Question of the Day - 25 February 2021

The problem for me is I know what Vegas was like when it was "Bargain City"; if you knew what you were doing and exerted a minimum amount of effort, you could at the very least visit, stay, and eat for free; a little more effort, and you could even make money. I lived in Vegas for eight straight years and never had to hold a "legitimate" job. Then, for more than a decade afterward, it was still possible for me to visit and enjoy myself on the cheap--even as I saw it all slowly erode away.

What bugs me is--were the casinos making money BEFORE resort fees, 6:5 blackjack, and paid parking? Were they making money WITH good games, cheap food, easy comps, low room rates, and good customer service? When the couple with $500 to spend were treated like valued customers rather than pocket lint, like they are today? Of course they did! Lots of it!

So I don't buy the Stations corporate crap that says the only way they can survive is to turn into Gouge, Inc. Screw 'em with extreme prejudice!

to add to the list: B Connected's "Young at Heart" used to have some of the best deals for the over-50 crowd [free buffet, etc] once/week. now it's turrible.

There is only one Las Vegas, and nowhere else is there the concentration of gambling opportunities that Vegas presents.  However, the corporations seem oblivious to the fact that there are over six hundred casinos in the country, mostly regional and mostly tribally owned.In fact a new casino is underway in Kings Mountain, NC for the South Carolina tribe of the Catawba in spite of several roadblocks attempted by the Eastern Band of the Cherokee.  Since the corporations manage most of these casinos, they should be well aware that people don't have to come to Las Vegas to gamble any more; they come for an experience.  Sadly the days of the experience are dwindling, and corporate management seems to have no interest in sustaining the best parts of Vegas.

Less bang for your buck now - strike one.
More aggressively rude and foolish people and fewer places with good service - strike two.
We'll see what Vegas is like post-covid. 
Meanwhile, I can satisfy my gambling jones 2.5 hours drive from home. . .and they comp the room with no resort fee.

I haven't stepped in a casino since Super Bowl Sunday 2020 and that was Horseshoe Hammond. Last trip to Vegas was December 2019. I never thought I'd be away from gambling this long. I'm surviving. I stay and play at Caesars properties when I go to Vegas. They know I always select Free Slot Play for my offer. I'm now being bombarded with offers of GOOD free slot play, or flights to other areas of the country (which I've never done). What I'm reading doesn't entice me into going back once COVID is more in control (I'm getting my second dose of the vaccine today. Naysayers need not comment.) However, knowing me I will go back, hopefully later this year. If, as Jean Scott says, things don't get better for the gamblers, that casinos are 'loathe to undo what they've done', it could be my last time. I've learned I can survive without gambling. I hope the casinos are at least listening. (I know better than that.)

My wife and I don't do the Station casinos.  We spent our previous times in Vegas going to the Tuscany or the Orleans, and will upon our return there this summer.  Bummed that the Orleans buffet is gone.....we liked it a lot, but we have plenty of comps at the Tuscany to eat at Marilyn's. About the closest we get to Stations casinos, is when we head over to the Plaza to eat at Hash House A Go Go. 

Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. Customer service sucks everywhere. I think I'll stick to the Indian casinos for now. However, I love Vegas.

As much as I hate to see what is going on, I can understand it.  The article pointed out how the casinos are making more revenue per head.  If you owned a casino and could get away with 6/5, triple zero, and 8/5 JoB VP, you would do it.  The casino corps will blame the need to enhance profits for the shareholders, anyway,

One interesting change is in Reno.  "The Row" and Grand Sierra in Reno have been sending excellent offers.  Reno is more expensive to travel to, and in general not as exciting as LV, but it seems that there is a desire from the Reno casinos to capitalize on what is going on.  Good odds and great customer service.  Bully for them!

got my shots and coming back soon, so I'll see what I think soon. I've loved coming to Vegas for 30 years, but I live an hour or 2 from several nice casinos so options are there. 

I usually stay silent on stuff. I visited vegas for 13 years and have lived here for the past 7. If I didn't live here....I would never visit NOW vegas lost it's luster for me when they started charging for every tiny little thing. I thought the other day I'd like to take a stay-cation. Get a room and see the touristy stuff I stopped going to for a long time now....a 21 dollar room was actually 65 dollars after resort fee and over 70 dollars after taxes, They gouge gouge gouge and don't care who they put off. They have proven time and time again they don't want our business. Let them eat cake!

My husband and I used to love the Station Casinos and stayed often when we visited Las Vegas. They took us and our relationship for granted, assuming that the little offers would be enough to keep us coming back. We are not locals but know that off strip casinos offer better pay Video Poker. Once we started playing VP our offers dried up. We never visit or gamble there anymore. Last time we were in one of their casinos was 2018 for a BOGO breakfast buffet and we didn't gamble. I hope that their local crowd will sustain them because this visitor won't be returning unless things change and it appears that it won't be. Nuf said!

EDSO: Main Street Station is owned by Boyd so you're still far far away from a station owned property ;-)

We drive wherever we go, which means OK and NM casinos get us on the way. We have relatives in Vegas and SoCal, so visit trips will include Vegas, but instead of a destination, it will be a semi-passthru, like the other places that are not gambler-friendly. The tribal casinos along the way may not have the best odds, but they appreciate your patronage. I hope Laughlin doesn't follow suit, because we enjoy stopping there instead of Vegas either on the way out or back. And as Boomer said, we don't need to go far and we get comped rooms, free play and dining credits. 

We were in Vegas in July; shared a suite with some relatives at a non-gaming property; and played some off-strip poker. Since then we've been comped in Laughlin twice, including New Years' Eve with a great view of the fireworks. Probably going back there in March after the second COVID shot.
Meanwhile back at the ranch, our local sports-bar poker league is now running seven days a week, and the local casinos are getting ready to ramp up a little more, including one less than ten miles from the house.
No plans to revisit Vegas at the moment; but we do have an off-strip offer, not exactly outrageous even with the resort fee. Plus a couple downtown which I mention only for the sake of completeness.
As for the Stations, they have to run their business as they see fit. I stayed at Palace Station years ago and was underwhelmed. And even longer ago we got comped to a nice Blackjack tournament at Sunset Station. Wouldn't mind doing that again, but I don't think it's very likely.
Cheers.

I just opted out of Caesars e-mails,  I won't be going back there or any other large chain, including Station.  I last went to a Caesars property about 2 years ago...to cash in my comps at the gift shop.  Will be opting out of all the other large casino chain e-mails I get  No sense in wasting my time deleting, or them "burning electrons" to send them to me.

Got my Shots and going back to Las Vegas in April and staying downtown,  Much better odds, much friendlier staff, (at least it was before the pandemic)and free parking for guests.

Also going to Shreveport more.  3 hours from home and I am appreciated there.  

May try Reno in the fall.  There is always a "Plan B" when it comes to gambling.

Great info, it help us to continue our wonderful trips to Vegas by giving us info on how to make a fun trip also economic .Again thanks.

I took the family to Disney World every 2 years until the admission and hotel prices skyrocketed.  One year we went to Hawaii amd I realized it was slightly less expensive.   In future years I gave the family a choice and now family vacations are in Maui.

Point is, you can price yourself out of the market. 

I've been getting my gambling fix here in IL on the newly legalized sports betting.   And I'm noticing I'm making money at it . :)

thanks Station - you're making it that much simpler as to who to visit, and who not to.

You hit it right in the head!!, greed is the name of the game, and in the long run it's going to bite them where it hurts the most. Customer service decline is not the result of less emplyees, it's the result of manegament not caring any more, they are rellying on the heavy gambler, and they too will thin out, Vegas is dependent on every tipe of tourist, the big spender, the gammbler, the frugal tourist, the family, the young crowd, and limiting your customers to just one group limits you, it will eventualy cripple the industry, yes, in the short term it might work, just like the pool party scene, but it will all dye down eventualy, and if you don't have a broad base, and a stable base ( the regular tourist, the family tourist, the frugal tourist), it will all fall eventualy. You need that base, and you need to catter to them also, not just the big gambler or the whale.A piramid gets it's strenght based on that broad base, remember.

We started going to Las Vegas in the late eighties. We took our last trip in late June 2020. With the total lack of any non-gaming activities or bargain eating we won't be back. Will we miss it? NO!! Las Vegas has changed so much that it isn't even recognizable as the city we first started visiting. We've been comped rooms and a couple of meals or more for all but the first couple of visits. We still have free rooms with no resort fee at Green Valley Ranch and Palace Station. We have wonderful memories of the time we spent going to Las Vegas, but have no desire to continue visiting. We have the Aquarius in Laughlin 30 minutes away if we feel the need to gamble. Our host there is the best we've ever had anywhere. OK I lied. We will continue to go to Henderson to shop at Winco and Total Wine & More. Unless they too start charging for parking.

Was it an intentional boycott of LVA, in particular?  What teed them off, if anything?  Did they swear off of coupons altogether, other publications or programs?  So sorry for this turn of events, as if the year hasn't been tough enough on everyone.

Candy

Station isn't giving anything to anyone anymore. That was the gist of their stance. I don't think it's remotely optimal for them.

What I wonder is what would happen if a casino block went the other direction would they turn a profit. Perhaps with a bigger base they will. Then the other casinos have to react.  But I will not hold my breath.

higher table limits,fewer comps for everything. And this is before the convention business is back. Once that happens it will probably get worse.  

For the past three winters (before this one - COVID), I spent three months in Las Vegas, mainly to escape the cold, snowy winters here.  I could have chosen any warm location, many milder than Las Vegas. But Las Vegas has been one of my very favorite places for decades.  The chance to play poker and video poker daily in a variety of venues tipped the scales solidly in favor of Sin City. 

When Boyd stopped comping my VP play, I switched all of my play to Stations.  I continued to play a poker tournament or two weekly at the Orleans, but if I busted out early, I would actually leave the Orleans and go to a Stations casino for further play. 

Now that Stations has followed Boyd’s lead, I will spend my winters elsewhere. I will come to Las Vegas once a year for Barge and to visit my local friends, but will limit my play to Barge tournaments and ring games.  

Goodbye, Las Vegas. I will miss (the old) you.  

I have the San Manuel Indian casino 7 miles from my home. Morango casino about 40 miles. For years people in Vegas which is 196 miles asked why I made the drive to gamble here. The answer was simple. Comps, drinks, better/cheaper meals. I have been coming to Vegas since 1972 and it was great! How many times have you heard; “Vegas was better when the mob was here”! We’ll, it was! Even after and through the 90’s! While Vegas keeps building and keeps squeezing their customers for every penny with their resort fees, parking fees, less player friendly games etc, they are making these hundreds of Indian casinos look better and better! PLUS, the San Manuel casino has donated millions and I mean millions to local cities around San Bernardino. I was just at Red Rock hotel casino. This used to be a true 5 star resort. Now, they allow local foul mouth drinking locals slip into an employee unlocked gate to use the pool! Casino was smokey, the hotel halls were 90 degrees. Vegas is in trouble!!!