Busy with Family

Posted on August 4, 2018 by queen of comps

I’ll get to August casino promotions in a few days, but this week has been busy with an important filming event.  Brad and I have been the subjects for many TV shows down through the years, but this film project  is special.  My life story is the subject for a documentary film Granddaughter Kaitlynn is making as the required thesis for her masters degree in Film Production.

How time flies!  Seems not that long ago Kaitlynn was in a stroller screaming her lungs out  as brother Zachary was enjoying the wolf howling during the noisy Christmas show in the Sam’s Town atrium.

We haven’t stopped visiting casinos while Kaitlynn is here. Although she is interviewing me about my early life – growing up in a minister’s home, teaching high school, and living in Australia where her mother, the Frugal Princess, was born – she is fascinated by my transition to skilled gambler.  She is starting to understand that, although it looks like two very different worlds, there is much the same.  I learned the value of being careful with money when I was a very little girl so it was not a surprise I became a frugal gambler.  I knew I would be a teacher as soon as I started first grade so it was not a surprise that I wrote books teaching about smarter gambling.

So she is filming as we enjoy comped casino meals.  She is filming us as we play video poker. “Just go about your regular routine,” she says.  She already knows about coupon runs since we took her on one a couple of years ago when she turned 21.  So that was on the top of her must-film list.  Despite  triple-digit temperatures, we went downtown for  a  coupon chase in and out of casinos until we were all exhausted.  But Kaitlynn got the footage she needed – and I got some photos to share with you.

And then there is Kaitlynn’s non-casino activities, partnering up with an 86-year-old Poppy for his first pedicure.

Posted in Couponing, Family News, It's Personal, Non-gambling Activities, Video Poker | 10 Comments

Laughlin Trip Report

Posted on July 29, 2018 by queen of comps

In my last blog I talked about planning a trip to Harrah’s Laughlin for a purely recreational vacation, a change from Brad’s and my usual serious advantage-play casino visits.  Many readers asked for a trip report.

One can “get lucky” on recreational non-advantage play, but we did not on this trip.  So, our losses on our play just went into the column of “Vacation Expenses.”  But we had a relaxing and fun time, which was our goal.

We aren’t finicky foodies, so we enjoy the buffet, especially at breakfast.  Locals – and Vegas residents are considered “local” – automatically get the 2-for-1 price during the breakfast/lunch serving time.  We also like their Beach Café where prices are very reasonable. We have eaten at the Range Steakhouse many times and it is always top-notch when we want to go gourmet.

Since we are both at the Seven Star players club level, we took advantage of their Diamond Lounge frequently.  They serve hot food from 4 p.m. opening weekdays, at noon on the weekends.  We eat very lightly these days, so we often find items we like to make our complete small meals.   We especially like their chunky chicken salad with cranberries and walnuts. Seven Stars have an added benefit of a special-order appetizer/dessert menu.  Brad is a chocaholic but met his match with the “too-rich” double-chocolate cake selection and the next time joined me in the tasty and lighter ice cream and berry option.

We have been to Laughlin many times over the last 30+ years and enjoyed many of the fun activities this area affords.  Back when we were younger and long walks was our exercise of choice, we would hike the “river strip” – even in the hot summer heat.  It was an easier walk down from Harrah’s to the Riverside, but then we had to tackle the strenuous climb back up the hill on the way back, stopping often to cool off at each casino along the way.  These days when we want to visit other casinos, we take the river taxi!

Harrah’s is definitely a family destination.  Especially during the weekends, the restaurants, beach, and family pool are crowded with kids.  Good there is also an adult-only pool for a quieter experience!  The sandy beach is popular for all ages and the jet ski rental business there is booming all summer.

Down through the years we have enjoyed many side road trips. The Indian-owned Avi Resort and Casino 25 miles down the Colorado River has a Vegas-style hotel and casino, with many amenities that include a movie theater, an RV park, and beach and water activities.

You can see the original London Bridge, dismantled and brought over from England and reassembled, in Lake Havasu City, AZ.  An adventurous way to get there, which we did with our granddaughter and her friend, is on a jet boat that leaves the beach at Harrah’s for a scenic 2-hour ride 60 miles down the Colorado River.  There will be a stopover in Havasu City to see the bridge and have lunch and then the cruise back to Laughlin.

One of our favorite places to take friends and family is the historic former mining town of Oatman, Arizona, on Route 66, about a 45-minute drive from Laughlin.  These days it is a quirky tourist destination with fake gunfights in the streets, wild burros roaming carefree, and the usual places to eat and drink and buy kitschy souvenirs. If you don’t mind crowds and long walks after you finally find a parking place, hit the town during special events like the annual Bed Races or the Sidewalk Egg Fry Contest on the 4th of July.  If you don’t have a car, there are commercial tours to Oatman and to many of the other attractions around Laughlin.

Many visitors to Laughlin are those who drive from Las Vegas, as we did.  That drive used to be a traffic nightmare before a divided highway was built.  And now it is even easier since the bypass around the Railroad Pass Casino has been completed.  However, a little bit of the old bad memories came back on this last trip since there is now construction between Searchlight and the Laughlin turn-off and we had to contend with about 16 miles of no-passing single lanes coming and going!  ☹  I talked about bus service between Las Vegas and Laughlin in a recent post but you need to Google that subject  for up-to-date information since these opportunities have come and gone down through the years, especially free trips sponsored by the Laughlin casinos.

One thing that many people may not know about is that Harrah’s Laughlin runs numerous air charter trips from many parts of the country, mainly the Midwest and South.  Some visitors take these charter packages regularly every few months, praising their convenience, with straight-through flights and included room accommodations.  When they land in the Bullhead City airport across the river, a bus is waiting to take them straight to the hotel.  The prices for these vary, but for many visitors, after they pay for the first trip, the future ones can be discounted or completely comped depending on their previous casino play history.  Some gamblers feel Laughlin is more laid-back, more like the good old days, and opt for it as an alternative to the hustle and bustle of Las Vegas.

Posted in Food Review, Laughlin, Non-gambling Activities, Non-Vegas Casinos, Transportation | 11 Comments

Purely Recreational Casino Play

Posted on July 18, 2018 by queen of comps

People often ask  if Brad and I ever stray from the advantage-play path.

Yes, we occasionally do.  Down through the years I have talked about providing casino vacations for our families.  Sometimes these are 100% comped and there are good machines to play so they stay in the advantage-play category.  More frequently they fall into a “discounted” category, with luxurious rooms and/or suites almost always comped, but perhaps some meals and shows and other activities only partially comped.  However, they end up being a frugal bargain if you compare it with paying for the whole thing with money out of pocket!

If you are at Harrah’s Laughlin this weekend, you might see us on one of our rare purely recreational casino visit.  This one is not with family but a chance to meet up and socialize with friends.  As is usual, we will have a comped suite and most of our meals will be free.  However, you might just see us “messing around” with some low-denomination not-very-good-schedule VP games that we might like to try just for a fun change.  No serious gambling this trip – just the goal of relaxing with no stress.

Stop if you spot us and say hello!

Posted in Comps, Laughlin, Non-Vegas Casinos, Video Poker | 5 Comments

Answering Your Questions

Posted on July 14, 2018 by queen of comps

Every once in awhile I check my “Question File” and try to address those subjects that need more explanation or details.

Q:  Do you know anything about bus transportation between Las Vegas and Laughlin?

A:  This seems to be a very fluid subject. I remember taking free bus day trips from Las Vegas many many years ago that usually included a sightseeing feature or two on the way down and a free lunch buffet after you got down there. I have heard of several such programs down through the years but don’t know if any are running now.  And sometimes I’ve heard of inexpensive bus schedules both ways.  Best advice is to google for current info.  Someone recently mentioned a Silver Rider bus and I found this phone number on their website where you might get more information – 702-298-4435.  If you have taken one of these bus trips recently – free or with a paid ticket, it would be great if you could put details in the “Comments” section below.

Q:  You often mention promotions or information you find in the local Vegas newspaper.  Do you think that I should subscribe to it even if I am an out-of-towner?

A: Although as a local and a person who reads “The Review-Journal” daily, and I do find out some helpful information this way, there are almost always online resources where this same information could be found for free.   Here are the ones many people check frequently:

  • Individual casino websites
  • Scot’s Bonus Point List
  • The ACG’s “Vegas Values,” a weekly report that gives you details on the best Las Vegas Casino Promotions.  
  • Then there is this blog, where I scour many other sources and try to fill in with details that might not be given in other places.

Q:  Was there a Blackjack Ball this last year?  I didn’t read any reports about it.

A: Yes, although the usual date in January was changed to April this year.  Henry Tamburin attended this event and wrote a detailed description of all the action.  Part 1 of the “Inside Scoop on the 2018 Blackjack Ball” talked about the famous and always insanely difficult test that the attendees faced.  Part 2 gave the answers to that test and named the winner who gets bragging rights as the “World’s Best Blackjack Player.”

Smile of the Day

I love schoolteacher jokes and here is one that made this English teacher chuckle:

Q: What do you say to a crying grammar teacher?

A: There, they’re, their.

Posted in Blackjack, Casino Promotions, Gambling Resources, Laughlin, Q+A | 7 Comments

Jean’s Story – Part 5 -Big Travel Adventures at Last

Posted on July 8, 2018 by queen of comps

When my husband Earl had to leave the Air Force on a medical discharge, we did not give up our dream for world travel.  Our financial situation was a little less tight now since VA compensation paid for much of his education expenses and I was teaching full time.  So, we started our “Travel Fund,” where we would stash every spare dollar we could squeeze out of our budget.

However, we could see that overseas travel would take many many years of scrimping and saving. Then up popped a wonderful opportunity just as Earl was finishing his schooling for a teaching degree from Malone College.  We learned that the Australian government was paying travel expenses for teachers – and their families – who would come there for two-year high-school assignments.  Their economy was growing so fast at this time that there weren’t enough local residents to fill all the jobs being created so they were bringing in workers of all kinds from many other countries.  Free travel to a faraway country and a job awaiting – for us it was a dream come true.

To add to this dream, actually it could be combined with fulfilling a childhood ambition of mine.  Living in a minister’s home, we entertained many missionaries who came to speak in our church, and I was totally absorbed in their exciting stories, especially their slide programs showing what I consider to be their adventurous life in the jungles of Africa or South America.

Now…going to Australia wasn’t living with natives in grass huts in the wild – we had a modern house in a suburb of the big city of Melbourne.  We weren’t missionaries in the sense that a church back home had raised money to support us and send us there to “convert the natives.”  Instead we were volunteers, often called “occupational missionaries,” supporting ourselves but working as laymen to assist ministers in small pioneer start-up churches which were popping up to serve the growing population of the country.

Combining our desire for service opportunities with the chance to explore a big country so far from home – it was a made-to-order adventure for us.  So as soon as Earl graduated from college, we sold our car and all our furniture and, with our 5-year-old son David, we were ready to embark on our world exploration.

The first leg of our journey was on a small passenger-carrying freighter from New York City to Brussels.  It sounded like a great adventure when I read the advertisements – the 10 passengers had the run of the ship and ate gourmet meals with the captain – and the fare was low low, frugal low. However, those 10 days crossing the Atlantic were without a doubt probably some of the worst 10 days of my life.  The ship had no stabilizers – and we were skirting hurricanes from day one.  I took to my bunk and stayed there for 5 days; when there was nothing left to get rid of in my stomach, dry heaves took over. In the meantime, Earl and 5-year-old son David were having fun roaming around the ship this whole time, coming back and telling me about the great meals they were having with the captain.  On the 6th day, I thought I was feeling well enough to perhaps eat a bite so I went to dinner.  This was a Norwegian ship and I guess a Norwegian chef – raw eggs garnished the entrée.  That sent me back to my bunk until – thankfully – we reached European dry land!

Next came 2 months driving around Europe in a tiny rental car, thanks to our travel fund we had built up the last several years.  However, it was not large enough to make this a luxury trip; Europe on $5 a Day was our travel bible.  We stayed in simple guest houses and mapped our route to include mostly free attractions and simple activities that a 5-year-old would enjoy.

The last leg of our long trip to Australia was on a cruise ship from England to the port of Sydney.  This was an exciting first for us, just as glamorous as it had looked in the movies.  We were in first class, even invited one night to dine with the captain.  The 12-day voyage was not smooth sailing the whole time, but fortunately I had gained some sea legs since the earlier freighter nightmare. One night while during a dance the ship hit a big wave and everyone on the dance floor was thrown to one side, with handsome ship officers scrambling to help the ladies.  I thought that was a romantic event suitable for a steamy novel!

We soon learned that the lower-class decks below us had much simpler accommodations – this was before the movie knowledge we learned from Titanic.  Those lower decks were filled with hundreds of male Greek immigrant workers who had been offered free transportation and jobs when they arrived in Australia.  We actually had quite a bit of contact with them.  The first day of the cruise, the ship’s news sheet contained a call for teachers, who would be paid to conduct daily classes to help the Greeks learn some basic English.  Earl and I both signed up. Even little David went along with us and was learning how to teach common words with a lot of gesturing and acting.   We three knew no Greek and our students knew no English, but we all did a lot of laughing and found that was a good start for universal communication.

Posted in Jean's Story, Travel | 6 Comments

JULY PROMOTIONS

Posted on July 1, 2018 by queen of comps

Las Vegas is hopping, turning the one-day 4th of July holiday on Wednesday into a whole week of celebrations.  But don’t let down your guard when you are looking for promotions and end up getting fooled!  You must always read the fine print and check out details carefully.  Here are some danger areas, many I have talked about in the past:

  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.

Posted in Casino Promotions, Slot Clubs, Technology | 3 Comments

A Vegas Trip Report from Angela, the Frugal Princess

Posted on June 21, 2018 by queen of comps

It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything as the Frugal Princess!  And I’m not sure I even qualify anymore, especially since my daughter is about the age when I became the “Frugal Princess,” and I have become a grandmother.  I guess even princesses grow old!

I just returned home from a week-long stay in Las Vegas with my mom, the Queen of Comps, and my step-dad, the King of Kindness.  It was a different kind of week, though, with just a little gambling and whole lot of real life.  But all of it was frugal, of course.

First – some family updates:

My husband, Steve, is still working with soldiers even though he retired from the Army 10 years ago in October.  He recently transitioned from year-to-year civilian military contract jobs to a more permanent Government Service job, but still at Ft. Benning.  He has also become a Master Scuba Instructor and loves his new hobby/part-time job and has even coaxed me into the water to get my Advanced Open Water Scuba Certification!  We both went back to college and finally got our bachelor’s degrees we had been trying to complete for many years.  I enjoy supporting the military again by working as the Military Science Department Administrative Secretary at Columbus State University where I get to work with ROTC cadets, active duty instructors, and government staff.  Steve and I are too busy to be lonely empty-nesters and besides, our two pups, Maggie and Murphy, think they are our kids and need our undivided attention.

Our ever-energetic son, Zachary, graduated from Columbus State University, became a police officer, serves in the Georgia National Guard, and still finds time to flip all over town doing parkour and martial arts.  He and our bonus daughter, Taylor, have two sons, Asher (almost 4) and Bowen (15 mo.), and they are expecting a sweet little girl (YIPEE!) in November.  We never knew being grandparents and in-laws would be so cool!

Kaity is our adventurous child who lives in Atlanta and is finishing her graduate degree in Film, Video, and Digital Imaging Production at Georgia State this December.  She stays very busy with her classes, an assistantship and internships, a YouTube channel (Geocaching Kaity), running marathons, and dog-walking as her “side hustle.”  We often tag along on her hiking and outdoor adventures.

Although we all come to Vegas for family visits, I came this time by myself, enjoying the chance for some one-on-one quality time with my parents.  The first few days we spent running errands, picking up bounce-back free play at various casinos and getting together with friends and in-town family using food comps that were going to expire.   And it is always fun to shop in casino gift shops with comps.  Thankfully, we now will have a baby girl to buy for.  Mom said she had bought out all the boy stuff using her comps at the Silverton gift shop so she will soon have more options – this little girl is probably destined to be mermaid-crazy from the time she is born.

The main reason for my coming on this particular trip was that mid-week Mom had been scheduled for out-patient mouth surgery to remove some benign cysts under her tongue and I was thankful to be able to play nursemaid for the “old folks.” {WINK} The surgery was not serious but the recovery would be slow and painful.  I became her master smoothie-maker.

While Mom was recuperating, Brad and I went to several casinos to pick up free play and take advantage of multiple-point days to play some video poker.  Luckily Mom had taught me well over the years and I actually felt like I knew what I was doing!  My favorite game of all time is full-pay Deuces Wild, which I learned to play before I was even 21 and is still my favorite today.  Luckily, the Palms brought back a bank of these games just in time for my visit. I have hit several royal flushes and many 4-deuce jackpots on these machines down through the years but no luck this time.  However, I didn’t lose much money – I found I can’t sit and play as long as I used to, which ends up being a frugal way to stretch your bankroll!

Visits to Vegas have certainly changed for me and for my family over the years and as time spirals faster and faster as we grow older, we have to learn how to adjust and not expect things to stay the same. Mom and Brad no longer have the energy for the busy-every-minute schedule they used to keep, and I really enjoyed their slower pace this visit.   We wanted to make the most out of every minute and learn to appreciate even the very smallest things.  We loved swimming in the condo’s warm pool after the sun went down.  We marveled at the hummingbirds and sparrows finishing off the red sugar water in the birdfeeder on their patio.  We watched the brave tree trimmers shimmy up and down the tall palm trees.

It was a memorable visit and I can’t wait to return.

Outside the Orleans buffet with my mom and Aunt Starr

Posted in Family News, Guest Writer, It's Personal, Video Poker | 6 Comments

Jean’s Story – Part 4 – Entering the Adult World

Posted on June 12, 2018 by queen of comps

Off to College

After graduating from high school, there was really no question about where I would go to college. I would attend GBS (God’s Bible School) in Cincinnati, Ohio, for many years the conservative choice for many young people who were raised as I was in the fundamentalist evangelical church environment.  It was the school where my father had studied for the ministry and where my parents had met and married. They knew it would be a place that would continue to reinforce the beliefs and rules that they had taught me since I was born and would keep me from “worldly” dangers.  I had been raised in a very sheltered religious environment so had no personal knowledge about any other kind of college or alternative choices.  One could understand this better if you realize this was before the Internet age, and we never had a TV in the house to “corrupt” us.  (My parents never owned a TV, nor believed in watching one.)

However, my parents did approve one deviation from the protective college setting of GBS.  This bible school was not state accredited and therefore could not give me a degree that would enable me to get a teacher’s license.  However, it had enjoyed a good reputation over the years with the nearby University of Cincinnati, which would accept many of the GBS credits (non-religious subjects) for transfer students.  So, after two years of taking classes and living and working part-time on the GBS campus, I moved to a small apartment near the school, worked full-time as a floor desk clerk at the nearby Christ Hospital, and started classes at UC.  At age nineteen I was finally out in the “real world.”

Wedding Bells

It was at this time that I met a student who was just starting to attend GBS and who was also working at this same hospital where I was.  I had casually dated off and on in high school and then during the two years I had been attending GBS, but with no serious relationships.  However,  when Earl and I met, we both fell hard and were engaged within two months.

At the end of the school year, we married and set up housekeeping in a tiny damp one-room basement studio apartment, poor but insanely happy as only young newly-weds can be, in spite of a constant battle with cockroaches. However, the rent was an extremely frugal bargain and helped us stretch our poor-college-students budget to cover our living  expenses and pay for both of our schooling.

One thing Earl and I shared from the beginning was our strong craving for the adventure of travel.  Earl had grown up in rural Kentucky in a family of modest means that didn’t allow for travel vacations.  Although my family had moved around a lot, we hadn’t ventured outside the Midwest.   So after our first year of marriage, we decide to start pursuing our dreams.  Earl would join the Air Force and hopefully that could provide us with the opportunity for some frugal travel adventures.

The timing was good, we thought as we planned.  He would be going to basic training during my last semester of work at UC for a BS in Education, doing my student teaching.  So off he went to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX.   There was just one unexpected addition to this plan.  Earl got the news in mail call that he was going to be a father – and I did my student teaching in maternity clothes.

But we were happy and didn’t have to change plans.  After basic training, Earl was assigned to Geiger Field near Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, Washington.  I got my degree at UC a couple of months later and joined him there where we happily awaited the arrival of baby David.

Military pay was extremely low back in the 60’s so I taught school all during Earl’s enlistment to make ends meet. But we always took advantage of the times when we were both free to explore the area wherever he was stationed.   While we were in Spokane we did tent camping all around the Northwest, a frugal option that let us stretch our budget for more of the travel adventures we loved. Then the Air Force moved us to Newburgh, New York and we enjoyed the new big-city adventures that awaited us just 50 miles south in New York City. Sometimes a charitable organization would hand out expensive Broadway tickets to military families, and  I would make a big effort to snag these valuable freebies. Guess that was my introduction to comps!

Earl developed some serious medical issues so after 4 years he was out of the Air Force on a medical discharge, dashing our dreams for overseas assignments that would provide the opportunity for “world travel.”  Those goals were put on hold and we moved to Canton, Ohio, where I took a full-time high-school teaching position to support the family while Earl finished college and got his teaching degree.

Frugality continued to be center stage during these first years of adulthood, learning extreme money-management techniques necessary to cover high educational and family expenses on a low income.  My financial goal then – as it has remained to this very day – was to live within our income and avoid debt with all my might.

“Gaming” had not yet changed into “gambling” since we were still in a relatively conservative church environment. Actually, even game-playing was not a frequent activity during these years due to a busy schedule of juggling school and work and family duties.   It was limited mainly to joining other young marrieds with little kids getting together for occasional game nights.  By this time, I had walked away from some of the more extreme “rules” I had grown up with, those that didn’t seem to me to really be connected to “spirituality.” Friends introduced me to family games that used cards, like Old Maid, Rook, and Pit.  Of course, these weren’t “real” cards, and, of course, no money was changing hands, so could not even be considered as a beginning path from gaming to gambling.  That was still many years in the future.   But as it had been since I was little and played kiddie games with my sisters, I was still playing “for blood” even in just “fun games.”

Posted in Jean's Story | 10 Comments

Promotions You Can Not Do

Posted on June 3, 2018 by queen of comps

At any one time there are hundreds of thousands of casino promotions available across the United States – probably millions if you count every room offer, food discount, entertainment special as well as gambling bonuses, incentives, and special events.  Obviously, no one could take advantage of every one of them even if they wanted to.  So, most casino visitors are interested in those near where they live or in places where they plan to visit.

Many readers visit the Internet, including this blog, to get information about good promotions that will be suitable for their circumstances, including their location, travel plans, and their gambling goals.  But I know by the comments here and e-mails and personal conversation with gamblers from all over the country, many are facing the growing problem of not being able to take advantage of all the promotions they find that would definitely be attractive to them.

In this blog I am going list some of the reasons why all players can’t take advantage of all promotions.  This list will just skim the surface of this subject, with few details, since situations differ from one casino to another and from month to month in the same casino.  Some will affect a lot of casino customers; some just a few.  Some will necessitate major changes for a gambler; some will have only minor effects.  Remember, I have often said that the only constant in our casino life is “change.”

  1. Some gamblers can not take advantage of a promotion because of their address.  Although this can affect players who live anywhere, it is a common problem for out-of-towners who want to play at a Vegas locals casino. Many of these locals casinos restrict their promotions, like multiple-point days, to those who get their monthly mailer.  And these mailers only go out to those players with local addresses.  (It also affects locals who haven’t played enough at that casino to get to the minimum mailer level.)   Less often, but a problem for Vegas locals, is a property that sends out offers geared only to out-of-town visitors.
  2. Some gamblers have ended up on a casino promotion-exclusion list because of “breaking the rules.” Usually the casino will inform the customer of the reason, i.e., playing on someone else’s card, picking up free play for someone else, cheating.   This sometimes might be part of 86ing the customer completely – banishment from the property –  or just taking away their players card so they wouldn’t be able to participate in any promotion or earn any extra benefits although they could still play the games. A related situation , with similar results, has occurred when a player has not technically broken any written casino rule, but has “made an issue”  of a matter in a gray area.  Casinos will often rule in favor of a customer to solve a “technical” difference of opinion, but then ban them from any future opportunity for benefits.  It sometimes pays to surrender in one small disagreement, so you can keep in the game!
  1. More frequently than the situation in #2 – and a problem that is becoming more and more widespread – is finding yourself on that dreaded casino “no-mail” list. What this means varies greatly from one property to another. You for sure will face the problem I described in #1 above, the inability to participate in mailer-only promos.  You also will miss out on any free play that is offered in the mailer.  Some casinos will also “deactivate” your players card at the same time so earning extra benefits will be gone.  If you are lucky enough to be able to keep your players card, there may be promos open to the public that will still be available to you.

Don’t ask me why you get on a casino’s “no-mail” list or how you can stay off one. Casinos might tell you – but they usually won’t.  Actually, most of the casino employees don’t know the answers unless they work in that big mystery department of Casino Marketing where “big data” is king.

  1. Even if you don’t end up on the “no mail” list I described above, you will soon find out that you can’t depend on any casino to keep the same promotions and benefits you enjoyed in the past.  The good promotion you played at Casino X last month might have been changed and it is no longer a “good” one for you this month.  Also, you can’t depend on sharing promotion information with other players like we used to do in the old days.  An example that highlighted this problem for me:  Brad and I regularly play about the same amount and the same games.  We have friends who play in a similar manner in the same casino.  We compared our June mailers.  Now we know that very likely this casino takes into consideration whether we won or lost and what games we play but we don’t know what other “big data” factors enter in here. We have no clue as to why many of us got the same amount of free play, but on different schedules.  The multiple-point promotion amounts were all over the place, not seemingly coordinating with the direction of free play – some got 5x, some got 6x, and some got none at all.  One person said the casino explained to him that this last situation was “because he played too much.”

That made me throw up my hands and give up trying to figure all this out – at least for the moment.  Maybe I can get back on a more positive path next week!

Posted in Casino Policy, Casino Promotions | 7 Comments

A Promotion Rant for June

Posted on May 27, 2018 by queen of comps

First a compliment to a few casinos – this month some of you seemed to realize that players like to plan ahead.  I always hated it when there was a holiday toward the end of a month –  and marketing seemed to disappear for several days to take a department vacation before they thought about the next month’s promotion.  Then when they finally straggled back to work, it took several days of feverish scheduling – and we players often didn’t know what was going on in that new month until the 2nd or 3rd or even later.  Sometimes we would get offers we would have loved – but they were already expired before we received our monthly mailer.

This is not a new problem.  Back when we lived in Indianapolis, I would get extremely frustrated when I didn’t get our Vegas casino mailings in a timely manner to take advantage of airline savings for advance booking.  Now – 20 years later – I still am frustrated when too often our local monthly mailers are late!

I try to think about and write about the positive things that I like about casino life.  And I try to be realistic and accept the fact that casinos are a for-profit business.   But recently I have just been pounded with examples of casino actions that absolutely astound me.  A casino business depends entirely on its customers.  No customers – no business.  Most people businesses find they are most successful when they look at their customers as fellow human beings and treat them…. well, nicely.

I’m not talking about profits and bottom-lines here.  Of course I don’t like resort fees and paid parking – but if the casinos continue to think up new ways to charge their customers more and their profits increase, then I just say that this is the American way of capitalistic freedom.  I can accept it – or choose another entertainment option.

I’m talking about a casino environment where it seems like the people in charge seem to – at best – have no idea of how their customers think, and – at worst – they view their customers as enemies. To all that talk about how big data will tell them how to run their business more successfully, I want to say, “Get off your office computers and throw away all those data mining reports. Go down on the casino floor and look around – talk to the players at the machines and the people eating in your restaurants, and to the people in lines everywhere.”

Specifically, since this is an article about promotions, I want to vent and – if perhaps some casino marketing executives read this – I’ve heard some do – give some examples of promotions I have seen or experienced that drive people away from a casino instead of bringing them in.  No names, but if the shoe fits……..

  1. Someone(s) sends out perhaps thousands of offers for a free or discounted popular buffet that is good only on one date. Does that marketing person(s) leave his plush office hidden far up on the lofty executive level and go down on the casino floor that day and see the long line snaking through the casino, with security guards setting up velvet ropes to steer it around customer traffic? Does he see the pain on the faces of the elderly and handicapped who look like they are ready to drop? Does he hear the grumbling turning to real anger when the coupon holder realized he will not get to that buffet food for 2 hours?  Did the person(s) who dreamed up this promotion realize how unruly a crowd can get when their blood sugar gets low? Does he see how many people leave the casino mad, vowing never to return?
  2. Have casinos heard of inflation? An offer is sent out for a bonus amount “up to $500.”  Most got only $5.  “That’s the last time I will make a special trip for anything like this; at least they could have told us the minimum and I could decide in advance whether it would be worth my time and gas.”  Or, the signs for a players club new-member sign-up bonus reads “Play $5 to get $5 in free play.”  “Jeeeez, this casino is so cheap I have to risk my own money before they will give me even a fiddly amount.  I don’t want to play in such a tight place!”
  3. “Mystery gifts” are offered very frequently –but there is usually a very limited choice, most from the casino inventory of left-over gifts few wanted the first time they were offered. This is the perfect way to insult your customers – over and over again!

I am out energy to rant any longer – maybe another time.  But I bet many of you can add to this subject in the “Comments.”  Feel free!

Posted in Casino Policy, Casino Promotions | 17 Comments