8/1/2000
Last month, I was looking through a little coupon book that came in the local newspaper. I noticed a coupon page for the Gold Spike in downtown Las Vegas. There was one “buy one meal, get one free” coupon. It took me back at least 15 years to when I saw this same coupon, back to when we first started going to Las Vegas and ANY coupon was worth cutting out and investigating. The fact that we actually used this coupon (but only once) is probably is the nicest thing I can say about it, although I’ve seen it often in various publications through the years. But it did get me thinking about promotions and how they come and go — some staying only briefly, others lasting a long time. I’m wondering if this Gold Spike coupon might be the longest running promotion in Vegas. If any LVA members have an entry for the Oldest Las Vegas Promotion, perhaps a thread could be added onto the Las Vegas General members board. If any non-members have one, e-mail [email protected].
BRIEFS
There’s a slight correction in the description of the August Orleans promotion in the August LVA. You get double points every Wednesday from midnight until 6 p.m. I have a friend who just moved to Vegas and he complained to me, “”What do they have against the ordinary working man whose weekday hours are nine to five?”” I had to let him in one of the facts of life in Vegas. The marketing gurus at the casinos that cater to locals aren’t dumb. They know that their casinos are busiest in the evenings, without promotions; they want to bring in some customers during the slower hours. That’s why we retirees have it made around here!
If at first you don’t succeed, try try again. Remember last week I told you that Brad and I failed in our first attempt to win a video poker machine at the Reserve? Well, the second time was the charm. Last Saturday we became the proud owners of a Double Acey-Deucy machine. Yes, it’s a negative-expectation game — Gasp! But believe it or not, that’s what we wanted. We play “”good”” machines in the casinos when our hard-earned money is on the line. So, at home we will have a chance to play a lower-pay but fun “”kicker”” deuces game.
This drawing forced us to try a new casino tool — a “”make-your-own”” stamp kit — and now we won’t leave home without it. We had so many entry tickets that we never would’ve had time to fill them all out by hand; in addition, we would have been wasting valuable playing time (at 4x points we were at a good hourly rate). We found this kit at Office Max for about $20. It includes an ink pad, two sizes of stamps (a one-liner and a four-liner), umpteen tiny letters and numbers, and a small tweezer to put them into the stamps. We already had name and address stamps and stickers we could use on drawing entries, but often other information is needed. In this case you needed your name and slot club number!
One final word of warning. Some casinos are trying to discourage the pros who come to drawings with garbage bags full of entry tickets, so they’ve banned name stickers and stamps. They’ve even disqualified any entry that’s crimped or folded. (Ouch — that is one of our tricks!) Part of this new drawing problem is the fact that casinos haven’t adjusted their contest rules to take into consideration multi-line games. The Reserve was giving one entry for every 100 points earned. Back in the good old days, when there was only single-line video poker, this might have been a good system. Now they have Ten-Play and Fifty-Play. Even Triple Play, which we were playing, makes far too many entries possible per person. But until the casinos realize this, you should always check first to be sure there are no restrictions, then get the kit and stamp away!
By the way, this Saturday at the Reserve was a day video poker players dream about. Brad not only won the video poker machine, he hit TWO $2,000 royals.
8/4/2000
Because too many casinos are guilty of planning or changing promotions at the last minute, here is my first-of-the-month report, which will probably become a regular feature. This list of August changes from published information has been verified by me personally, either by phone checks, reading casino’s advertising in the local newspaper, or visiting the casino personally.
The Orleans is awarding double points on Wednesday from MIDNIGHT to 6 p.m.
Arizona Charlie’s East (ACE) does NOT exclude multi-line video poker from triple points on Tuesday from midnight to 8 a.m. or double points all day Wednesday. Check on this at Charlie’s West before you start playing, since some multi-line and large-denomination machines ARE excluded.
The Hard Rock is giving FOUR times comp points from Sunday noon until Friday noon.
And speaking of the Hard Rock, they’ve done it again. They’re changing their slot club program. I’ve just recovered from the big change at the beginning of the of year! Everyone knows what I think about slot club changes — I hate them. Why? They rarely say they’re changing; instead, they’re almost always “”improving.”” Most of the time, however, the only thing improved is the casino’s bottom line. Only once in a long while do I see some improvement for the player.
Well, although the Hard Rock doesn’t say they’re “”improving”” the club, they do say they’re “”excited”” about the new program. I read the details and I wasn’t excited. It isn’t the worse change I’ve ever seen. The Cash Back Program has been replaced with the Free Play Program. You’ll still get “”paid”” for your play at the same rate you did before, .5% for reels and .25% for video poker. However, you get this “”pay”” in the form of cardboard “”credit cards,”” which you insert in the same slot where you insert your slot club card. Your “”cashback”” is then put on your machine in the form of credits, WHICH YOU MUST PLAY OFF!
Casinos have always hoped that you’d redeem your cashback and put it back into the machines. But the Hard Rock has stopped hoping and devised a system to force you to do it. I have hopes too — that this system will not spread! However, there’s no profit in complaining about changes. The Hard Rock will not completely switch over to this system until Sept. 1. Next week I’ll give you some hints on how to survive this change and make the new system work the best possible way.
BRIEFS
In past Frugal Fridays I’ve given you several recommendations for valuable online sources for Las Vegas and gambling information. Here’s another one I highly recommend: a twice-weekly e-mail newsletter called Everything Las Vegas, put out by Steve Schrette, a.k.a. MrVegas98. Everything Las Vegas is packed with all kinds of Vegas info, including restaurant and show reviews, air and hotel specials, and contest details. I especially like how he mentions items from many printed and online Vegas publications and gives the link, which you can use if you want to read the whole article. I use these links heavily since I can’t keep up with all the Vegas-info magazines. And when I’m not in Vegas and don’t read the local newspapers daily, these links keep me up to date. Sign up for this newsletter at [email protected] — and tell him the Frugal Gambler sent you.
Brad wanted to contribute an “”ouch”” ending to this week’s column. It was reported in a couple of places that there was an unfortunate accident during one of the rehearsals for Melinda, The First Lady of Magic, a show that is opening soon at the Venetian. It seems that one of Melinda’s male assistants was impaled during the sword trick. The man was supposed to levitate over three swords, but the middle sword was not secured. In the words of Kate Maddox, columnist at the Las Vegas Sun, “”The sword went right through his, oh, how to say this, family jewels?”” Brad says for you not to worry, though. According to subsequent reports, the accident victim is doing fine, although he won’t be “”in action”” for awh”
8/11/2000
Last week I complained about the Hard Rock’s new slot club system, which now gives you machine credits instead of the cold hard cashback. Okay, so I don’t like the new system as well as the old one. But whining doesn’t get you anywhere. Rather, let’s learn how to make the new system work to the max.
Although you have to play off the credits they give you, you don’t have to play off the winnings. The free-play or “credit” cards come in $5, $10, $20, and $100. Let’s say you have a $20 Hard Rock credit card and you’re playing a $1 video poker machine with a 5-coin max bet. Just play four hands with max coins and cash out any winnings you accrue. If you get the $100 card, you’ll have to make a special effort to remember the number of hands you’ve played; just checking the credits will not work because they include winnings.
As in all casino credit systems, there’s some fine print. For example, quite a few machines will not take the free-play cards. I found this out quickly when I put a card in an Odyssey machine I wanted to play and it was rejected. There’s a list of excluded machines at the slot club desk, although it’s not all-inclusive. Generally, the cards work in IGT machines, but there are exceptions. If you’re a slot player, it won’t be hard to find a machine that takes the cards. If you’re a video poker advantage player, the news is not good. None of the few remaining video poker machines that have over-100% schedules take the cards. The best game I found that did was 9/6 jacks at the bar beside the sports book.
Since the new free-play system will not be fully implemented until Sept. 1, you do have a window of opportunity; you can still opt for cash instead of credits the whole month of August. In both systems you must earn $50 before your first redemption. After that you may get the credit cards in multiples of $5.
So, if you can, run, don’t walk, to the Hard Rock in August to collect your cashback. We did. And while we were there, we signed up for their FourPlay Video Poker Promotion, running from Aug. 1 through Sept. 24. When you hit four of a kind in the card of the day, posted at the slot club booth, you get a hundred-coin bonus (paid off in a free-play card). Also ask for the new Six Pack coupon sheet. We liked this sheet. Each of us redeemed the $5 in free slot play for earning 1,000 points and got a free Lucky Dog T-shirt after earning 500 points. These can be earned concurrently and the points are not taken off your account. Other coupons: one table-game matchplay up to $10, free dessert at the Pink Taco, free admission to the August beach parties, and your choice of a souvenir shot glass or deck of cards with no purchase required.
BRIEFS
If you’re a video poker player, you need to subscribe to the monthly online newsletter, aptly named Video Poker Player. It not only gives you valuable information—where and how to play VP better—but it’s one of the most humorously written publications I’ve ever read. But just because it’s funny, even irreverent, don’t think it’s superficial. The bottom line is you shouldn’t go into a casino to play video poker without reading it. Video Poker Player is published by Skip Hughes and John Kelly, aka Lodestone, and both have terrific companion video poker Web sites. Video Poker Player is available via e-mail or on Internet at the very frugal price of $20 a year. For Web site and newsletter information, go to www.vpplayer.com.
Finally, in the Some-People-Just-Can’t-Be Pleased Department. We saw a lady get dealt a royal on a 50-cent Triple Play machine. Was she rejoicing over the $6,000? Nooooooo! She was complaining that the casino would give her only one jackpot T-shirt, instead of the three she felt she was entitled to!
8/18/2000
DOUBLE UP (A TRUE CASINO STORY)
Strictly Slots is a very informative gambling magazine. I would strongly recommend it for all machine players — even if I didn’t have a monthly column in it! Anyway, In the September issue, my Frugal Tips column talks about mistakes Brad and I have made in casinos. Some people think anyone who writes a book is perfect in his or her field. Think again!
I’ve been gambling in casinos for more than 17 years, but yesterday I felt like a rank amateur. I was playing a variation of deuces wild on a $1 Five Play video poker machine, and up popped four deuces on one line ($1,000), plus an assortment of little pays on the other lines — a jackpot total of $1,155. Needless to say, I was pretty excited.
Then with the suddenness of a guillotine, up popped another little message with this questioning phrase: “Double Up?”
This option hadn’t appeared on my machine before, so I began madly searching for the “Hell no!” button.
What happened next, I couldn’t tell you. Even now, as I try to reconstruct it, I just can’t figure it out. Yes, I’m eligible to draw Social Security in four months; was this what they call a “”senior moment?” Anyway, all of a sudden, on my screen appeared a poker hand, a 9 as the first card and four blank cards following. The machine was taunting me: Pick one card and try to beat the 9 to double your money. Somehow, I still don’t know how, the machine had gone into the double-up mode.
My body was frozen, but my brain quickly counted the cards. I realized that I had only a 50-50 chance of beating this 9. More to the point, I had a 50-50 chance of losing, in one split second, $1,155! Brad looked at me in sincere surprise, then went back to playing his machine, muttering, “”I’m sure glad I didn’t do this.”” (He has a calm quiet way of dealing with such crises.)
Okay, I finally started to think. Remember, Jean, I told myself, all you have to do is ask. I called over a change girl. I explained that my machine had just made a terrible mistake. She summoned a slot tech who could fix the machine.
I explained to the slot tech that I’m sure I didn’t hit the Yes button. He checked the machine. Yes, the Yes button had been activated. Perhaps, since it was a touch screen, I accidentally touched the Yes spot. He called a supervisor.
I explained to the supervisor that I don’t even double up for a $5 win; I certainly wouldn’t double up for $1,155. She was very sympathetic and said she’d consult the casino manager. In a few minutes, she came looking glum.
“”I told him I knew you guys and you were very good customers here and you never doubled up, but he said that once the machine locks up, there is nothing we can do.”” She was more upset than I was, if that was possible. I thought she was going to break out in tears.
“”Okay,”” I said, putting on a jolly demeanor to cheer her up. “”Whatever will be will be!”” After all, there was now a crowd around my machine; other customers had joined the change girl, the slot tech, and the supervisor. “”Who is this daring gambler?”” they all whispered to each other. “What will she do now?”
Oops! I’ve gone over my allotted word count for this column. And I do have an important item to report: Arizona Charlie’s East (ACE) has joined its sister, AZ Chaz West, in excluding some of their high-denomination multi-line games from double- and triple-point promotions.
So, tune in to Frugal Fridays next week for the thrilling conclusion of “Double Up, a True Casino Story.”
8/25/2000
Wow! I never dreamed I’d cause such a stir with last week’s double-up cliffhanger. I didn’t receive any hate mail, but some gamblers were pretty upset — and they weren’t shy about conveying some strong (negative) opinions. Hey, once in awhile we have to add a little excitement to our lives. I mean, 50 million people waited all summer to see who’d survive “Survivor.” And I only made you wait a week.
Anyway, here’s the rest of the story. (If you didn’t read last week’s column, STOP. Go back to the archives and check it out before you continue reading any further!)
With the 9 to beat, I drew an ace! A winner. Beating the 9 turned that $1,155 jackpot into $2,310. I never got that much relief from Rolaids!
Some answers to questions I’ve received:
No, an ace was not the highest card I could have drawn; since it was a deuces wild game, the deuce was the high card.
Yes, I could have had the double-up feature removed by a slot tech. I didn’t do that from the first because I didn’t know it would be activated automatically on a lock-up hand. I’d been playing for hours, not even noticing that it was an option. After this almost-disaster, the supervisor did ask if I wanted it deleted. I declined — I was quite sure I could handle the next lock-up jackpot correctly that day. But I think I might check IGT multi-line machines pretty carefully from now on. Judging from some letters I’ve received, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.
No, I don’t like to double up even on small wins. Why not? It’s only a break-even proposition and I play only games that are over 100%, so it wastes my time. And, more importantly, the money you risk for a double-up bet doesn’t earn slot club points.
Yes, I’ve risked much more than $1,155 in a short time before. But even on dollar Ten-Play, I like my $1,155 to last a bit longer than a nanosecond!
BRIEFS
Get a free lunch or dinner entree on your birthday at Guadalajara’s Mexican Restaurant in Boulder Station. Scott will give you the details of this and many other good promotions at http://americancasinoguide.com/promotions/vegas-values.
Senior Saver Tip: At Arizona Charlie’s East, anyone 60 or older can enter their video poker tournaments for $5 or 2,500 Charlie Card points, one-half the regular entry fee. They’re held on Mondays at 6 p.m. and Tuesdays at 10 a.m. This is a 100%-plus tournament, since all the entry fees are given back as prizes, and there may be extra prizes awarded. In addition, each player gets a 2-for-1 buffet coupon.
People just won’t believe that slot machines are random and that no machine is ever “”due.”” I see people repeatedly pass up identical progressive machines with higher jackpots to play their “”favorite”” machine at close to reset. This is especially true on the Blazing 7s. Recently, I saw someone playing a $5 machine that had a $9,532 progressive jackpot. On both sides of him were the same machines with jackpots of $65,098, $39,247, $27,065, and $13,369. I’m sure this player hoped to hit the progressive. If I were playing these machines and hoped to hit the jackpot, I think I would at least try for the biggest one available. Wouldn’t you? When lightning strikes, I want to be the happiest I can be!
Why does this make me think of the advice I heard (and rejected) a long time ago when I was just a young girl: It’s just as easy to fall in love with a rich man as a poor one!”