Tahoe Visit and Promotion Info

Posted on September 27, 2017 by queen of comps

Brad and I are leaving for Harrah’s Tahoe on the 28th, a little too early for me to get many of the October monthly mailers. So this is a good time to remind you of other  good resources where you can go for comprehensive coverage of Vegas promotions.   Each Sunday Scot Krause lists many of the best Vegas values for the coming week plus those that are on-going.  He also maintains the list of Players Club Bonus Points right here on this site. In addition,  you can check individual websites of casinos where you might want to play.

Another frugal resource I highly recommend: Vegas4Locals has many free printable coupons for locals and visitors alike and an extensive list of “Free Things To Do and See in Las Vegas.”

CZR News

Here is a great new option for high-level CZR players who have earned a free trip. Although these details mention only the Seven Stars Retreat, this is also an option for the lower Diamond trip. A welcome change from the hassle of going through the unbearably slow casino travel booking program.

FREEDOM TO BOOK YOUR OWN FLIGHT
You now have the choice to book your own airfare for your Seven Stars® Retreat, and get reimbursed!*

  1. Call your Host or the VIP services hotline (877-7PLAYER) to reserve your room
  2. Book your flight with the airline of your choice
  3. While at the casino during your stay, visit the Total Rewards® Center and present your airline receipt
  4. Total Rewards will issue you a Casino Play (Slots or Table Games) voucher for reimbursement
  5. Take your voucher to the Cashier to receive your Casino Play

We will be at Harrah’s Tahoe until October 3. If you see us there during the slot tournament or at a video poker machine, be sure to stop and say “hi.”

Posted in Casino Promotions, Non-Vegas Casinos, Public Appearances | 5 Comments

A Throwback

Posted on September 23, 2017 by queen of comps

I have just spent the last three month slogging through 17 years of blogging and article writing – that’s reading and sorting probably close to a thousand Word documents.  Why would I need to do that?  Well, the answer is simple.  I am writing another book, one that has been stirring around in my head for several years, and my memory needed some help with this. (No more details right now – it’s in the incubator stage and doesn’t have a title yet, but definitely will have the word “frugal” in it and probably the word “memoirs.”)

The thing that has stood out as I review my past writings is that, despite all the changes in the casino environment, so much has also remained the same. This entry from August 4, 2000, the first year I wrote “Frugal Fridays” (which ran for 7 years before morphing into “Frugal Vegas”) is a super example, with current comments in [ ].

 

AUGUST 4, 2000 “Frugal Fridays”

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. [Still going 17 years later] This list of August changes from published information has been verified by me, either by phone checks, reading casino advertising in the local newspaper, or visiting the casinos 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 Tuesdays 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 there. [Checking promotion details has always been of prime importance – and always will.]

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 year! Everyone knows what I think about slot club changes — I hate them. [Still do!]  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!  [Now there was a hope that was futile.] 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.

In past Frugal Fridays I’ve given you several recommendations for valuable online sources for Las Vegas and gambling information and here are more…. [All long gone now, replaced many times.]

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 a while.

[Brad still contributes a lot of material for me to write about although he prefers to remain mostly an “unnamed source.”]

Posted in Brad Stories, Memories | 1 Comment

Big Data

Posted on September 16, 2017 by queen of comps

Please, Jean, tell me what I am doing wrong. I am playing just like I have been doing for years, but my mailers which used to be quite good are getting terrible: such small amounts of free play, fewer food comps, free room offers now just discounted and/or restricted to limited dates.

I get multiple versions of this plea  all the time these days.

My dear readers, don’t think I do not feel your pain. I am struggling with these  issues every day as Brad and I have to make our own playing decisions. Changing casino conditions is a complex subject that I could discuss for pages and pages – actually which I have done in my books and articles for many many years!

However, recently I am reading more and more about “big data,” a concept that is hard for most of us to understand unless we are math and computer experts.

When I first started writing about casinos almost 20 years ago I would say, “The most important thing a casino is looking at in deciding how many benefits to give you is how much action you give them. It’s not whether you win or lose but how much money you churn through the machines or at the tables.”

Oh, how I miss those days!

But things began changing soon after those golden years. In my 2003 More Frugal Gambling, I wrote this in the “Playing Requirements” section:

Although casino information systems vary widely in their capabilities, from the simple to the complex, the technology exists to take into consideration all of the following:

* specific machine played;

* how much the casino projects to win from the average player on that game

* your skill level in playing that game;

* what denomination you’re playing;

* how long you play the game,

* the frequency of your play;

* whether you have won or lost during one period of time;

* your long-term history of play at that casino:

* the color of your hair.

Of course I added that last one as a joke, but it made the point of what I called the “blender effect.” Even back then it was starting to become very difficult to know just what was needed to get good benefits.

Now jump to 2017 and Big Data is now the marketing king. My little list from the “blender” era looks like a kindergarten effort.

The dictionary defines “big data” as “extremely large data sets that may be analyzed computationally to reveal patterns, trends, and associations, especially relating to human behavior and interactions.” But it is not the “big” part of all this that is so important for gamblers, but it is what the casinos do with all that information. That is when you hear the term “analytics,” the tool used in analyzing all that data to make business decisions that will boost their bottom line.

All casinos do at least some tracking of their customers play, but most of the bigger companies have very deep data mining programs that track more information than could be put in a simple list. Whenever you see a new program introduced or a long-time promotion scrapped or a major policy changed in your favorite casino, you are likely seeing the result of analytics that said that big data predicted that this was a wise business decision.

One of the biggest and wide-spread result of analytics that has been covered heavily in industry publications – much to skilled gamblers dismay when it filtered down to the gambling public – was that heavy free-play benefits was not a cost-effective technique to attract and retain customers. So it is not your personal “fault” if your mailers aren’t as good as they used to be. The trend at many – most? – casinos these days is an across-the-board reduction of benefits, including the reduction – or even total elimination of bounce-back and a major decrease of comps.

What is a skilled gambler to do these days? I wrote a 3-part series on this subject starting in my March 19, 2015 blog, continuing in Part 2  and Part 3.  Those choices are still options today, over two years later.

And what I am doing now is looking for chinks in the wall of Big Data. Although all casinos have data gathering programs, not all utilize it fully yet. Information sharing with other players, intense scouting, and staying flexible –these are the things that can still help  serious gamblers cope with the tough casino environment.

Posted in Casino Policy, Comps, Technology | 8 Comments

A Memory of 9/11

Posted on September 11, 2017 by queen of comps

Soon after September 11, 2001, this was the piece I wrote for my “Frugal Fridays” column about my new hometown.

A Red-White-and-Blue Las Vegas

Las Vegas is a city with patriotic feelings as strong as anywhere else in the U.S.A. As I’ve been traveling all over our spread-out city since September 11, I have proudly seen the proof of that everywhere, from children’s make-shift pictures of flags and eagles in the windows of simple homes in the most impoverished neighborhoods to the big new flags that wave from tall new flagpoles I can see above the cinderblock walls that guard the most exclusive suburban enclaves. When we went looking to buy a flag, no store in town had one of any size, so we cut out the full-page color flag from our local newspaper and put it in our window.

Sure, we’re a “company town,” but the towering casino marquees replaced their flashing advertisements of magic, or dancing girls, or the message of possible riches, with eagles and waving flags and the simple message of “God Bless America.” A couple of large casino companies have contributed a million dollars for disaster relief — but small businesses all over town have donation jars at their cash registers in their best effort to help fellow Americans in this time of crisis. Our firemen have been out on the street soliciting contributions for the families of their brothers lost; our entertainers are unselfishly showing up everywhere for benefit activities. And so many people arrived to give blood that the blood banks all over town were swamped.

If you just come here on vacation, you might think of Vegas mostly as the Strip, or  the downtown casino area, or perhaps a few casinos scattered around the outskirts. Actually, casinos make up a very small percentage of our city. If you fly into town in the daytime, you’ll see that most of the buildings are not tall casinos, but are red-tile-roofed houses, stretching in neat rows for miles and miles beyond the Strip or any casino. And in each of those houses is a person or groups of people that have lives much like residents in any American city. Some of these people will never enter a casino their whole life, will never play a slot machine or sit down at a blackjack table, will never eat a meal at a casino restaurant or see a casino show. Many may go to work in casinos, but when they come home and take off their black-and-white dealer uniform or scanty cocktail-waitress costume, they’re simply tired mothers who are cooking their families’ dinner or dutiful husbands who are cleaning out the garage when they would rather be watching a ballgame on TV.

Of course, many local residents do visit casinos, but because of time or money constraints, this is a special maybe once-a-month treat. Even most of the retired residents with extra time and money don’t go to casinos every day. Most of the time Vegas residents are busy with the same activities that you and your family are busy with in a non-casino town: going to school, earning a living, playing golf, standing in line at the DMV, reading old magazines in a doctor’s office, shopping at the mall, figuring out how to make enough money to cover all the bills, reading a newspaper, getting married or divorced, finding privacy time and space to have sex, doing volunteer work, welcoming new babies, and burying the dead.

And when disaster strikes in our beloved country, like it did on September 11, all of our eyes are glued to the TV, just like anywhere else, whether we’re in a casino or at home. For a few days life seemed to stand still, even when we wandered around doing necessary tasks, our pain so great we could barely breathe. The normally raucous casino atmosphere was strangely quiet, with most of the scattered gamblers around only because their planes had been grounded and left them stuck in a place where they really didn’t want to be. Everyone longed to be home, and that was where most Las Vegans were whenever that was possible.

Posted in Frugal Fridays, Memories, Vegas History | 6 Comments

GAMBLING INFO FROM THE INTERNET

Posted on September 8, 2017 by queen of comps

I was recently interviewed on the popular “Cousin Vito” gambling podcast. This 40-minute chat covered wide-ranging topics, from our first casino visit 33 years ago right up through the recent publication of The Frugal Gambler Casino Guide. It was a fun-filled discussion with a lively and knowledgeable host, starting about 11 minutes into the podcast.  You can stream the interview on the website or here is a direct link to the MP3.

New Casino Offerings

Casinos are always looking for new ways to attract a younger generation of potential casino visitors.  Many of them would not interest me or most of the people of my age group.  Take the new free-roaming virtual reality arena in the MGM’s Level Up gaming lounge.  Fighting zombies is just not on my bucket list.

However some of the new concepts, particularly the new electronic versions of the old standard table games, do interest me.  I’ve been reading about the new “stadium-type” format for traditional casino games and have seen some smaller electronic versions of these, but really didn’t know many of the details.

Therefore, I was glad to see a very comprehensive discussion of stadium-blackjack, written by fellow gaming author Henry Tamburin, at the 888 Casino website.   This piece includes pictures, description of the set-up and how it is played, and explanation of the rules.

 

 

Posted in Blackjack, Gambling Resources, Online, Podcast, Web Sites | 2 Comments

SEPTEMBER CASINO PROMOTION NEWS

Posted on September 2, 2017 by queen of comps

******Hurry – this frugal bargain lasts only through Sept. 5.   Order The Frugal Gambler Casino Guide at the publisher discount price of $11.98 – and you get an autographed copy and free shipping!

 

TUSCANY

The all-month 20% senior discount moves to the Tuscany Gardens Italian restaurant for September.

Their Pub 365 restaurant advertises an “Executive 15-Minute Lunch Guarantee, your lunch in 15 minutes from order to table –guaranteed, Monday-Friday, 11a.m-2 p.m.”

 

PALMS

Major remodeling still in progress with many machines moved around and various areas walled off and/or in changed locations.

One of our favorite promotions has returned – earn 300 same-day base points on Thursdays and get a coupon for a free Terrible’s car wash. Continuing is a similar one on Tuesdays, earning 300 for a free Brenden Theater movie ticket.  Check out details of both of these at the players club.

 

CASINO PROMOTIONS FOR VETERANS

Here are some benefits I have uncovered, but I know there are many more.  You should always ask if there is a military discount before you make a room reservation at a casino hotel or buy a ticket for a show or any attraction.    Many do give discounts on room rates, but eligibility may vary. Some may limit benefits to active duty; others may include veterans.

 

MGM

To show their gratitude for veterans, MGM Resorts has created a special “Military & Veterans Program” (MVP). The program is available to any active duty military, members of the National Guard & Reserve, retired military, prior service and spouse of eligible military personnel. MVP members. They’ve created a special MVP M life Rewards card that gives an automatic upgrade to Pearl status and the benefits that accompany that M life Rewards tier, which includes complimentary self-parking, discounts on entertainment, dining, attractions, spa treatments and rooms at all MGM properties throughout the country. This program was introduced in Vegas MGM properties a month ago, but now is active in their properties all over the country.

 Station Casinos

 Their loyalty program has Operation Thank You, which includes a “military edition” Boarding Pass players card. It’s offered to active duty, veterans, Reserve and National Guard employees, but not their spouses.   There is a long list of discounts and deals for their Military Mondays. The program has not yet been activated at the Palms casino.

Wynn Resorts

They give a 10-percent discount on all hotel rates to active members of the military and veterans. They also offer $30-off tickets to its “Le Reve” show, but this may be limited only to personnel at Nellis  Air Force base.   You need to check.

Pala Casino Spa & Resort

This California Native American casino and the Pala Band of Mission Indians have partnered with the American Indian Alaska Native Veterans Memorial Committee to educate the public about the military service of Native Americans to the United States of America and to help support the funding of a national memorial to those veterans.

 

FINAL NOTE

Because Brad and I don’t visit or play in as many different casinos as we used to, I am not able to cover as many promotions as I have in the past. And the whole subject of promotions is getting more and more complex, with casinos, especially the Vegas local ones, doing more target marketing. Just because I get a particular mailer from a casino listing a “good” promotion that does not mean it is available to everyone. My friend or neighbor may have different promotions in their mailers. Some offers may be for locals only or only for out-of-towners. I will continue to give promotion details when I am sure of their accuracy,  not necessarily grouped at the first of the month as in the past, but whenever I come across them.  I will continue to zero in on those that aren’t widely advertised or publicized, particular those that are described in our mailers from local casinos, but would perhaps be a good opportunity for out-of-town visitors if they knew about them.

In the meantime I must remind you that nothing takes the place of searching on individual casino websites. Not all casinos do a super job here, but many do and the player who scouts here will often score surprising rewards!

Posted in Casino Promotions, Discounts, Non-gambling Promo | 2 Comments

Don’t Ignore Me Because I Have Gray Hair

Posted on August 25, 2017 by queen of comps

This is an article I wrote a couple of years ago, one that would be read by casino executives.  But I am guessing that many players who read this blog may find it elicits some “amen’s.”

—————-

We may be getting gray – us oldsters, but we have considerable financial assets we have accumulated from years of wise saving and have more disposable income now that our children are leaving the nest and aren’t dependent on us for their heavy expenses. We have more time for adult entertainment choices rather than family activities which was our focus for many years. And where do so many of us want to spend our increased discretionary income and our increased leisure time?

Yes, you guessed it – in a casino!

I am getting a little tired of hearing how casinos want to spend a major part of their marketing budget to attract the “Millennials.” I’m not fond of using labels – “Baby Boomers,” “Generation X,” “Y, or “Z” – since no one agrees on the exact age range of each group.   So I will talk more using age numbers. And here is my personal take on this new casino marketing preoccupation.

The “kids” who are now in their 20’s – or will be turning legal in the next 10 years or so – will first want to come to casinos to enjoy the heady nightclub/pool /music scene. They won’t be interested in grandma’s slots. They don’t want to waste their limited bankroll on gambling at all – they prefer to spend the time at the pool ogling prospects for a romantic interlude. If they gamble at all, it will be at a table game where they can play and socialize with their friends at the same time.   With few exceptions they are in entry-level jobs and have to team up with a large group of friends in order to afford luxury hotel rates and monstrous nightclub bills on their once-a-year splurge vacation.

As these youngsters get older, they start thinking less about just having fun with no responsibilities and, becoming more mature, start considering long-term relationships and families of their own.  And then there will be the period of 20 or so years when parents are too busy or don’t have enough money for a lot of casino gambling. It may happen later for the “millennials” but it will happen just as it did for all of us gray-haired oldsters.

I’m not saying that the casino shouldn’t look ahead and consider how to update their casino offerings to appeal to a more electronic-orientated casino visitor – a successful business must always look many years into the future. However, I feel that the casino is missing the point that the gray population is still paying a lot of their bills and this will always be true. Life expectancy numbers are constantly rising, and projections show that more and more people will be able to enjoy a fuller and healthier life in a much longer retirement stage.

So if the age of a typical casino visitor will probably always be skewed upward, the casinos should probably spend at least a good chunk of their time and money to take this into consideration as an on-going policy. What will make a casino more appealing to an older customer?  Address our physical limitations.   More handicapped parking.   Easier wheelchair accessibility in all areas. Grab bars, low shelves and hooks, and higher commodes in the bathrooms. Fewer long lines – at the players club desk, at the cage, at the buffet. More food choices in the restaurants, for the older customer who often has diabetes, heart issues, or digestive problems that require a special diet.

Some casinos are already doing a good job of appealing to seniors. They are tapping down the loud music blasting from the casino speakers, even playing some “oldies” in the weekday mornings and afternoons when the younger customer is away at work. They are running senior days for the over-50 crowd, with food discounts, tournaments, and drawings – many with the promotions in the daytime since many seniors don’t want to drive at night.

Each casino will need to address the issues of a large market base of older visitors and come up with ideas that fit into their unique master plan. However, so many of the executives in marketing departments are very young, hired for their understanding of the younger potential customers, but totally unknowledgeable about the likes and dislikes of their older customers, ones who will continually be important to that all-important casino bottom line.

How can a younger casino staff cope with this challenge? They need to talk to and get to know seniors. How about more well-run focus groups, with some great benefits for those who attend, i.e., a gourmet dinner and some generous free play. This is a great double-duty technique – a way to reward the senior customers you already have – and a way to keep them – and find out how to attract more of them.

 

Posted in Casino Policy | 13 Comments

FRUGAL TIDBITS+Laughlin Trip

Posted on August 16, 2017 by queen of comps

Senior Park Passes

Hurry for this one: The lifetime senior pass to national parks and other federal lands will go up – way up – on August 28, from the present cost of $10 to $80. This pass, available for seniors 62 and older, covers entrance/day fees at federally run parks and properties all over the US. At some parks the pass will also give discounts on paid activities like tours and camping. More information can be found at the National Park Service website.

This pass can be bought at any park location covered by the pass. Closest to Las Vegas is Red Rock Canyon and Lake Mead. You can also order one by mail or online but will pay a $10 processing fee.

If you already have a pass – as Brad has had for the last 20+ years – that will be valid the rest of your life.

 

Airline Bumps

I just read this newspaper headline: U.S. airlines’ bumping rate declines to 22-year low. This is a good news-bad news situation, depending on your personal druthers.

If you always need to travel on a tight non-flexible schedule, you don’t ever want to be bumped from your airline seat for any reason. But if you love to get paid to give up your seat, then this news can be a mixed bag. On one hand, these volunteers might see higher compensation since the airlines want to avoid the bad publicity of angry passengers being involuntarily bumped. However, airlines are starting to look at the whole overbooking procedure and considering whether it is more trouble than it’s worth. In fact, Southwest no longer overbooks at all so pre-boarding volunteer bumps have mostly gone away for us since we almost always fly SW. At our ages, we need their flexibility to change reservations with no penalty.  We call it the don’t-buy-green-bananas factor!

 

Movie Discounts

Frugal moviegoers – like Brad and me – are always looking for theater bargains. Of course, “free” is always the best price – and you can score this by just a little play at the Palms on their Tuesday movie ticket promo. There are a few restrictions on these free passes: no IMAX or Sony titles and good only Monday-Friday. However, on those days, they are good for showings at all times. There is also an expiration date on the passes, but I noticed that the ones we earned recently are good until the end of 2018.  Palms also has an all-ages bargain all day on Mondays – all tickets $4 but with the same restriction as above.

South Point has changed its movie discounts. They still have $5.25 Tuesday for all ages, all day. However, the senior discount that used to be in effect every day before 4 p.m. is gone. Seniors now have a $4 admission price only on Mondays, part of the benefits of the casino’s  50+ Prime Time Mondays. This discount is good all day but you must show a players card and there is an extra charge for 3D and XD showings.

Do you have more tips for reducing your movie-going expense?  Feel free to share in the “Comments” section below.

Final Note:  We will be at Harrah’s Laughlin this weekend (Aug 17-19).  Stop and say hi if you see us there.

Posted in Casino Promotions, Laughlin, Non-gambling Activities, Palms, Senior Promotion, Slot Clubs, South Point Casino | 5 Comments

INTERESTING READS

Posted on August 10, 2017 by queen of comps
  1. Stations Casinos reveals new remodeling plans for Palace Station and the Palms.

2. Think the Vegas Strip is too expensive? Here are cheap fun ideas for every casino on the Strip, some of which many people are not aware.

3.  Fascinating story about who really cashes in on all those big World Series of Poker winnings, and they often are not the big names from the headlines.

4.  Will machines eventually take over many casino jobs? This article has the surprising answer.

5.  And finally – have you ever lost so much of your money gambling that you felt the casino has stripped you down to almost nothing. Well, here is a story about one Vegas visitor who must have felt that way and decided to complete the job.

Quote of the Day

If you are successful, it is because somewhere, sometime, someone gave you a life or an idea that started you in the right direction. Remember also that you are indebted to life until you help some less fortunate person, just as you were helped.

— Melinda Gates, philanthropist

 

Posted in Interesting Reads | 1 Comment

AUGUST CASINO PROMOTION NEWS

Posted on August 3, 2017 by queen of comps

This month I have mixed in some side information about various Vegas casinos, especially in the food area. After all, even skilled gamblers have to stop and eat while they are chasing promotions!

ELLIS ISLAND

Ellis Island going upscale! Who would have predicted this! Construction has begun on a ten-million dining and entertainment venue in front of the present casino, fittingly to be called The Front Yard. Go to their Facebook page to see a drawing of this classy-looking addition. Upgrades are also happening next door at the world’s largest Super 8, now a part of the newly-named business of Ellis Island Hotel, Casino, and Brewery.

Now, it they could just do something to mitigate the heavy smoke in their casino.

 

TUSCANY

The 20% senior discount moves to the Gift Shop for the whole month of August.

 

PALMS

Watch for machines to disappear or be moved around as they continue with major remodeling.

The Lucky Penny coffee shop is now open. I am going to have to visit there a few more times to see if the opening glitches have been corrected and I can make a positive review. And that might take a while since I will have to do some major persuasion to get Brad back there. He does not like a menu of what he calls “weird food combinations.”

Fortunately the Social Table has opened in the space left when Hooters closed – and Brad really likes their casual sports-bar menu: “No weird stuff here, just simple basic food I like.”

And continue speaking of weird, the now-closed buffet will open at the end of the year, with the name Haute Plates. No, Brad, that is not called “hot” plates. I knew what the word “haute” meant – high-class or fancy – although we often referred to its use as hoity-toity – but it was not in my spoken vocabulary. So here is dictionary help in pronunciation for Brad and all of us that are not impressed by people or things who put on airs:

Haute – ōt/ – adjective

(“h” is silent) – so pronounced like the word “oat”

Brad has already figured this new buffet will probably be “weird” – “you feed your horse oats.”   Hopefully he will at least try it once before he condemns.  I am hoping it will be wonderful!

 

HARD ROCK

Do you love Hard Rock collectibles? Then you might want to check out their August promotion to earn a “2017 Collector’s Edition” hoodie. Details here.

 

CET

Here are some of the details of the CZR Great Gift Wrap Up (GGWU) promotion, earning points all year for holiday shopping.  Shopping dates:

Paris | Thursday, November 2 – Monday, November 6, 2017

Caesars Palace | Wednesday, November 29 – Sunday, December 3, 2017

You can earn shopping points at any of the Las Vegas properties plus at Harrah’s Resort Southern California, Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino and Resort, Harrah’s Casino Hotel Reno, Harrah’s Laughlin, and both of the Tahoe casinos.  Complete details here.

I continue to strongly recommend to CZR players the resources by Darryl D. McEwen, publisher of the Seven Stars Insider. So much information at this site for players at all levels. Other helpful information can be found in his Mr. AC Casino column in the Atlantic City Weekly and his travel articles at TravelZork.com.

 

SLS Las Vegas (former the Sahara)

Club52 has replaced The CODE players club. Mark’s Las Vegas gives all the details.

And there are rumors that the new owners may change the name of this casino, perhaps even reverting it back to its original name, the Sahara.

 

BOYD PROPERTIES (The Orleans, Gold Coast, Suncoast, Sam’s Town, California, Fremont, and Main Street Station)

I’m trying not to be frustrated with their usual let’s-confuse-the-heck-out-of-our-players monthly mailers. A quick check with other players show the frustration is wide-spread. For example, many (all?) of the mailers have these words on the cover: “Look inside for your exclusive August Offers! Valid at 7 properties.”  But when you go to the first inside page which contains a calendar-like list of promotions, there is a particular casino listed at the bottom, which in our case is our home casino, the Gold Coast. Other people’s mailers have that same 7-property note on the front cover, but a different list of promotions for their different home casino. Throughout the mailer there are pages describing various promotions, some noting a specific casino, some with no casino labeling at all so perhaps inferring it is company-wide. Long and short, it is almost impossible to know exactly what promotions are where and when.

This is not a problem limited to Boyd properties, sad to say. Other multiple-property companies seem to have difficulty with making a mailing clear on the details of a promotion. CZR and Stations also constantly frustrate me since I can’t help you readers with information if I can’t figure things out first myself. I will continue to do the best I can, but you will have to always read the fine print yourself, and sometimes the only way is to actually be in a casino and double-check details in person.

Posted in Casino Promotions, Food Review, Non-gambling Activities, Slot Clubs | 5 Comments