December News and Off to Tahoe

I hope your casino mailers and/or study of casino websites have given you a lot of December information to keep you busy all month. If you are over 50, you need to check out the senior specials that most locals casinos run. Fortunately, most casinos have “got the message” that they need to put promotional information online.

PALMS

One of the few that does not do a good job here is the Palms, even though they have been part of Stations for a year or so and their website for other properties is pretty detailed. Although Palms is part of some all-properties promotions (like the Wheel of Fortune jackpots), they march to their own drummer most of the time. They have not yet added a seniors or veterans promotional program like at other Station properties.  And many of their promotions, like multiple-point days, are restricted only to those who get a mailer and even then they vary greatly from player to player.

To complicate things, their machine inventory – as well as most everything else in the casino – is constantly changing as they are doing a complete remodel. The new buffet area looks very nice, but no one seems to know when there will be food there. One piece of good news; they now have the same check-cashing promotion as the other properties, with a “wheel” on an iPad. I had never cashed a check at the Stations before, but it seems like there used to be bigger prizes. Can a reader with experience on this give some information in the “Comments”?

They are continuing 2 good promotions that I have described in previous months, available to both locals and visitors. You can earn free movie tickets on Tuesdays and car washes on Thursdays.

Harrah’s Tahoe

Tomorrow (the 7^th) Brad and I will be going out of town, to Harrah’s Tahoe. This will be a 3-generation reunion with my family, thanks to casino comps. How time flies. Our first time to share our comps with family was over 30 years ago, when we celebrated daughter Angela’s graduation from high school by flying her and a girlfriend to join us in Las Vegas at the Riviera. Too young to gamble (although I found out later they did put a few coins in a slot machine, but scared to death they would hit a big jackpot that I warned them would out them as underage), they spent most of the time at the pool flirting with the lifeguards. Then came her marriage to Army Ranger Steve and now over 21, they enjoyed casino gambling with us. The arrival of Zachary and then Kaitlynn didn’t stop our family get-togethers and we strollered them all over Vegas and as they got older they enjoyed the child-care facilities in the various casinos all over town.

The grandkids grew up, went to college, and still enjoyed their visits with us to casinos all over the country, not just in Vegas, but some of those closer to their home in Georgia, like Cherokee, Biloxi, and New Orleans. Since they were still too young to gamble, sightseeing was the main activity although they enjoyed the restaurants, the pools, and shows.  We also took many family casino-comped cruises during these years.

Now the grandchildren are adults.  Kaitlynn is presently working on her masters at Georgia State. Zachary graduated from Columbus State University, is in the National Guard, and is a policeman in his hometown of Columbus, GA. He is married to Taylor and they have 2 little boys who will now be the 3^rd generation to benefit from our casino comps. The whole family is flying to Reno and we will all meet in Harrah’s Tahoe on Dec. 7 for a 4-day fun-in-the-snow reunion. Some of them will take to the ski slopes while Brad and I babysit Asher, age 3, and Bowen, 8 months. We all will enjoy watching the little ones take in their first snow experiences, tubing and/or sledding, making snow angels and snowmen, and throwing snowballs.

If any of you are in Tahoe this weekend, you can stop by and say hi if you see us. Brad and I will be at the VP machines some of the time, but you more likely will find us at a lively noisy restaurant table or in one of the arcades. We know it will be a fun visit, but if you see us at the Reno airport on Monday, the 11^th, you might see two very weary great-grandparents. This active family can leave oldsters happy but a bit exhausted!