And if you are reading this, you are also lucky that you can get the best event and combo discount deals by using these LVA codes:

1. Zorklva – $10 off a regular ZorkFest Conference ticket
2. Zorkdinnerlva – $20 off the ZorkFest VIP dinner! (remember, VIP “High Roller” ticket INCLUDES DINNER)
3. Zorklvaroller – $25 off! ZorkFest VIP “High Roller” ticket which includes VIP dinner, breakfast, t-shirt, and VIP reserved seats at the podcaster event
4. Zorkcraps – discount for charity craps tournament

(Depending on your schedule and interests, you can register for individual events – like the VIP dinner or the craps tournament or the Award Travel Bootcamp – without purchasing the Conference ticket.)

Zorkfest is also running an exclusive contest for LVA members:

ZorkFest will provide three (3) Friday VIP dinner tickets to raffle off for LVA members. Potential winners will be any LVA member who buys a Zorkfest conference ticket (with the LVA code). Those three winners will sit with Anthony Curtis or Jean and Brad Scott at dinner Friday night. If the winner of the LVA contest for dinner already has purchased a dinner (or High-Roller ticket which includes dinner) they will get a $100 Treasure Island Casino Chip, at registration.

So, check out the ZorkFest website and see what all will be offered, no matter what your interests are:  a crap tournament, smart casino gambling, travel bargains, credit card awards, podcasts.  It looks to be a cornucopia of money-saving information!

Brad and I hope to see a lot of our frugal friends!

It is easy to keep up without going back and forth between blogs and scrolling to the bottom of each one for possible comments.  When you are on my blog page, look for the section titled “Recent Comments” on the right side of the page and you can click on those you would like to read.   Not everyone reads my blogs or comments on them the day I post them.  But that list on the right side of the blog page will keep you up to date on current comments and those that may appear later.  (Other reasons to check on the right side of my blog page:  you can “Subscribe” so you will get an e-mail when I post a new blog, and you can also search in the “Archives” and find every Frugal Fridays and Frugal Vegas blog I have ever posted – from way back in April 2000!)

BRIEFS

The usual free slot tournament South Point runs on senior Mondays will not be held on Monday, March 19.  Also remember the all-day Monday $4 movie promo for seniors is “not valid on holidays or special events.”

Hooters Casino Hotel has opened the world’s largest Steak’n Shake location – and with a bar and slot machines to boot.  We old-time Midwesterners would never have believed those would ever be added to their juicy hamburgers or thick milkshakes!

Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino is the latest casino company to offer a room discount to active and veteran military, police, fire fighters, teachers, and other service personnel.  Also, their new players club will give all active and retired members of the United States Military Gold Tier status, with extra benefits.  As with all casinos and players clubs, you will need to check their websites for specific requirements to get extra benefits, and more importantly, you will need to check the limitations.  Many of these special programs have tons of fine print to wade through!

THE ZORKFEST

My March 4 blog gave you many of the details about this fun feast of frugal information to help you save money on travel expenses and casino visits.  (I like alliteration!)

I also gave you the link to complete details of the Zorkfest event which is sponsored by TravelZork, a website covering airlines, hotels, casinos, Vegas, and loyalty programs.  There you will find the pictures, bios, and subject material of the many experts who will be speaking, and details of event schedules and registration fees.

However, I am writing about it again because the deadline to take advantage of the lowest registration fee is coming up fast – in fact it is this coming Tuesday, March 20.  You will be able to register later, of course, but the cost will be higher.  And you know me – I like to be sure my readers are aware of the most frugal options!  I truly believe that many – even most – attendees will learn a few new frugal techniques that will save them more money in the future than they invest in the registration fees.  (And when you register, be sure to add the code zorklva for extra discounts!)

The seminar speakers are experts in a variety of travel and casino fields, and more subjects have been added to the wide range that were initially listed.  Here are some of them:

-Learn the Best Travel Award Redemptions

-Expert Tips to Book Travel and Credit Card Strategies

-Casino Comps, VIP Status and Offers

-Miles & Points – Tips and Tricks

-Family Travel and Cruise Promotions

As I said in the earlier blog, Brad and I will be there most of the time during this event, both before and after I speak, and we look forward to meeting new and long-time fellow frugalites.

For complete information about this fun and informative event go to ZorkFest. There you can scroll down and find schedules, pictures and bios of the speakers, preliminary session subjects, host hotel rates, and registration details.  Of course, I want to tell you about all the ways you can reduce the cost of this educational and entertaining event – talking about how to get more bang for your buck is what I do!

First, remember this valuable code:  zorklva.  This will give you discounts for many parts of the registration fees.  And second, remember this still-wise cliché – the early bird gets the worm.  The Super Early Discount rate available if you register before March 20, coupled with the LVA code, will be the best bargain.  But there are other discounts for add-ons and combo offers.

Then there are special LVA promotions. Use the code zorklvaroller for $25 off the High-Roller ticket, offer good until April 30.    And here is one Brad and I are excited about because we love to chat with our fans:

ZorkFest will provide three (3) Friday VIP dinner tickets to raffle off for LVA members. Potential winners will be any LVA member who buys a Zorkfest conference ticket (with the LVA code). Those three winners will sit with Anthony Curtis or Jean and Brad Scott at dinner Friday night.  If the winner of the LVA contest for dinner already has purchased a dinner (or High-Roller ticket which includes dinner) they will get a $100 Treasure Island Casino chip, at registration.  Those who purchase the dinner (or High Roller Ticket which includes dinner) will also get a chance to sit with AC or Jean and Brad Scott, on a first- come- first basis.

I am really enthusiastic about this event because it covers such a large range of subjects of interest to people who work at being thrifty.  Of course, my niche is frugal gambling, but we spent a lot of time over the years making our travel budget smaller – think of those many airplane bumps we chased –  so we would have a bigger bankroll when we got to the casino.   And we are really looking forward to chatting with many of our frugal readers, some we have met in person in the past but many have wished for such an opportunity as this May event will bring.  Hope to see you there!

I usually ignore questions and comments from people who seem to always have a negative agenda. The Internet is overrun with unhappy maladjusted writers and posters who have to put other people down so they can puff themselves up, and unfortunately the gambling community is not immune from these malcontents. But most of the questions I get are friendly in nature, and I am always happy to respond to those who are sincerely and politely trying to seek accurate and/or helpful information.

Here are some of the facts that will help you understand the complexity of this media interaction, the problems and issues I have faced for many years with TV, radio, and newspaper contact. Most interviewers are not gamblers themselves, so they are trying to present a story on a subject they must write “cold,” with no personal experience. And the time element is usually so abbreviated that I can only touch on the basics, with no chance to explain exceptions or flesh out the details. Fortunately, this reporter who interviewed Brad and me had the whole day and, most importantly, the deep desire to “get it right” even though he was new in town and had absolutely no casino experience.

We visited two different casinos and I showed him examples of both low-level recreational choices and explained high-level skilled selections. There was no photographer with us during this time, so I don’t know the details of when or where the photos that accompanied the article were taken.

Some gamblers reading this article made a common mistake that I have warned about for years, that is, drawing quick conclusions about other gamblers without complete information. They look at a below-100% paytable being played and jump to the conclusion that the player is doing a negative play. They don’t know what bump they are getting for multiple points, what mailer bounce-back free play they receive, or what special bonus they are qualifying for. They don’t know the goals or parameters  of a particular session. And it is not just newbies that make this mistake; we can forgive them because they are still learning and don’t know the finer points of VP play. However, it is often the very skilled and experienced gamblers who love to play the one-upmanship game, looking for vague “implies” or stretched “infers” to support their fanciful conclusions.

When you read the article you will not see everything I said over a period of many hours – I can talk pretty fast and furious when I am “teaching.”  And you must remember that I did not write this article. The reporter did use some exact quotes, but he also had to “summarize” in his own words what I said on many topics. The main ideas he put in the article were quite accurate, particularly when he explained skilled play as picking good games and adding the extra casino benefits. Most importantly, the purpose of the interview was not how to learn to become a successful high-roller. The reporter just wanted to get a feel for high-limit gambling – how one could put through so much money through a machine in such a short time. He felt – correctly so – that most recreational gamblers who played at lower levels really didn’t understand higher-level play – not just the luxurious comps that came but also the extreme risk involved.

I talked to him a lot about volatility, but couldn’t magically will that day’s results to give him a good example. It was just a lucky happening that I had a roller coaster ride he could actually watch in real time. And as a side benefit, the small victory in the end was a perfect way to end the interview. The reporter was caught up in our enthusiasm as we played – Brad and I love multi-line VP and I guess it showed.  But he started worrying when we were in a long losing streak; I had to assure him that this was a common experience and we had a big enough bankroll to plow through them as long as our energy level held up.  However, even with no money of his own at risk, I think when we finally got back up with a small win he was more excited than we were!

The Westin

Max Casino at this casino is closing June 30.  Scot Krause’s article in “Gaming Today” gives all the details.

TUSCANY

The 20% senior discount moves to the Pub e65 for the whole month of July.

RAMPART

They are advertising that their newly-named senior “50 Plus PARTY Tuesdays” is “new and improved, offering more benefits.” See the details here.

SOUTH POINT

From a press release: Beginning Monday, July 3, South Point Hotel will introduce “Prime Time Mondays” for our Casino Club Card holders age 50 and older. Prime Time Mondays will offer a $5,000 Free Slot Tournament from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The tournament’s first place winner will receive a $1,000 cash prize and additional places will be rewarded with free play.  In addition, guests who pay with their points will receive half point dining all day at all restaurants (Primarily Prime Rib & Baja Miguel’s are closed on Monday) and half point bingo all day. Movies will also be offered at a discounted rate of just $4 all day (additional fee for 3D & XD). This promotion is not valid on holidays or during special bingo events.

PALMS

The last day for their buffet before they close it for major changes is July 30. The new 24-hour coffee shop, the Lucky Penny, will open to the public on Saturday morning, July 1. I saw it today as it was practicing a soft opening with invited guests. Fancy-dancy!

Watch for machines to disappear or be moved around as they continue to replace carpeting. Hopefully our favorite ones will re-appear and intact.

New parking passes are available at the players club. The old ones expired on June 30.

No plans to put in the check-cashing program available at other Station casinos until after the cage area is renovated. Proposed time for that to start is late summer.

———–

If you get to missing my gambling chatter here while we are on vacation, you can listen to me talk about gambling and casinos in a couple recent interviews:

1. A podcast from the “House of Cards” radio show

2. An American Casino Guide YouTube video

And if you want to read a funny little story about Brad, it is buried in the middle of a recent long Review-Journal article about casino chairs.  

A podcast will be available after the last broadcast, on Saturday, June 17th. I will give that link in my blog when it becomes available.

While you are at the site, you might find some of the other interviews of interest, including those with Bob Dancer and Anthony Curtis.  http://thepogg.com/blog/.