I don’t know whether a lot of people complained or just stopped playing as much, but much to my surprise – and delight – suddenly mid-month the Stations newspaper ads and signage in their casinos now promoted 6x/10x days, with the “up to” replaced with “GUARANTEED” in big bold lettering.  And in our March mailers not a “up to” can be seen.

Good move, Stations, and hopefully that wicked witch “Up To” is dead for good!

The Stations run a lot of promotions but their website and mailers and ads require careful reading.  Not all promotions run at all properties.  You need to check the logos carefully for each promo.  For example, bonus multiplier days vary from property to property, as do gift giveaways.  And importantly, there seems to be no promotions at the Palms in March except for the company-wide “Monopoly Big Time Bonus.”   Locals who get mailers from their “core” casino will see many of the promos, but if they want to check on those at other properties, they will need to check the Station website.  For out-of-towners who do not get these local mailers, checking the website is absolutely necessary to get promo information.

BOYD PROPERTIES

I give the same advice as above to Boyd players, especially out-of-towners.  Read promo information carefully because not all offers are company-wide.  And some point multipliers are only for players who get a local mailer.  Scot’s Bonus Point List will include only those that are available for the general public.

Check here for the details of The Young at Heart (YAH) senior Wednesday at the following six properties:  Aliante, The Orleans, Gold Coast, Suncoast, Sam’s Town, and Eastside Cannery.  For the 3 downtown properties – Main Street Station, California and Fremont – the YAH details are here.

SOUTH POINT

No multiple-point days this month, but here are a couple of frugal finds:

• Steak ’n Shake – Happy Hour – ½ price all drinks and shakes, Sunday-Thursday, 2-5 pm. and 10 pm-close.
• $4 movies for seniors, 50+, all day Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. $5.25 movies all day Tuesday for all ages. Click here for restrictions.

Watch for lots of food specials around St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, and look for drink specials during March Madness basketball.

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!

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!

Free Self-Parking

First, here are the casinos that do not charge for self-parking – at the moment:

SLS Las Vegas

Treasure Island

The Venetian / Palazzo

Tropicana

Hooters (just off the Strip)

Circus Circus – (only MGM property that doesn’t charge for self-parking)

Stratosphere

Nearby Shopping Centers

Then, there are the shopping centers that  have free parking and are in walking distance of casinos:

The garage for the Miracle Mile shops provides just a short window-shopping jaunt into Planet Hollywood.

The Fashion Show Mall, a wonderful place to spend your money before you lose it in a casino.

The Shoppes at Mandalay Bay

The Shops at Crystals

Casino Company Credit Cards

Then there is the option offered by MGM and CZR, which could save you money, depending on your financial situation and how you use credit:  a company credit card with parking benefits as a perk of their players club on the higher-than-basic tier level.  You need to Google the benefits and figure the pros and cons of each of these.

The one from MGM seems to be really easy and involves no cost.  It’s a no-fee Mastercard credit card that gives you Pearl tier with no casino play required.  And at the Pearl level you have free self-parking.  I wasn’t sure how long you could remain at Pearl level after you first got the card if you didn’t play any at any MGM properties (ordinarily your tier level expires after a certain time period of no play) , but I found this VERY SMALL fine-print footnote at https://www.mlife.com/en/overview/mlife-rewards-mastercard.html :     M life Rewards Tier will remain at least Pearl Status as long as your account remains open and in good standing. I haven’t researched how long this credit card remains “open” if it is not used. Perhaps one would need to charge something at least once every year or so? A personal note when I got this credit card a few months ago:  I got some bonus players club points when I charged a certain amount in the first few months.  (I forget the details but offered bonuses may change from time to time.)

On the other hand, the CZR credit card requires an initial purchase in the first 90 days according to the details on their Website.

https://www.totalrewards.com/content/cet-tr/en/earn-and-redeem/with-tr-alliances/tr-visa.html?rd=CET_TR_TRVISA15_PROMORAIL_HOMEPAGE .  Then there are charging minimums in current calendar years thereafter:

UPGRADE TO PLATINUM STATUS⁶

By making your first purchase in the first 90 days. Platinum status provides you with⁷:

• • 15% discount at participating spas and casino gift shops

• • Preferred pricing at participating Total Rewards restaurants

• • Exclusive pre-sale access for select shows

• • Complimentary valet & self-parking

Maintain Platinum Tier status by spending $5000 in the current calendar year!

For both cards, you havtoe show/use a current players card that indicates the required tier level; you can not show the credit card.

 “Free” Parking Options that will Cost You

At the higher players club tiers in most casinos, free self-parking and even free valet parking are often offered as a benefit. Check to see the requirements at your favorite casino. But I can not think of any reason to play high just to get free parking. Sometimes free can be very expensive!!!

For a list of parking fees, both for self-parking and valet, you can go to https://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/parking-fees/ on this site.

All of us who are trying to keep track of this subject can’t ever absolutely guarantee our information. I will gladly welcome and encourage all comments from anyone who has very  CURRENT updates –  personally-verified, not I-just-read or I-heard please!

Go to  his site for a rich source of his ideas for frugal gambling, accommodations, food, and entertainment.  He is a big fan of bus transportation to get around town and shares those money-saving experiences here.

Here are some of the Websites and Internet forums he and others use to keep up on the ever-changing casinos in a city that is constantly reinventing itself:

https://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/resort-fee-hotels/

ACG forum

Vegas Message Board

A number of LVA forums on various gambling subjects, some free and some for LVA subscribers only.

————————

Another frugal resource, from The American Casino Guide:

Travelers looking for savings at U.S. casinos can now get the FREE American Casino Guide app that allows them to instantly download casino coupons directly to their iPhone or iPad. [Available for Android planned for the near future] The app was developed by the publishers of the American Casino Guide, which has been published annually for the past 24 years and is the #1 bestselling book in the U.S. on the subject of casino gambling and travel. A special new feature of the app is its “Instant Coupon” section which allows users to download coupons for FREE, or on a paid basis, for only 99 cents. However, as an introductory 90-day offer, all coupons can be downloaded for FREE, until October 31, 2015.

And by the way – when did White Castle start using the term “sliders” to describe their little sandwiches?  Anyone can make up a little burger and call it a “slider.”  Only White Castle can make a burger called a “White Castle” and everyone knows it is a little burger without needing to even add the word “hamburger” much less “slider.”

—————————-

Here is some other news I haven’t experienced for myself but have come across in my reading and it may be of interest to some of you:

Frugaling at the Forum Shops: Take a self-portrait at the designated “Selfie Spot” (look for the black and yellow sign) at the Forum Shops at Caesars and receive $10 off your purchase of $30 or more in the mall. (From the LVA QOD)

Easier Traveling to Grand Canyon West:  Paving and reconstruction is now complete on the 12.7-mile Diamond Bar Road, the only public road leading to Grand Canyon West, a collection of viewpoints and attractions spread over 9,000 acres of the Grand Canyon’s lower gorge in Northwest Arizona, including the Grand Canyon Skywalk at Eagle Point and Guano Point’s panoramic canyon views. For visitors from Las Vegas, it’s estimated the paved Diamond Bar Road, along with the Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Bridge, will reduce travel time to the tourist attraction by up to two hours roundtrip.  (From Bill Mandel’s Newsletter that gives an extensive list of openings and closings in Las Vegas.  Subscribe at www.lvopenings.com.)

Bowling:  I didn’t know they were considering a new way to score bowling in order to perhaps make it more likely to be approved as an Olympic sport.  To win a match under the new format, bowlers must win the most frames. The system was tested in Las Vegas during the World Bowling Tour Men’s and Women’s Finals in the new South Point Bowling Plaza on Nov. 2 to mixed results. (From the R-J) I haven’t bowled for 30 years – it used to be my favorite recreational sport before I discovered casinos – but I think I wouldn’t care for the new system. It would be like changing the White Castle menu!

A case in point is the subject of online social gaming I wrote about in a blog last week. I had mentioned that I didn’t participate in any of this and I didn’t know much about it.  Well, many of the readers here are active in this area and did share their experiences, especially with myVEGAS.   Mark, of www.markslasvegas.com, was one of the people who did give a lot of information in the “Comments.”  However, he gave even more details to me privately, so I am going to copy his e-mail here since many have expressed an interest to learn more about this:

I’ve been playing myVEGAS since the beginning and have numerous posts about it. My key posts are the myVEGAS 3 in 30 Day Limitation, Redeeming Mlife myVEGAS Rewards and the myVEGAS Room Rewards Calendars list. The Evolving myVEGAS Rewards Terms and Conditions post is important, too.

I haven’t spent anything on the game (although many players do buy chip packages) and I’ve used Rewards for free rooms, buffets, dining credits, shows (Zarkana and Zumanity), real casino FreePlay, Monorail passes, etc. I even picked up a few gift cards (Fandango and Coke World). In a few weeks I’ll finally be staying at Red Rock Resort thanks to the new Red Rock Room Comp Reward. myVEGAS also offers Rewards for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and the House of Blues (not just the Las Vegas location).

It isn’t perfect. There are some inconsistencies with how Rewards are handled. It is important to read the fine print on each Reward, but even then, the myVEGAS phone rep my tell you something else that doesn’t quite match. For example, most of the Comp Room Bonus rewards say you can get and use up to 3 and use then consecutively. I’ve spoken with multiple reps and none of them have allowed me to use more than one at a time although other players seem to have had no problem redeeming multiples at the same time. I recently tried to use 2 different FreePlay rewards at New York – New York and was told by the Mlife rep that I could only use one per trip even though there is nothing about that in the fine print.

I blame some of the inconsistencies on myVEGAS growing pains. When it started, there weren’t many limitations and most of the Rewards were more valuable. Now a lot of the dining discounts require a minimum purchase (like $30 off $75 at Heritage Steak at the Mirage) and most buffet rewards, Freeplay rewards, nightclub rewards, etc. require you to be staying at an MGM property in order to use them.

myVEGAS has multiple partners, so people that aren’t as familiar with Las Vegas get confused about the different requirement and limitations for the MGM/Mlife rewards, House of Blues Rewards (especially the HoB at Mandalay Bay since it is an MGM property), Monorail, SUGAR, Royal Caribbean and Station Casinos rewards. They also offer other occasional specialty rewards like Fandango gift cards (usable online anywhere), the Coke World gift card (had to get voucher at an MGM property and then take it to the Coke World store), the new Las Vegas Motor Speedway tickets, etc.

It’s hard to complain, though, when getting all of this without spending a cent. I still play it on a daily basis via the Facebook game and the iOS and Android mobile versions. I’ve used at least one reward on each trip for the past year. I consider myVEGAS to be much better for comps than Caesars Casino where you get a few RCs when you buy a play chip package.

One of the comments mentioned “… and looked into trash cans for discarded coupons. [Ed: Dumpster diving for coupons? Wow, not even Jean Scott does that – LOL. Hardcore!]”

Thank you, Editor, for trying to make me look good, but actually I HAVE done that – much to my daughter’s dismay and embarrassment.  Twenty-five years ago the old Westward Ho wastebaskets always had a treasure trove of free mini-breakfast coupons.  True some you had to scrap off some mustard from half-eaten free hot dogs but back in those days I WAS hardcore frugal – and Brad says I am still “crazy frugal.”  But some of that craziness rubbed off on him –  up until a couple of years ago when his bad back and hip restricted his agility, Brad agreed to scour the dumpsters in our condo complex when a casino was flooding the mails with really valuable coupon books.

Speaking of the “Editor,” I won’t out her name, but this Brit is one of my favorite writers.  I love her humorously quirky – and I mean that in a very positive sense – writing style as she churns out most of the Questions-of-the-Day answers and the “Today’s News” items.

Maybe everyone doesn’t like to know every little bit of what’s happening in Vegas like the news junkie that I am.  But I check the LVA homepage every morning to read those two features.  Even if you aren’t a LVA subscriber, you can always read the news section and you can read the QOD the first 24 hours it is up.  (You have to be a LVA subscriber to check back in the Archives.)

If you want to be reminded about QOD you can sign up for e-mails to give you a link whenever a new one comes up:  http://lasvegasadvisor.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=77cc727b256b94e506a0cf041&id=ff37d36f67.   At that same link you can subscribe to other LVA notifications you might be interested in.   On the homepage you can also sign up for LVA Gold, a valuable notification of bargain hotel deals and other current Vegas news.

If you haven’t been to the LVA homepage for a while, check it out – so much good information to make your time in Las Vegas more entertaining and less expensive.  http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/index.cfm

Today’s RJ Deal –  Fillaseat.com – 50% off 

• You have until Thu, Nov 10 2011 11:59 PM to purchase!
• $39.95 For A 2-Person, 1 Year Membership
• First Time Fillaseat.com members only (Not valid for existing or previous members).
• Must be a Nevada Resident with Valid ID, or Local Military with ID.