This month has two major holidays on which you might find some profitable promotions, Mother’s Day on the 14th and Memorial Day on the 29th. Sometimes this gives you an opportunity to scout out a casino which you perhaps haven’t considered before. Check out Scot’s Players Club Bonus Point page and then refer to vpFREE2 for a list of good games and see if you can find a good-play combo.
And speaking of Mother’s Day, if you are having a hard time shopping for your mother and she is a recreational casino gambler, then perhaps The Frugal Gambler Casino Guide might be an appreciated gift. I wrote this new book to help players – no matter what game they choose – lose less so they can enjoy the fun casino atmosphere longer. I give money-saving tips for all the table games, slots, VP, keno, and bingo – and I have included updated information on players clubs, promotions, and the comp system. Also, since Father’s Day is coming up in June, your dad might also like these frugal recommendations plus those on sports and race betting and live poker.
SOUTH POINT
From a press release: South Point Casino hosts a $500,000 Swipe, Spin ‘N Win every Monday through Thursday from Monday, May 1 through Thursday, May 25. Casino club card holders who earn 300 same day base slot points on any slot or video poker machine between 3 a.m. and 11 p.m. are eligible to swipe and spin the wheel on the designated kiosk for a chance to go home with special prizes. Prizes include $50 free play, $25 free play, $25 resort gift card, 5,000 bonus points, $2,500 bonus points, a complimentary lunch buffet and more.
TUSCANY
The 20% senior discount moves to the Piazza & Toscana Bars for the whole month of April. Senior Thursdays include a free slot tournament entry.
The casino now has a new non-smoking gaming area, with both slot and video poker games. It is located on the east side of the casino, between Pub 365 and the east casino entrance.
PALMS
Last month I pointed out that the Palms did not have regular multiple-point promotions on their Tuesday senior day, like the other Station properties did on their Wednesday senior days. Well, the powers-that-be must have heard that we oldsters were very disappointed; in May we have bonus points (10x/6x) on all our Timeless Tuesdays. Hurrah!
BOYD PROPERTIES (The Orleans, Gold Coast, Suncoast, Sam’s Town, California, Fremont, and Main Street Station)
This month Brad and I each got a large “booklet mailer” that spelled out promotions for all SEVEN Boyd properties, although we play at only two of them – the Gold Coast and the Orleans. Perhaps others who have played at more of the properties have received this type of mailer before. However, this was a first for us although we had received mailers that sometimes included some promotional information about the Suncoast and Sam’s Town but never the Downtown properties.
I like this mailer, but I will still have to continue to caution you here to read your mailers very very carefully. Some offers are for all of the 7 properties – like bonus points on holidays, but there are many promotions that are specific to individual properties. You will still be wise to double-check EACH casino’s website and click on any links given to find the details of each promotion. One handy feature is that you can redeem your slot dollars at any of the 7 casinos. The food coupons are also valid company-wide but be sure to read the fine print since some food outlets are excluded. The food coupons also are not good on holidays.
SLS LAS VEGAS (That’s the old Sahara in case that name doesn’t sound familiar to you)
(From a press release) Beginning May 1, SLS Las Vegas will launch its new SLS Las Vegas Rewards program (formerly called THE CODE), featuring new benefits and more offers, including $1 for every 250 slot points. Complete rules, participation requirements, and details are available at the SLS Las Vegas Rewards desk, open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to midnight on weekends.
The May player promotions include:
$124,000 KaChingKo Drawings: The drawings will be held at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. every Saturday in May to select 5 lucky winners out of 25 names drawn. The 5 participants will get the chance to play the casino’s live stage game to win up to $2,500 cash.
May Hot Seat: Random drawings, hosted from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. every Saturday in May, will select 12 guaranteed winners every week. Each winner will receive a share of $6,000 in Play-‘Til-You-Lose mini baccarat promotional chips.
$30,000 Baccarat: Drawings will be held every Friday in May, held at 8 p.m., 10 p.m. and midnight to select up to 4 winners in each drawing. They will then receive a spin on the wheel and a chance to win up to $2,500 in Play-‘Til-You-Lose baccarat promotional chips.
Free $2,500 Slot Tournament: Hosted from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday in May. Players may qualify by inserting their SLS Las Vegas Rewards card into any eligible slot machine.
Additional promotions held throughout May include 10X slot points every Sunday and Monday, May 29, and gift days on Thursday, May 11 and Thursday, May 25.
Details about the new players club and May promotions are not yet online.
Don, the promo I was referring to was redeemable right at the machine. It was supposed to be triggered after you earned 2000 points, but for some reason, you got it every 1700-1800 points. A little spinner would come up in the player info screen. The worst prize was 2,500 points, and the best I ever got was $50–my average was $15, almost a 1% return. The limit was four spins per day. A really good promo actually. It was fairly recently (January?), but I don’t remember when.
Kevin, I didn’t remember 4 swipes per day in their previous promotions of this type. Went back and looked at my logs and saw that Mrs. Don and I played 300 points in April 2015 and May 2016 for the swipe (singular). Could it have been another promotion you were thinking about?
The South Point promo is somewhat worse than in past iterations, in that you can only do it once per day (as opposed to four, previously). However, the point threshold is much lower than before. The average value of a spin in the past has been just over $10 (as you might expect, the promo is weighted toward the smaller prizes, though not excessively so). So $300 coin-in, which is about minus 75 cents when playing NSUD, gets you a spin worth $10, plus the points you earn are worth about $1. There are worse ways to spend an hour. If you get a buffet comp, well, it’s the proverbial free lunch.