1. All the children properties in a mother casino company do not always have the same promotions.  For example, there is a full 2-page Station Casino splash in today’s R-J newspaper describing multiples offers and events but at the bottom of those pages there is no Palms logo. So, don’t expect any of those there.  There is another page which describes the on-going Wheel jackpot promotion (through September 3) and you will see the Palms listed in the bottom logo section since that promo does covers all Station properties.  You will notice the same thing in the big Boyd newspaper ads.  Check the casino names under each promotion to be sure you have the right details for each individual casino.
2. Not all promotions are open to all players.  Some are for locals only; sometimes out-of-towners receive different offers. Some may be available only to those who receive a mailing mentioning that promotion; this is often true with Boyd property multiple-point promos.
3. There are many different ways to activate your participation in a promo. Sometimes you need to swipe at a kiosk before you start playing, such as at Boyd properties.  Play for an hour and then remember you didn’t swipe first?  No multiple points will be earned on that hour’s play.  Go swipe and then you will start earning that bonus.  At Station casinos you can swipe anytime – before, during, or after your play – and you will get those bonus points on the full day’s play.  There are also many different rules for drawings.   Be sure to check time schedules for earning tickets and activating them – the virtual drum often closes 15 minutes or longer before the actual drawing time.     

THE D VEGAS AND GOLDEN GATE

These 2 downtown casinos not only have the same owner but they are now linked together in the Club One players club.  Learn about this club at their website.   There you will find details about a new-player bonus, how to earn points on all their games, and the various rewards for which you can qualify, like discounted room rates, free play, cash, comps, and invitations to special events. It describes their promotions, which includes an exotic car giveaway and a holiday shopping event.

TUSCANY

The all-month 20% senior discount moves to the Piazza and Toscana bars for July.

The Pub 365 is offering a special brunch menu on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., to which you can add bottomless mimosas for $12.

Tuesdays in July, for earning 100 slots – which you get to keep, you can receive a coupon for a 2-for-1 entrée at Pub 365 or Tuscany Gardens, their excellent Italian restaurant.

PALMS

The Palms now has the newer players club software on their machines, matching the more modern look of card readers at other Stations, with the side panel being a different color at each property.  A friend of mine confirmed what I had written about a year or so ago when I heard they were getting rid of the “railroad” theme: “I think they’re phasing out the Boarding Pass name in favor of myRewards.  Much of the slot club literature says myRewards and now the top of the side panel says myRewards.”  My tech-savvy friend also talked about the new capability that would allow customers to access their account at the machine without using their players card: “A tech at the Palms told me that they’re installing the hardware needed for a system called Cardless Connect and will have it in the future.  I said that I use it at Red Rock and he asked me if I thought it was worth it. Probably not, I said, it’s faster to use your card and I’ve never seen anyone else using it.

SOUTH POINT

Good news for almost all players – locals or tourists – the return of the gift-card promotion.  This July you can earn cards for Chevron or Walmart.  The points you earn are worth twice as much if you redeem them for gift cards; it’s like 2x points on the days you are playing for cards.  It takes 8333 points to earn one $50 gift card; limit is a total of 10 cards for the month.  See more details at the South Point website.

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Caesars has released some dates you might want to mark on your calendar:

World Series of Poker at the Rio – May 29 to July 17:

Great Gift Wrap Up (GGWU) Shopping

Nov. 1 to 5: at Caesars Palace

Nov. 28 to Dec. 2:  at Bally’s

I find articles about  artificial intelligence (AI) fascinating, and this one especially so since it discusses how AI  can be used to keep gamblers hooked.  It is specifically talking about bookies in the UK but sheds some light on how this could eventually affect players in a casino near you!

This article from the Vegas R-J is a little dated since it was written right after that October First horrific shooting, but I kept it in my to-share file because of the last section, “The future of loyalty cards.”  I may be able to get rid of my baggie casino file system and lighten my purse.

I can barely keep up with all the technological advances that are coming at us gamblers at such a rapid pace!

I get multiple versions of this plea  all the time these days.

My dear readers, don’t think I do not feel your pain. I am struggling with these  issues every day as Brad and I have to make our own playing decisions. Changing casino conditions is a complex subject that I could discuss for pages and pages – actually which I have done in my books and articles for many many years!

However, recently I am reading more and more about “big data,” a concept that is hard for most of us to understand unless we are math and computer experts.

When I first started writing about casinos almost 20 years ago I would say, “The most important thing a casino is looking at in deciding how many benefits to give you is how much action you give them. It’s not whether you win or lose but how much money you churn through the machines or at the tables.”

Oh, how I miss those days!

But things began changing soon after those golden years. In my 2003 More Frugal Gambling, I wrote this in the “Playing Requirements” section:

Although casino information systems vary widely in their capabilities, from the simple to the complex, the technology exists to take into consideration all of the following:

* specific machine played;

* how much the casino projects to win from the average player on that game

* your skill level in playing that game;

* what denomination you’re playing;

* how long you play the game,

* the frequency of your play;

* whether you have won or lost during one period of time;

* your long-term history of play at that casino:

* the color of your hair.

Of course I added that last one as a joke, but it made the point of what I called the “blender effect.” Even back then it was starting to become very difficult to know just what was needed to get good benefits.

Now jump to 2017 and Big Data is now the marketing king. My little list from the “blender” era looks like a kindergarten effort.

The dictionary defines “big data” as “extremely large data sets that may be analyzed computationally to reveal patterns, trends, and associations, especially relating to human behavior and interactions.” But it is not the “big” part of all this that is so important for gamblers, but it is what the casinos do with all that information. That is when you hear the term “analytics,” the tool used in analyzing all that data to make business decisions that will boost their bottom line.

All casinos do at least some tracking of their customers play, but most of the bigger companies have very deep data mining programs that track more information than could be put in a simple list. Whenever you see a new program introduced or a long-time promotion scrapped or a major policy changed in your favorite casino, you are likely seeing the result of analytics that said that big data predicted that this was a wise business decision.

One of the biggest and wide-spread result of analytics that has been covered heavily in industry publications – much to skilled gamblers dismay when it filtered down to the gambling public – was that heavy free-play benefits was not a cost-effective technique to attract and retain customers. So it is not your personal “fault” if your mailers aren’t as good as they used to be. The trend at many – most? – casinos these days is an across-the-board reduction of benefits, including the reduction – or even total elimination of bounce-back and a major decrease of comps.

What is a skilled gambler to do these days? I wrote a 3-part series on this subject starting in my March 19, 2015 blog, continuing in Part 2  and Part 3.  Those choices are still options today, over two years later.

And what I am doing now is looking for chinks in the wall of Big Data. Although all casinos have data gathering programs, not all utilize it fully yet. Information sharing with other players, intense scouting, and staying flexible –these are the things that can still help  serious gamblers cope with the tough casino environment.

However, the other “fault” is mine personally – but one that I wouldn’t want to change. Brad and I are taking a vacation trip back to Indianapolis for a big reunion with his family and co-workers from his former place of employment, Naval Avionics.

However, a few casinos do get their mailers out early and I do get some early news through casino press releases or personal e-mails. Here are a few I know about:

SOUTH POINT

The Pump & Pantry promotion running in June will be a popular one since it basically gives players a chance to earn the equivalent of 2x points on their play all month, up to the stated limit.

Here are the details from a press release: Throughout June, South Point Hotel will offer Casino Club Card holders the chance to earn a $50 Chevron Gas Card or $50 Smith’s Food and Drug Gift Card by redeeming $25 or 8,333 base points on South Point slot machines. To receive a gift card, players must earn points from Thursday, June 1 to Friday, June 30 and present a Casino Club Card and valid ID at the Casino Club booth. All points must be redeemed by Monday, July 3. Casino Club Card holders are limited to earning 10 total Chevron Gas and Smith’s Food and Drug gift cards throughout the month. 

TUSCANY

Spin-to-Win Slot Tournaments are running Saturdays in June. Earn 100 same-day slot points for one free tournament entry.

The 20% senior discount moves to the Caffé Bottega for the whole month of June.

BOYD PROPERTIES (The Orleans, Gold Coast, Suncoast, Sam’s Town, California, Fremont, and Main Street Station)

Movie benefit for Young at Heart (YAH) Wednesdays (for those casinos with theaters) has been extended to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays. This is a valuable change for those that want to participate in the drawing and see a movie too.

ALL STATION CASINOS

In progress is the big launch of their new virtual casino called STN PLAY. I usually research a subject before I write about it but I have not had time to do this before we leave for vacation. And there is another problem here. I have had no experience with online social casinos in the past. I have been too busy gambling in bricks-and-mortar casino – and writing about them – to explore this “other world.”  However, I have heard reports for several years of super frugalites earning a lot of comps they can use in real casinos by playing games on their computers and mobile devices in virtual casinos.

Sooooooo…I am depending on you all, my dear readers, to help this old non-techie become a little more knowledgeable about this virtual world of gambling. I’m sure many of you will link your Boarding Pass card to the STN Play site.  And hopefully many of you will describe your experience in the “Comments” below. If you are an experienced online player, you might want to compare it with other virtual casinos. If like me, you would be a new online player, and you might want to compare it to gambling in a real-life casino. I want to hear both the pros and cons.

When we get back from vacation, I am sure I will address this new subject and I know I will have more promotions to talk about since my mailbox will be full of June mailers from casino marketing people that have recovered from the holiday weekend enough to get back to their jobs.