tasted. And when this food was taken away, Brad waited around until they brought out the yummy just-baked cookies. To try to take away the disappointment of not having the Lounge bar, players at the Diamond levels and above are issued daily coupons on the kiosk for drinks, one for up to $8 at Starbucks and 3 for drinks up to $12 at specified casino bars.

If you’re hungry and don’t want to leave your room, traditional room service is gone, but it has been replaced by – what else? – an app, Caesars Eats. Since we didn’t use this system, I can’t give you any helpful information, but perhaps some reader here can fill us in on some details in the Comment section. I believe this app is hooked up with “Ivy,” the Alexa for CZR-affiliated hotels. Texting with Ivy is the way to get all sorts of information about the hotel and various services. However, you don’t have to sign up for Ivy, although they encourage you to do so when you check in. Ivy likes to text you often with all sorts of offers and suggestions how you might want to spend your time – and money!

——

“But what about video poker? You haven’t discussed what you played, any jackpots you hit, or how full or empty your purse was when you came home?”

Sorry, I’m out of room here, but I’ll give you all the good, the bad, and the ugly in my next post. Hang on for Part 2.

Scouring for Casino Info

Scouring for Casino Info

I’ve often written that if you need more info about a specific casino, you should check their website for details — about their promotions, players club, restaurants, amenities, etc. Most casinos do better than they did years ago, but it’s amazing how many still do not realize that for so many of their potential and returning customers, the website is their first go-to contact. Sadly, many casino websites are only a brief and unsatisfying resource starting point.

Where can and should you go next?

In this post, I discuss where I often go and give you some of the information I’ve learned recently, even though I can’t use another good technique I recommend, visiting a casino in person.

THE PALMS

I wanted to find details about the Palms the minute it reopened, so I checked their website. There was general information, mainly about food offerings, but very few details a serious player would need: the name of the new players club and a photo with partial views of all the various tier cards, but absolutely no details. You can sign up there for email updates, but you can’t actually sign up for a card.

So I went to vpFREE2, my usual first step for getting the nitty gritty  info I need: VP inventory, sorted by machines or games, with locations, players club details, names of hosts, and general helpful comments.

Then I went to one of my best friends, Google, and found an article titled “Palms Casino Resort Opens with New Rewards Program For Las Vegas.” Bingo! Loads of details to fill in some of my information gaps.

I always liked Vital Vegas, Scott Roeben’s blog. Scott is a man about town who worked in Vegas marketing for a long time and is very well connected and knowledgeable. So I checked his article about the Palms re-opening, which includes a lot of photos and interesting  personal opinions. He also gives a link to a Twitter message that gives a valuable tier-matching chart. Check your loyalty cards and see if you can score a higher tier level at the Palms. In fact, you can see there what other Vegas players clubs you might want to join for higher tier-matching benefits.

Now I’m waiting to hear from some you who are lucky to be able to do eyes-on research!

CZR Properties

Speaking of personal reporting I really appreciate, I recently received an email from a frugal friend giving some updates from his recent trip to Harrah’s Cherokee. The food offerings are still in a period of frustration and confusion as most of the food court, which was in the casino, is closing as the Gordon Ramsey Food Market, outside the casino, is in a slow-opening phase. Seems like they’re repositioning dining options so that they’re available to families, since you have to be 21 to enter the casino proper. However, you see many children in the hotel and other non-casino entertainment areas.

While I’m on the subject of Cherokee, I had several requests for a photo of our recent jackpot there. Some of you may have already seen it in a recent LVA YouTube (# 43).

Another way that I discover new information that sometimes doesn’t ever make it into a website is by carefully reading all casino mail, both hard copy and online. That is how I learned that a CZR player who becomes eligible for free rooms as they go up in tier credits can use these room nights in other locales besides Vegas, which is the old offer. I’m not sure whether this covers all over the U.S. or just specific ones; you would need to check with a host. You would also need to check the details; it used to be a free night every 5,000 tier credits, but I’m not sure of the limit, perhaps 6 or 7 free nights a year? Also, I’m not sure if this is a permanent benefit or temporary promotion. Again, check with a host.

MGM

Sometimes I find new information that might be mentioned on a casino website, but not for a casino where I regularly play, so I don’t check it frequently for any additions or change of benefits. That happened just this morning as I was beginning to edit and post this blog. I got an email from Southwest (my airline of choice, because there is no charge if you have to change/cancel a flight) informing me they have become a preferred partner of MGM.

MGM Rewards members who are also Rapid Rewards® Members can now earn 600 Rapid Rewards® Points for each qualifying stay at all Las Vegas MGM Rewards destinations: Bellagio®, ARIA™, Vdara™, MGM Grand®, The Signature at MGM Grand®, Mandalay Bay®, Delano™ Las Vegas, Park MGM Las Vegas, The Mirage®, New York – New York®, Luxor®, and Excalibur®.

Now to end this blog on a lighter note, some comments that made me smile when that 2016 YouTube interview “How She Made a Million” was recently re-posted.  Seems nothing goes away online and people are still wanting to give their opinions – 463  of them at last count! Yes, there are many positive reactions, but so many of them are darkly colored by their personal painful losing casino experiences.

Commenter #1: This interview was done in 2016? How are they doing today? Wouldn’t Brad be about 90 years old?

My Response:  Yep, it’s 2022 and Brad IS 90 years old.

Commenter #2:  When they become a little bit off their game mentally as they get older, they will give their life savings back to the casinos. It’s just a matter of time.

My Response: Brad is in mental decline and doesn’t play unless I’m beside him helping him remember. I’m 83 and maybe not quite as sharp as I was in 2016, but with some review play with software on my computer, the few times I get to a casino these days, I think I remember accurate strategy pretty well. And I don’t lose enough to put even a small dent in that million dollars talked about in the YouTube interview. What does put a bigger dent in life savings is paying for senior assisted living.  🙁

Today, I’m very glad we always kept on the path of frugal advantage play  and didn’t squander in our younger days those big video poker winnings!

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