The short answer to your first question is, anywhere between 24 hours and infinity.
The longer answer is that there's no set time frame; it depends on numerous factors. If a great question comes in that's really timely, for example if it's related to a current news story, it might get answered the very next day (that's happened on rare occasions and the question originally previewed for the following day got bumped down the list). More commonly, a topical question will be answered within a matter of days, like the recent one about TSA rules for carry-on items or the one about the effects of the anti-smoking legislation that just passed, both of which needed to be addressed quickly.
We received a question last January from a New Zealand family about to step on the plane and wanted to know what to pack clothes-wise to handle both indoor and outdoor temperatures at that time of the year. Sometimes such personal questions don't make it, but this one was of wide enough interest that we decided to answer it. And because the questioner had been so friendly and polite, we made sure we answered it in time for it to be of use to them. (There's tip number one: Being rude or aggressive will certainly not help you get your question answered, and neither will bombarding us with the same question over and over again. All QoD submissions come to the same mailbox and are read and sifted by the same person, who confirms that politeness does count.)
Sometimes we wait to gauge the interest level in a topic and weigh that up against how labor-intensive it will be to research: The recent QoD on Thanksgiving specials, for example, took a lot of work to answer, but we got so many questions that we deemed it worth the effort. When we first tried to address it, many venues hadn’t finalized their plans, but as the holiday approached, more casinos were forthcoming with their menus and prices and it became a lot more answerable.
Some questions are kept on a back burner for months or even years until we get around to answering them. The recent one on pawnbrokers is a case in point: We'd received that question in various shapes and forms several times since QoD started up and we thought it was worth addressing, but we knew that to answer it well was going to require a lot of leg work. So we sat on it until our research department had a little time on their hands, and then sent them out on an epic scouting mission that took up two or three days of two people's time. (And there's another key tip for getting your question answered: Remember that all this information is provided daily, for free, to our readers. However, it costs a lot of HP manpower, which is not free, to answer your questions. There's no harm in submitting a question that's obviously going to take a lot of research to answer, if you think that it might have enough general appeal, but if you do, don't expect it to be answered immediately -- it might take a year or more until we can devote ourselves to it properly.)
Another tip is to check the archives before you submit. Virtually every day we receive at least one question that we've already answered. If we have time, we'll direct the sender to the archived answer, but we don't always have the time. If your question seems like a good one and it's been ignored, that might well be the reason why. A qualifier to this is if it's something that's been answered in the past, but may have since changed, it might get revisited more comprehensively than just adding an "Update" to the old answer. An example is the QoD about winter pool times and temperatures that ran recently. We'd answered a similar question this time last year, but since then some new properties had opened and others had either finished or commenced construction/maintenance work that affected our previous findings, so we investigated again and found that things had indeed changed.
Aside from the above, our top tips on getting a question answered include:
a) Consider whether the answer has appeal to considerably more readers than yourself. That doesn't mean it can't be somewhat "niche" -- nudism, afternoon tea, where to eat escargots, gay-friendly shows, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, recipes for chocolate soufflé, Passover seders, dealers who know American Sign Language, and the best golf courses are just a small sample of the specialized topics we did think were worth tackling. Add to this our penchant for the obscure and esoteric and you might just get lucky and pique our interest. But if your question concerns something that's really specific to you and you alone, like a suspected allergy to the shampoo in your room or the value of a not-so-collectible chip you just found in an old pair of pants, it's unlikely to make it. Unless we're in the mood to answer a question about allergies or cheap chips...
b) Is it something that we cover elsewhere on our site? It's come to our notice that a lot of people who log on to QoD each day (a big thanks to all of you!) aren't aware of all the other great resources available on our site -- for free, to all. Some areas are members-only, but much of the site is open and there's a wealth of information that a lot of you seem to be unaware of. If you want to know about WiFi access, or free shuttles, or buffet prices, or the schedule for the Bellagio fountain show, or what shows and events will be performing during your trip, or where to pick your own fruit in Las Vegas, or how to avoid visiting during a huge convention, or whether there will be any slot tournaments while you're here, or what restaurants your hotel has, or how to keep your kids entertained, or which casinos still have keno lounges, we have it all! Just investigate the various links under "Vegas Info" and "Gambling Info" on our home page and you might be amazed at what you find. Note: If your question will generate the kind of good information that will have a valuable afterlife elsewhere on our site, that will also be a check mark in its favor.
c) Can it be answered succinctly? We do answer a lot of long and involved questions, but sometimes it's great to be able to address a topic adequately in a paragraph or two, without having to conduct an epic survey or consult the encyclopedia.
d) Will it be fun for us to write about? It's tough turning out interesting text every day and keeping it fresh, so subjects that let us get a little creative stand a good chance of getting answered.
e) Is it relevant to Las Vegas visitors and/or gamblers in general? If not, it's highly unlikely that we'll answer it. And if you're just being lazy, that won't cut it either: QoDs about what the phone number is for a local dry cleaning company or what the schedule is for a specific bus route will not be addressed. Use the phone book or the Internet, just like we would if we did answer it.
If you've sent in a question and it conforms to the above guidelines, our best advice is to be patient and keep checking in each day. Your question may well come to the top of the pile eventually (we never throw out a good one) and you'll get to read a whole lot of interesting tidbits generated by other people's questions while you're waiting.
Finally, a big thank you to all of our loyal readers and to those who submit all the great questions we receive, without which there would be no Question of the Day. Please don't be offended if yours doesn't make it, or not in a timely fashion -- we literally receive thousands a year, of which only 365 can be answered. But there's always next year...
