When Was the Last Time the Price of LVA Was Raised?

Happy New Year, QoD and LVA! The wife and I are wondering how many years the Las Vegas Advisor newsletter has been published. We've been subscribers since March 1991 when it was six pages, and it seemed pretty well established already. But how much further back from there does it go? Also, when was the last time the price was raised? We can't remember if it ever has been.

The first edition of the first volume of the Las Vegas Advisor was published in February 1983, so next month will mark the Las Vegas Advisor's 38th anniversary.

Anthony Curtis points out, however, that the earliest issues of LVA were experimental. Those issues, published semi-monthly, were typewritten and copied on a Xerox. That version was published for only about a year, as at that time Anthony was most involved in gambling professionally, so he put the idea on the shelf.

Still, the original LVA had built a core readership of a few hundred who continued to lobby for its return. After almost two years, Anthony decided to produce an interim version of LVA called Las Vegas Advisor Recommendations. The first issue of Las Vegas Advisor Recommendations was published as a one-page (double-sided) sheet in December 1986. On a research trip to Las Vegas for his Nevada guidebook, Deke Castleman saw and bought the June 1987 issue at the Gambler's Book Club ($5) and contacted Anthony for the first time a few weeks later.

Recommendations was also published semi-monthly and did not accept subscriptions until September 1988, when it became four pages and went to a monthly schedule. In July 1990, coinciding with the first six-page issue, it reverted for good to Las Vegas Advisor.

Anthony explains the success of the newsletter as follows: "When I came to Las Vegas, there was no such informational source, which is why I decided to create one. In the beginning, LVA was so good because I was in the casinos every day, so the information was fresh and accurate. Later, the strength came from all that I'd learned from being a player, while the freshness and accuracy were maintained by reports from our growing number of subscribers and the arrival of the Internet. Bringing on the coupons didn't hurt."

As far as the last time the subscription price was raised, are you sitting down? Are you hanging onto your hats? Are you patting your wallets? It went from $30 to $50 in March 1992 (when Deke Castleman joined the staff and the page count of the newsletter was increased from 6 to 12). What else can you name that hasn't gone up in price for the past nearly 30 years? (And keep in mind that the Member Rewards Book, originally known as the Pocketbook of Values, that comes with a membership has about tripled in size during that time.)

In fact, the price of a subscription and the POV has gone down since then; we dropped the price of an online-only membership to $37 in February 2000. Actually, perhaps Bargain City's best bargain of all is the $37 online membership to the Advisor, which comes with the coupon book. If we do say so ourselves.

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Comments

Bobby White Dec-28-2020

Thanks

Thanks.

thebeachbum Dec-28-2020

Best Vegas Money

My subscription is the best Vegas money I spend, period.  Always pays be back.  Can't say that about everything in Vegas.

Kathy Dec-28-2020

Appreciated

The best Vegas bargain..Thanks!

David Dec-28-2020

Why I didn't renew ...

I like the LVA but not enough to continue my subscription (and the gift subscription for my father). Why did I not renew? Because I've always felt that LVA goes after the low-hanging fruit, i.e., locals casinos and downtown. It is a lot harder to find the great values on the Strip, and that is where we spend our time when we are in Las Vegas. If LVA had more content (including discounts) focused on the major Strip properties then I'd probably re-subscribe.

Kenneth Mytinger Dec-28-2020

Ken

Same as Deke (maybe a little earlier), I found out about it from GBC.  I was still in CA.  Howard Schwartz would send out an occasional newsletter, mainly about new books, but he also included little tidbits of other stuff.  And in one issue, he was raving about a new publication, later to be known as LVA.

O2bnVegas Dec-28-2020

Still have an early one

BFF and I were playing slots in the Sands around 1988 or'89 when she found one of the earlies laying around. It promised (contained?) a coupon or two, thus our immediate interest!  Being really frugal back then we decided to share the cost of a subscription. I have at least one of those early issues...somewhere.

Candy

Kevin Lewis Dec-28-2020

It's all about the coupons

Early in LVA's life, it was about information--you couldn't find the stuff in the newsletter anywhere else, before the internet was really a thing and people exchanged information written on stone tablets. Now, the newsletter isn't as useful, but the coupons almost always have a real, usable cash value of over $200. So, it's a no-brainer.

Personally, I use the coupon book as a metric to decide whether to patronize a casino. I know Anthony has asked every Vegas casino whether they want to be in it. I figure if they don't, they're not interested in offering value to the customer and they're not worth visiting (notably, almost no Strip joints have ever participated). Conversely, if there's a valuable coupon or two in there, that signals that they want your business. For example, I had never set foot in Emerald Island prior to the inclusion of two very good coupons, and now, it's one of my favorite casinos. That casino goes out of its way to offer good games, food, and promos.

melman Dec-28-2020

Why no more end-of-year discount?

Our big trip to LV is usually (excepting 2020) between Christmas and New Year's.  At which time some of the coupons have already expired, and of course the others will expire within days.  For several years, we used to stop at the LVA office and pick up coupon books which had been marked down to maybe $20 (I forget the exact amount but they were marked down).  And we'd also leave with armloads of books and other LVA stuff.  But you stopped offering the discount (supposedly, AC said that it was just a gimmick after the Great Recession, and the recession was over), so we stopped coming in altogether.  Your loss.

Dave in Seattle. Dec-28-2020

POV

Without the coupon book, I wouldn't have as much fun in 'Vegas, Anthony!

BGIZMO68 Dec-28-2020

Well worth it

We were told about LVA by a friend on our first visit in 2006 and ten trips later it is a major reason we keep coming back. The coupon runs are like an adventure for us and we can keep up with the latest news of whats happening in the newsletter and QOD. With all thats included with a membership and considering we get about $150 back in coupon value, it is well worth $37.

Glenn Leonberger Dec-28-2020

Info & Deals ... What Could Be Better?

I first heard of LVA when Anthony was on a Travel Network show many years ago and I immediately went online to sign up.  Back then I was a 2-3 times per year Vegas visitor and the coupons along with the deals referenced easily covered my membership.  

I only get there once every few years now but still renew every year for several reasons:
•	Between the monthly newsletters & the daily / weekly news updates, LVA provides more info on what’s happening in Vegas than any other single source I’ve found.  Everything from openings to gambling, food and shows is covered and it’s all done well with the perfect balance of info provided in a relatively concise format.
•	When I do go to Vegas I not only save money but I also learn about places to try that I never would have heard of without LVA.  Two examples include the Hash House and Ellis Island’s steak dinner (which is now a “must do” on every trip - sometimes more than once).
•	It’s been such a great tool for me over the years that I want t

Gene Brown Dec-28-2020

Best Investment in Vegas

I agree with “thebeachbum”.  I usually rent a car when in Vegas. The coupons give me a reason explore the Valley. One doesn’t know Vegas by just staying on the Strip. The coupons when used throughout the city is an investment that pays off. I would not be caught in Vegas without one. Period!

Adam Cohen Dec-28-2020

Seeing the original publications

As other have said at first it was the information then the information and the POV. While the POV is key I still love the info on this site and come here almost every day.  It might be fun if you had the first publications to put them up somewhere. I bet some of us older folk would like reading them.

Sam Glantzow Dec-29-2020

the best

Can't count the number of suggestions I've used over the years! And the qpon book is great too: appreciate your efforts to make the meals 50% for us single travellers. Looking forward to using the buffet ones again; hopefully in '21!

David Sabo Dec-29-2020

Four Queens funky tokens

I miss the coupon for the Four Queens funky tokens.  My girlfriend and I used to  compete against each other to see who ended up with the most cash. If I remember right the games that took the funky tokens had an extra white token acceptor attached to it. Every year there was a fairly large side wager as to whom would come out on top. Whoever won had bragging rights for a whole year. I remember being crushed when the Four Queens discontinued the funky tokens.  Great memories.

Question of the Day - 28 December 2020

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