Question of the Day - 22 March 2017

We try to answer as many questions as we can, of course, but on average we receive six questions a day -- sometimes as few as one or two and sometimes as many as a dozen. For the same reason, there's just not enough time to respond to every question that's submitted. That said, we do try to respond to as many as we can, to which we're sure that any number of QoDers can attest.

(For the record, we did respond personally to this question.)

In general, here's how QoD tends to work.

Some topics are of wide enough interest that we get a lot of questions about them, for example, parking and resort fees, the closing of DuPar's at the Golden Gate, and using casino chips as tips. Now that the new website is up and the archives are open, it'll be much easier to point everyone, not just members, at recent answers to submitted questions.

Also, now that QoD is wide open, everyone can check the archive before submitting questions. Virtually every day we receive at least one question that we've already answered, sometimes recently. If we have time, we'll direct the sender to the archived answer, but again, we don't always. If your question seems like a good one and it's been ignored, that might be the reason why.

The time frame in which a question is answered 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 week or two.

Sometimes we wait to gauge the interest level in a topic. Other times we have to weigh how labor-intensive it will be to research. Though sometimes it might seem like we can simply reel off everything there is to know or say about Vegas and gambling, it often takes a lot of perseverance to get the answers we're looking for.

We might sit on a question until our research staff has a little time on their hands, then put them on a big topic, for example the recent one on pet-friendly hotels.

Aside from the above, here are our top tips on getting a question answered.

Consider whether the answer has appeal to 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've tackled.

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.

We also really like questions inspired by previous QoDs. They keep the conversation going.

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 aren't aware of all the other great resources available LVA.com -- for free to all. And if your question will generate the kind of good information that will have a valuable afterlife elsewhere on our site, for example the FAQ, it will also be a check mark in its favor.

If you haven't looked at the FAQ yet, do! Ninety-nine percent of the FAQ came into LVA via QoD FYI BTW LOL.

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 search to page 18 on Google.

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.

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.

All QoD submissions come to the same mailbox and are read and sifted by the same person, who confirms that politeness counts.

Remember that all this information is provided daily, for free, to our readers. However, it requires a lot of HP manpower, which isn't free, obviously, to answer your questions.

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 if takes awhile for the answer to show up.