I knew this move would be a lot of work – but it has been more exhausting than I expected –  and taking us longer to get settled .  I guess we had more energy at 60/67, back when we moved from Indianapolis to Las Vegas 20 years ago.

But we are happy to be in our new Georgia home, albeit surrounded by unpacked boxes.  I love apartment living already.  Toilet won’t stop running – call maintenance. Door sticking – call maintenance.  They cheerfully fix, change, or tell us how to operate anything.  However, one thing they can’t fix is the weather. Our umbrellas and raincoats are getting a heavy workout.  It will take time to adjust to heavy humidity!

It is great to be near family.  These three great-grands will keep us young – if they don’t wear us out first! 

We haven’t had time to miss Las Vegas or gambling yet – too busy getting settled. But I just heard something on the news that I just couldn’t believe.  All the state political talk  here is centered around whether Georgia will finally legalize gambling, with the push for a casino in Atlanta.  But then I heard the governor speak about this subject and he said that other cities around the state were interested in also having a casino.  Then he went on to mention that an official from Columbus told him their city definitely wanted to be included on that casino location list.

Hummmm….wonder if he had found out the Frugal Gamblers had moved to Columbus and might give a casino here a big boost.

Naaaaaw…

If we didn’t have a dollar to our name, we would be super rich in friendships!

Many of you have responded to my call for questions you’d like me to answer before I close out my blogging here.  One friend who has kept track of our families remarked that I hadn’t posted a recent picture of my sisters.  Well, here is one that was taken recently when middle sister, from North Carolina, came to visit the two Vegas sisters and we were able to have one of our every-five-year pictures taken.  Here, right-to-left, is Starr, 70, then June, 75, and finally the 80-year old!

Others have asked questions about Brad’s health, with those seeing him in person remarking that he is “looking good.”  And he does get around pretty well, mostly with a cane and only using a walker when there are longer distances.  He has recently been diagnosed with the beginnings of heart failure (a heart pumping problem) and with vascular parkinsonism,  in which parkinsonian symptoms (slow movements, tremor, difficulty with walking and balance) are produced by narrowing or blockage of blood vessels, rather than by gradual loss of nerve cells as seen in the more typical neurodegenerative Parkinson’s disease. This is on top of his previous long-time heart problems after a heart attack in 2003 – A Fib and coronary artery disease – but thankfully modern medicine has had many answers for him – a pacemaker, 7 coronary stents, and an extensive menu of meds.  He is slowing down – but with lots of naps, he continues to get out and about.  As he says, he is probably doing better than most men coming up on age 88!

Many of the questions pertain to our future.  I have already mentioned that I will continue this blog through December and into January.  I may want to do some other writing but I don’t know what form that might take – I do love to write.  I will probably continue to read and contribute to the vpFREE forum whenever I come across helpful gambling information.  And I definitely plan to use my Facebook account to chat about Brad’s and my future activities.  Search for “Jean Scott” and ask to be my friend if you aren’t already.  But one thing I am pretty sure about:  I won’t tackle writing another book or take any writing assignment with a deadline.  I am retiring from stress!

And probably the most frequent query is about what gambling we will do once we leave Las Vegas.  And most people don’t believe this answer – very little if any!  It is hard to explain – but we almost never gambled in a casino just for fun after our first trip to Las Vegas in April 1984.  After that trip, we decided this was the fun-est time we had ever had, but we knew we wouldn’t be in a financial position to lose $3000 very often– as we had that time – for this kind of vacation.   So, I went to the library to start studying how we could have this fun without losing money.  And the rest is history.

Actually, we have been “practicing” for our retirement from casino gambling these last couple of months in Vegas.  First, we were learning to accept the reality that physical and mental limitations would majorly cut down on  casino visits.  And then, it had been very obvious for a long time that there are very few advantage plays that don’t depend on future benefits, like mailers with bonus-points dates and free play. So, we have played a few times just for fun since we would not be here to collect those future benefits.  For example, instead of playing the higher EV but more boring single line NSUD video poker game, we would choose an 8/5 Bonus Poker game on Spin Poker, with a lower EV but  more fun for us.  We never had played the very exciting Ultimate X at the higher denominations in the past because we didn’t want to study a new very complex strategy.  But finding it at 10-play nickels – or even pennies – paytables be damned – sometimes has provided us an hour or so of fun with just a small “entertainment fee.”

The closest casinos to Columbus, GA, are Harrah’s Cherokee and Biloxi, both a 4-5-hour drive away.  We probably wouldn’t make a special trip that far just for fun play, and with no comps.  Flying is getting very difficult for Brad so that rules out a trip to Vegas or any other casino city just for fun.  We’ve had about all the fun we can stand in the 35 years visiting casinos.  If we just happen to be in a casino sometime, perhaps on a family vacation, we probably would give the grands a few bills and watch them play the slots.  Or, we might find a new VP game that looks interesting in which to invest some of our fun money.  But we are definitely retiring from advantage play and leaving the casino lifestyle.  And with no regrets – it’s been a fantastic life that will give beautiful memories forever.  But now we are ready for a new  adventure – just perhaps one a little less busy and more peaceful.

Next week I’ll answer more of your questions.  Fire away!

And by the way, if you want to have a book autographed or just want to say good-bye, Brad and I will be at the Gold Coast on Wednesday, December 18, between 4-5 p.m.  We will be in the drawing area.

VETERANS DAY – Monday, November 11

Boyd Gaming is offering a 11x multiplier for all players with a Sapphire tier card and above.

Silverton is offering 10x on reels and 2x on VP.  They are also advertising a BOGO buffet that day for all players club members.

Many casinos will offer a free buffet for military members and veterans on this day. Most require a players card and verification of their status to be shown at the cashier, with military ID, VA ID, or a DD-214.    This includes the Rampart, South Point, Silverton and Boyd Gaming properties.

The Station casinos also offer a free military buffet, but the procedure is a bit different. You have to swipe your military Boarding Pass at any kiosk to redeem voucher.  If you don’t have the military flag on your card, you can take your official documents to verify your active or veteran status to the players club and get that military card.  (That will also qualify you for extra benefits for the on-going Military Mondays promotions.)

South Point’s offer is the plum one since the buffet freebie is not only for the qualified person but he/she can bring a guest who can also eat free.  The lines are long at all the casinos offering this free meal, even at those who have separate VIP lines, but you might find the wait at South Point excruciatingly long all day long – there doesn’t seem to be any “off time.”

There is another plum offer for all active or retired military personnel with verifying credentials but it involves a bit of a drive for Las Vegas residents, about 90 miles.  The Virgin River and Casa Blanca casinos in Mesquite are offering free buffets all day for both the qualified person and guest.

No free buffet at the El Cortez but you might not have to waste time waiting in line that day to eat – free White Castle hamburgers will be passed out to the active players on the casino floor, both at the tables and the machines.  And you don’t have to even be military or a veteran!

THANKSGIVING DAY – November 28

Boyd Gaming is running their 11x multiplier all day – and as usual only Sapphire tier and above can take advantage of this bonus.  So sorry, Ruby players.

South Point is running a Hot Seat promotion from 8 a.m. until midnight Nov. 28.

And almost every casino restaurant is serving a special Thanksgiving menu.  The lines may be long everywhere – I think very few in Las Vegas cook a holiday dinner at home!

MONTH-LONG PROMOTIONS

Here is a newly-released promotion, one which was not mentioned in the monthly mailer but which I first learned about from an ad in the R-J.  The Gold Coast is continuing their mid-week multipliers for all of November:  11x all day Monday through Thursday.  Check Scot’s player club bonus list for the varying multiple-point days for other Boyd properties – they are not all the same!   The same warning for Station Casinos:  The Fiestas and the Palms often march to different orders!

South Point is running their popular 1/2 -price player club point “sale,” this month for Amazon gift cards.

Tuscany is having a “Play and Win” promotion:

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An important note for all players who are looking for extra value: Always check out possibilities for double-dipping, combining monthly and holiday promotions.

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And finally, a hint for getting around during the Las Vegas Marathon coming up later this month:

Once again, the Las Vegas Monorail will be the only Strip transportation option available during the 2019 Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon & ½ Marathon. The Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon & ½ Marathon event gives participants a one-of-a-kind nighttime running experience as the only private event to close Las Vegas Boulevard at night. The largest event on the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series tour will take place on the Las Vegas Strip at night on Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 16 – 17, 2019. Year after year, thousands of runners and spectators attend the Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon & ½ Marathon and its four days of events, relying upon the Monorail for getting to and from the start and finish lines of the weekend’s races. The Monorail also has a station at the Las Vegas Convention Center, which is the site of the events three-day Health & Fitness Expo, held on Thursday – Saturday, Nov. 14 – 16.

So…as I have done hundreds of times over the years when one casino advantage opportunity disappeared, I sat down when we arrived at the casino and starting figuring what our next best move could be.  Fortunately, this would not be a hard decision for Brad and me this time.  We had already decided, especially after Brad’s recent medical problems, that we were going to phase ourselves out of CZR after this Cherokee trip.  So, we would just call it quits a little earlier.

However, since we were already in Cherokee, we would keep this Seven Star retreat reservation, a benefit we had already earned.  In the past, we had always been careful not to “burn our bridges,” giving at least a little play whenever we were taking advantage of a casino benefit.  However, this time we weren’t going to worry about our “reputation,” having decided we weren’t interested in having any future offers anyway.  We were not going to play at all!

It was relaxing – Steve and Angela and we just using our $500 folio for lots of good food and in the retail shops looking for educational toys for our three great-grandchildren.  We had a nice balance of accumulated Reward Credits that we could turn into cash, something we couldn’t do at other CZR properties.

We all four had a bunch of coupons good for free play, including $40 for taking advantage of their no-housekeeping program, those from monthly mailers, and about $1100 in airfare reimbursement.  Angela and Steve got lucky on the slots and hit a jackpot that almost doubled their free play amount.  Brad and I used ours on electronic blackjack and felt lucky that we got back the full free play amount. None of us were interested in doing recreational (non-advantage) play after we had run our free play through the required one time. We all decided we would rather use our money later for other entertainment choices.  It was going to be so much more fun to come home from a casino with a fatter wallet!

This Cherokee experience also did something really important for Brad and me – and it may explain to some who have questioned why we are retiring within the next few months. I’ve already detailed the health reason, which is very important.  But there is another – one about which Brad and I weren’t yet 100% sure.  Was this something we really wanted to do?

But when we got the news about the Cherokee downgrades, instead of feeling sad and disappointed as we have reacted in the past, we both felt…. well… RELIEVED.  We have 36 years of gloriously happy casino memories – but smart gambling is “work” as well as fun.  We are ready to stop working!

Here is a picture of Brad being transferred from the military hospital at Fort Benning to a civilian one in Columbus, the latter one having a better cardiac department.

Brad is still a little weak, but with strong meds kicking in and the help of a walker (and a wheelchair which is complimentary at the casino), he feels he is up to a short 4 ½-hour road trip from Columbus, GA to Harrah’s Cherokee, with Angela and me and tough ex-Ranger Steve as his “nursing assistants.”

This trip is my Harrah’s 7* retreat that we had to cancel for last weekend.  So, for those of you on property this weekend who might want to stop and chat, we will be on the casino floor or at the buffet or the Laurel Lounge (Formerly called the Diamond Lounge) on this Friday evening (20^th), off and on all day Saturday, and Sunday until early afternoon when we will be driving back to Columbus.

I don’t want to clutter up this blog with personal details but if you want to follow more of our “real life,” as opposed to our casino one, you can join us on my Jean Scott Facebook page for updated news.  I’ll be happy to friend you if you are not there already.

Now for some details for those who don’t know much about this beautiful Indian casino, managed by Harrah’s.  We have visited here once or twice a year for many years.  In my opinion it is located in one of the prettiest areas of the U.S, the Smoky Mountains.  (Tied with Lake Tahoe at the top of our casino favorites.) We especially like to visit in the fall to see the leaf-changing spectacular – something we miss in Las Vegas.  And it is always a good place to take the family, with many non-gambling options, like sightseeing, hiking, and fishing.  It also has our very favorite casino buffet, bar none.

Cherokee has many advantages for those in the Harrah’s 7* players club tier.  Unlimited comped movies.  Free Internet access for 5 devices.  Large selection of free beverages at check-in.  Opt out of daily housekeeping and get $20 free play per night stay.  A special set-aside room in the Laurel Lounge, with additional food selections.  And very valuable, you can get cash instead of free play when you cash in your Reward Credits.  If you are on your 7* retreat, you can use your $500 folio money in the many shops, not just for food and beverage.

A friend recently sent me this good hint, one which I didn’t know:

You can use Celebration “vouchers” for room service.  Before we used ours, I checked at the Rewards Center and was told that I could use the voucher for room service, but I needed to tell the room service people when I placed our order.  I did and it worked perfectly.

Perhaps this will work at other CZR properties?  You could check.

If you want more hints about this property and extra benefits, go to the Seven Star Insider,  where you will find tons of very detailed information about Cherokee and all other CZR properties.  Although this website zeroes in on 7* benefits, there is much information that would help lower-tier players maximize the value of their play.

The main drawback for many VP players is that there are not good paytables at the lower denominations.  The best ones are at the $5 machines.

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If Brad continues to gain his strength back, we plan to return to Vegas on September 28th – and I can be back here with more Las Vegas casino frugal information.

Most everyone is surprised by our decision. Won’t we miss gambling? How will we spend our time with no casinos around?  Won’t we get bored?

I can explain, with so many reasons and factors.  Our ages – 80 and 87.  Our energy levels, decreasing at a fast pace.  Health issues – Brad especially has been dealing with serious medical problems.

However, family is a major consideration.  Angela, the frugal princess, and her hubby Steve want us to be nearby so they can help out whenever we might need any kind of assistance. And we would like to be able to see more often our grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  This picture shows Grandson Zachary, just back home from a National Guard deployment to Afghanistan, with 3 of our important “little” reasons for wanting to be in GA!!

As far as missing gambling, video poker just doesn’t have the appeal to either of us as in the past.  After 36 years of playing the frugal game in Vegas, we both are ready to retire from chasing positive value. Even Brad, who has been gambling at something for 83 years (started when he was 5), says he is ready to “rest.”  Many people won’t understand this, but serious gamblers will – successful gambling takes a lot of “work.”  And this “job” is getting harder and harder.  “Retiring” sounds very relaxing to both of us.

As I said at the top, we are still in the planning stages.  There may be a transition period when we keep our home in Vegas and spend longer periods in GA. In fact, we are leaving  for GA soon, staying for several weeks.

Furthermore, we aren’t leaving gambling completely right away.  We still have at least one comped Harrah’s Seven Star trip on tap that we will use on this next GA visit.  Angela and Steve like to take us on that 4 1/2-hour road trip from Columbus up to beautiful Harrah’s Cherokee. And when we are back in Vegas, you might see us at times taking advantage of a multiple-point day at a local casino.

And don’t worry about not hearing from me – I will continue writing blogs as long as I find useful hints for frugal gambling and my fingers can still work a keyboard.

Sooooooooooo……if you plan to play there tomorrow – Father’s Day – you better keep track of your starting and ending point balances to see if the 11X is being added.  This is a problem that Gold Coast has not been up front in letting their customers know about it.  You could have activated the 11x on a kiosk and just assumed that it would have been done.  No sign on the kiosk that there might be a problem.  The only reason I know about it is because I read Internet forum posts and talk to other players who are kind enough to share information.

Gold Coast already has a major PR problem after the Boyd burn-and-slash players club changes have chased away many customers.  You would think that they would jump at the chance to be extra transparent with those that have stayed.  System malfunctions do happen, but a casino should warn customers about them.  I guess that responsibility falls on me at the moment even though I am definitely not on the Boyd payroll!

Speaking of Boyd Gaming, I guess I am really tired of trying to help players deal with casino policies that no one I know can understand.  So, I’m going to leave that subject – at least for today – and go to subjects that are more positive – or at least don’t depress you.

Here is a link to an article, Moët and Silk Jammies, that might bring a smile to some of you old-timers.  It is one I could have written myself about Brad’s and my adventures when we first started gambling in Las Vegas.

And if you are bored with your home casino, go to this link to find some of the most unusual casinos around the world you could put on your bucket list.  I was in the Australian town of Coober Pedy almost 50 years ago and marveled at the underground homes cut right out of the earth, but there was no underground casino there at that time!

And I’ll end this blog with a press release that did not excite me one bit:

FLY LINQ is now the only zipline in the world to offer four ride styles that can launch simultaneously on 10 side-by-side lines.

FLY LINQ, which is also the only zipline on the Las Vegas Strip, now gives riders four ways they can fly:

1. Prone or “superhero”– backward
2. Prone or “superhero”– frontward
3. Seated – backward
4. Seated – frontward

We created an exhilarating experience that only FLY LINQ could deliver. For the first time, we are giving riders the option to fly seated or prone backward whereas before they were only able to fly frontward.

Definitely more options than most 80-year-women need!

Last week I had told you that a juicy promotional offer had changed our mind, at least temporarily, about stopping play at CZR properties.  So, we decided to do this offer, albeit with some trepidation since it involved higher denominations that are no longer available for our usual play.  No matter how good a percentage advantage, in the short term, results can be very negative – and going back to our regular positive but lower-denomination play can be a long discouraging journey to eventual long-term success.  However, we were fortunate to end up on the up side of this short-term result range and came home with a nice profit.

But there were other benefits beyond financial ones – friendship and camaraderie. It seemed like the old days, when we would see many of our player friends whenever there was a tournament or drawing or special casino promotion.  We chatted with old friends and made new ones, including some of those whom I had previously known only through this blog or internet forums.  It is always good to finally connect a face with a name!  We even met an elderly gambling gentleman that was two years older than Brad and, like him, still going strong – and found that we shared the common interest of faithfully watching the Lawrence Welk Show reruns on PBS.

Now back in Vegas, we can enjoy more good video poker opportunities in April than we have had here for a while. Stations have taken leave of their “up to” mystery multipliers and now have guaranteed their 10x/6x points: Fiesta casinos have multiplier days on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday; the rest of the Station properties (including the Palms) have them every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I love when casinos start competing.  Gold Coast has gone wild and is offering 11x points every day Sundays through Thursdays for the rest of April.  South Point is running a good earn-a-buffet offer.

Check Scot’s Bonus Point List  for multiple-point days at other casinos, including some on Easter, April 21.

But recently the mail brought Brad a surprisingly juicy promotional offer from Harrah’s Tahoe – too good to pass up.  We surmise that this might have been generated for former Seven Star players who had dropped down from that level in 2019, as Brad has done.  We figured this because I, who did make Seven Stars for this year, did not get that same good offer.  But who knows why casinos do what they do – after 35 years in the casino trenches I still don’t have a clue most of the time!

General CZR Information

While I am on the subject of Harrah’s Tahoe, here are some notes I have collected about CZR in general.

A common question: “Can your host at one CZR property make reservations for you at other properties?”

The general answer to this is “Yes,” and you will even probably get mail from your host promoting this benefit.  However – as you must always watch for – individual properties may have variations of this policy.  I had one player tell me her host said she could book any “event” at other properties, but not rooms.  But I have had success with cross-booking for years, both using regional marketing directors and individual-property hosts.

Another frequent question is concerning the amount of play you need to do when you use the complimentary Atlantis resort benefit that CZR offers at some tier levels. This fine print makes a lot of players nervous:  If you accept this offer and do not show any rated casino play, the Atlantis may charge you for some or all of your upfront complimentaries including rooms, food & drink, limos, etc.

Words like this make me nervous.  Brad and I are on a number of mailing lists for comped cruises and casino resort visits because of our heavy play in past years, and most have this kind of scary fine print.  Example is a recent invitation from an independent host for Live Casino in Maryland: All pre-comped offers and hotel arrangements are at the discretion of the casino.  You must qualify, based on your rated play history.

The problem with benefits like these and the Atlantis one from CZR is that it is extremely difficult to find out the play required.  There is almost never any printed information on “rated play.”  So, you must launch a thorough investigation on your own.  First you can check with a host – and hopefully that is one who is knowledgeable and knows your play history.  Then I would use my trusty ask-a-lot technique.  Talk to several hosts for a consensus opinion.   You could talk to other players who have used this benefit but remember their experience was based on their personal play and history, which may be quite different than yours.  And finally, the day before you leave, you should talk to a host at Atlantis to see how your play is being rated.  Then if not up to basic requirements, you can decide whether to play more or just pay the bill for charges that won’t be comped.  Sometimes that latter option is the cheapest!  But in any case, you won’t have a heart-stopping bill surprise when you check out.

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Back  to the subject of our upcoming trip – Tahoe is just about our most-loved CZR property, so this will be a fun “working vacation” for us.  Stop by and say hi if you see us pounding away at a VP machine!

First, a short report on our 7* visit to Harrah’s Cherokee.  Still our favorite location for a casino; you can’t beat the Smoky Mountains for a fall trip.  We were a little early for the full-blown leaf color change, but after living in the desert for the last 20 years, miles and miles of nature green is a welcome sight.

Although we love this casino, this might be our last trip there.  The main reason for us choosing it is the availability of NSUD machines, the only ones left in the Caesars kingdom.  But even with the high EV of 99.7% and the fact that we love deuces, we found playing them this time was “work” and not “fun.”  Bad maintenance with mostly sticky buttons that slowed down our play to a crawl, having to check every hand carefully that the machine was holding the cards we had chosen. One doesn’t want to make even one mistake when you are playing $25 a hand.  Fortunately, we hit one set of 5K deuces to pull out a nice win for our swan song.

For years Brad and I had both reached Harrah’s  7* status, but as the benefits have drastically been reduced, we decided this year to play just enough to keep me at this tier level and be able to have the one retreat trip for family visits.  Most of our play has been or will be in Harrah’s Tahoe, our 2^nd favorite casino location, and hopefully it will keep the 9/6 JoB machines that are disappearing in so many places.

One perk we enjoyed in Cherokee was the ability to opt out of daily housekeeping and receive a $20 free-play voucher.  We teased the grandkids that they could clean up the three rooms we had and they could split the $120 in vouchers to add to their gambling bankroll!  This is becoming a more frequent casino policy but sometimes isn’t widely publicized.  So, if you are interested, be sure and ask when you check into a hotel if there is such a program in effect.

Caesars Palace Buffet

They are no longer serving a separate breakfast and lunch schedule. Instead they offer brunch 7 days a week. Most frugal option is to go on a weekday, just before brunch ends at 3 p.m.  You will pay the lowest price available at this venue, $39.99, and then can enjoy the expanded dinner selections that start at 3 p.m. – without paying the higher dinner price.  Prices go up on the weekends but you always save if you enter and pay before the changeover from brunch to dinner.

This is one of the best money-saving techniques all over town you can use when a buffet does not close between meal changeovers.  Related to that is the hint that when a restaurant serves both lunch and dinner, the lunch menu is almost always lower in price!  And sometimes there is a reduced early-bird budget dinner option.  It pays to check out restaurant time schedules if you want to save money!

Switching Games

My friend Henry Tamburin, a long-time BJ player, wrote an interesting article about how he made the switch to mostly VP in later years. He tells about how Lenny Frome, the pioneer VP guru, got him interested in this new game choice, but then he said, “But what pushed me over the edge was Jean Scott.”

Once in awhile I’ve had people say I’ve gone a little “far out” on some frugal gambling techniques, but I guess Henry was complimenting me here!