Finding a home

I am not completely sure this is the right place to post, but it will probably result in a trip report so I'll start here.

I've been to Vegas a couple times now, and am coming back for another trip in about 3 weeks. I've stayed at Caesars (Didn't Love, except the pool I guess) Palazzo (Amazing as a resort but didn't gamble nearly at all there) and now TI. I played a lot there the first time I was in town and will probably do more this trip.

So here is the question. If I spend about $3000 in a given 4 day weekend trip, am I better off spreading my money around and looking for the better energy/tables around the strip, or would I be wise to start zeroing in on a home of sorts? Lets say I'm going to play anywhere from $10-50 a hand in blackjack depending on how I'm doing for at least 4 hours a day, and I will mix a little craps and VP in. My take is that most of the casinos, including probably TI aren't going to take notice. I know The D or the Plaza would probably comp me a nice room, for 4 hours of $25/hand and some varied craps action, but my wife and I don't really want to be downtown for a weekend when the shows/activities/restaurants we want to partake in are all on the strip. If I'm shooting for staying in a basic room someplace like Mirage, Paris, or maybe even Cromwell on a good rate, does it make more sense to just pay for the room and gamble where I want? Or am I underselling what $2500 in bankroll somewhere at a middling strip property would get me? Assume I'm going to spend the money on hotel/food/gambling/shows no matter what...I'm absolutely not asking if I should gamble more for comps. Edit: Assume I would travel from Chicago once a year.

Interesting, and a bit wordy question razmaspaz =P. In essence, you're trying to figure out how to get reliable free rooms and/or other comps at X property given your bankroll and current level of play?

For your level I think you should give Caesars properties a go... Such as Harrah's, Cromwell, and Paris. If you're willing to play $10-$50 then I'd suggest hitting the $25 tables for your sessions (I'm assuming you're not a counter nor an AP). The $25 tables should pretty much guarantee free rooms WHENEVER you want to go. Some of the other high end properties (such as Venetian, actual Caesars, Aria, Cosmo, etc) the $25 tables are like their $10 tables and might get you "discounted" rooms. I haven't paid for a hotel room (or resort fee's) to Vegas for years. I've also received 10's of thousands of dollars in comps over the last couple years alone. Yes, I might play a bit higher level than you "on some things" but you should definitely be able to accomplish free rooms whenever you want with playing at the $25 tables.

Next, do you travel with a wife, gf, etc? When booking you can give both your players cards and it will definitely up your chances of getting a room for free, and more than 3 nights too if you need (since most of their promo's are 3 nights only). This is compounded if you're both a 'higher level' card status (see next).

Also, you should look in to getting Diamond with them. The Expected Loss in running your Diamond play through on 9-5 VP is only about $300. Yes, you could swing a bit more up or down, but your expected loss is $300. I've found that for Diamond and up the perks are VERY worth it, in my opinion. $100 diamond dinner (the year you earn Diamond and the next year while you're diamond), 2 free show tickets every month (or 4 if you go on a trip month end/beginning), Diamond lounges for snacks/dinner (they've really been putting out okay meals for dinner lately - I just went last weekend), and Diamond definitely helps the look and feel for getting free rooms (NO resort fee's).

All said and done, for 2 years of this (if you earn Diamond this January you get it the rest of this year and then ALL of next year)... I think the value you get out of it is tremendous... especially if you want to find a reliable "home" on the strip and go to Vegas once or more per year.

I also would highly recommend Caesar properties, EXCEPT Caesars itself, on your bankroll. Paris is better than Caesars, Harrah's is ok. Bally or Flamingo are ok if you upgrade your room (they might comp that upgrade, but it won't be much more). You should get free rooms on all of those for that level play. Planet Hollywood I really can't say as I haven't stayed there. Cromwell is only rarely available as comps at your level, but if offered, I'd take it.

Caesars itself has ok shopping, but otherwise old and overpriced, overhyped by the company. Small garish rooms. Long hike from parking. Snotty dealers, overpriced minimums.

CET (the parent company ) is very generous with room comps. I would pick one of their properties, book it through their website (not orbitz/kayak/etc) and do all your gambling at their properties (they have about 7 on the strip, you can move between them) for 1 trip. Then before checkout, ask at the front desk to have your play evaluated. I'm guessing they'll take any points (called reward credits) you've earned that trip, and comp the rest of the room charges. Obviously I don't know, but it's worth asking.

Then in a couple months, they'll start sending you mail with free room offers. You'll want to sign up at their totalrewards.com website and register your player number. And all your offers will be there, including some they don't mail you about.

You'll want to give them some business at least once a year or you'll get dropped from their mailing list. And if you have a reward credit balance, you'll want to earn 1 cred or more within 6 months to keep those credits so you can use them on your next trip. The website gives you a lot of ways to do it.

For that matter, they have a couple properties near Chicago. Go there once or twice for a nice dinner, gamble a little, that will keep building your bank.

Quote: Romes

Interesting, and a bit wordy question razmaspaz =P. In essence, you're trying to figure out how to get reliable free rooms and/or other comps at X property given your bankroll and current level of play?

Thank you, and yes, that's pretty much it, with a few exceptions about where I'm willing to stay. I'm sure I could get myself a room at Hooters without issue, but that doesn't make for a very nice romantic getaway.

Quote: Romes

Next, do you travel with a wife, gf, etc?

Yeah my wife and I usually play on the same card, which might be a mistake.

Quote: Romes

Also, you should look in to getting Diamond with them.

I'm assuming 300 in expected loss would take me 3-4 hours which I could do sitting watching a game at any of CETs many bars.

Thanks again.

I agree with Romes & Babs above about CET properties. I also agree that you would want to take a look at achieving Diamond Tier status with them. The savings for parking and resort fees alone would be in the hundreds for a typical Vegas trip.

Quote: razmaspaz

I'm assuming 300 in expected loss would take me 3-4 hours which I could do sitting watching a game at any of CETs many bars.

To do Diamond in a Day, you'd have to run $50,000 through the machines ($50,000 VP coin-in = 5,000 Tier Credits + 10,000 TC daily bonus = 15,000 TC's = Diamond). If you assume a $1 game and 500* hands per hour, that will take 20 hrs. 10 hrs for a $2 game, and 4 hrs with a $5 game.



You are more likely to end up nearer to expectation with the $1 game, but it will take all day. Note that you can break the $50k up into two $25,000 days and realize the same benefit. Also realize that "expected loss" is based on perfect VP play.

BTW, $300 seems low for 9-5 JoB ($50,000 x 1.55% = $775), unless I am missing something, which I probably am. They sometimes offer a 50% TC bonus promotion where you can get Diamond playing only about $40,000 over 3 days.

Quote: Joeman

I agree with Romes & Babs above about CET properties. I also agree that you would want to take a look at achieving Diamond Tier status with them. The savings for parking and resort fees alone would be in the hundreds for a typical Vegas trip.

That seems overstated. Even at $50/day in resort fees the total for a 3 night stay is $150. And I thought parking was still at least free for guests. Not that I rent a car in Vegas.

I'll take a look at the diamond benefits, but 8 hours of VP might be a bit much.

Quote: razmaspaz

That seems overstated.

Probably my fault for using the word 'typical.' I guess my 'typical' trip is lengthier than yours! :)

Quote:

And I thought parking was still at least free for guests.

I'm not sure this will be the case in a few months. But, like you said, if you don't have a car, it doesn't really matter.

Quote: Joeman

I'm not sure this will be the case in a few months. But, like you said, if you don't have a car, it doesn't really matter.

Thanks again for the advice/thoughts.

I took a look at the diamond benefits, since most of my time is tables and only a little VP to keep the drinks flowing at the bar, it probably doesn't make sense for me. This feels more like chasing a comp than getting it for play I would already do.

Does reaching diamond make much difference when it comes to getting free rooms somewhere like Paris, or would I get them pretty easily with green chip play at let's say Paris or Bally's. Hopefully it goes without saying that I am going to seek out games with better rules, and won't pony up for a 6-5 game under any circumstances.

I read this post and it makes me depressed. I just feel like you have little chance with your bankroll and knowledge. It's like your coming to this town to just spread your money around and go home with 4 days of entertainment. This happens every hour of everyday in Vegas. The difference is that your on a site with many winning players who could easily show you what to do and how to do it. I could easily put you up in an acceptable suite downtown for four days for free. I could wheel you around town and show you what to play for 6 to 8 hours each day. You would have a high chance of breaking even and you might fall into some big payouts. You could lose 50% of this 3k but unlikely if you start with smaller denomination games. I could even get your food and beverage for free as well.

The dilemma is that your here with your wife trying to have a fun vacation and you want to mix in gambling cause your in Rome and you must do what the Romans do.

My way of thinking is this... it's better to choose between good gamble or just fun vacation. Why give these bastards your hard earned money when you can play things that have very low risk and high reward? I don't know actually. I mean I want someone like you to come here and take advantage of the system. I hate seeing players like you come here and lose and go home happy. Time is a factor for you. You either have to try to grind out some winnings or just don't play. Stay downtown and use all that fee money for your shows.

Once again I would care less but your on here asking what is the best way to make my money last as long as possible for four days so I don't go broke before my time is up. Bad question in my mind. Ask... how can I come here for four days for free and maybe go home with more cash than I came with?

I agree with that advice about match play coupons and free play promotions for signing up at clubs. As usual for players with limited time I always think that you should take your whole gambling bankroll and bet it on one big bet. Sports book seems best but other spots seem just as good. Your not trying to get comps and offers anyways. You win and your doubled up basically for the trip. You lose... well you were gonna lose anyway at a slower pace and now you just put all your time, money and energy into making your wife happy which is never, ever a bad play.

Probably not the advice you wanted or will take but just my thoughts on the subject. I hope things go well for you out here though. Try to enjoy it cause you'll be back on the plane home before you know it. Four days goes fast!

Quote: monet0412

I read this post and it makes me depressed. I just feel like you have little chance with your bankroll and knowledge. It's like your coming to this town to just spread your money around and go home with 4 days of entertainment. This happens every hour of everyday in Vegas. The difference is that your on a site with many winning players who could easily show you what to do and how to do it. I could easily put you up in an acceptable suite downtown for four days for free. I could wheel you around town and show you what to play for 6 to 8 hours each day. You would have a high chance of breaking even and you might fall into some big payouts. You could lose 50% of this 3k but unlikely if you start with smaller denomination games. I could even get your food and beverage for free as well.

I actually think you may have misread my intentions. I've been pretty careful/deft with my bankroll to this point. The last 2 times I came to town I've come home about even, while playing as much as I wanted over the term of the trip. I've been careful about where/when I played, used match coupons when available, signed up for players clubs, etc. IN fact despite bringing $1000 on my first trip I played all week on money earned from match plays & free plays from the first 2 days and a few lucky breaks in BJ.

I'm now trying to figure out if it is to my advantage to strategically use my bankroll to stop paying for rooms. If I could come to Vegas and grind my way to a free suite while drinking all weekend on the house that would be WAY more fun than blowing my wad on an ill fated run at the craps table. My wife would agree. All that said, I'm not going to do all that only to find out I could have spent my $100 on brunch at Bellagio when I was instead losing $300 on VP to get a comped buffet at Harrahs. I'm here asking if it is possible to make it last AND live the good life, or if I would be better served keeping a tight watch on my bankroll and purchasing the room/tickets/meals I want anyway.

I think I misunderstood and I don't think I can help you... sorry for the misunderstanding.

Quote: monet0412

I think I misunderstood and I don't think I can help you... sorry for the misunderstanding.

I think you actually did help me quite a bit. I'm sort of under the impression that with the amount of money I am willing to risk I am probably much more likely to get the red carpet treatment downtown, and could probably get whatever I asked for playing 4-8 hours of blackjack at let's say the Plaza. You pretty well confirmed that suspicion. Clip my coupons, do some advantage play, put in the time somewhere downtown, and make a trip or two to the strip for some entertainment.

Like you said, 4 days goes fast, and part of the problem is that time spent taking a taxi or riding a bus is time I could be spending doing/seeing things, and so the downtown plan just doesn't compute. I'm feeling a little like I'm stuck in that if I were willing to put down 50-75/hand things would open up considerably for me, but the variance alone at that level would probably break me, so I am left wondering if the smarter option is to pay my own way on the Strip and put in a little time gambling here or there instead of 4 hrs per day at TI and then go sightsee while keeping my money to myself, or hunting down a few high return VP machines or maybe a fat progressive slot machine, or a rowdy craps table.

Quote: razmaspaz

Thanks again for the advice/thoughts.

I took a look at the diamond benefits, since most of my time is tables and only a little VP to keep the drinks flowing at the bar, it probably doesn't make sense for me. This feels more like chasing a comp than getting it for play I would already do.

It's a one time thing and you can play tables the rest of the year and the entire next year. The whole idea is you chase today for 2 years worth of rooms/service/savings/etc.

Quote: razmaspaz

Does reaching diamond make much difference when it comes to getting free rooms somewhere like Paris, or would I get them pretty easily with green chip play at let's say Paris or Bally's. Hopefully it goes without saying that I am going to seek out games with better rules, and won't pony up for a 6-5 game under any circumstances.

Yes. Diamond definitely helps to get you the rooms at places you want for free, without resort fees, parking fee's, waiting in lines, for multiple years.

You don't seem like the hustler that would be willing to chase diamond, which is totally fine if you're not. If you're there to just vacation and gamble and have fun then there's nothing wrong with that... I was just replying to your original question about the best way to find a home. I don't think your $25 play (especially if it's at the $10 tables betting $10-$50) will get you 100% comped at Paris. MAYBE Bally's, but maybe not. Babs was right on with the room upgrades... They are super nice there if you upgrade. Otherwise it's like any other room that you spend hardly any time in while there... I'd recommend giving your action to and staying at Harrah's. Their rooms are decent (not fancy but not crappy) and I'd be willing to bet with $25 level action you could obtain them very easily. Plus, it's center strip around all the action and food court next door =P.

Quote: Romes

You don't seem like the hustler that would be willing to chase diamond, which is totally fine if you're not.

I guess more than the "free rooms" question you distilled out of my question before, this is a value question. If the answer to the question is change what you do, and play games you don't really want to play in order to get comps that you could have paid for with less money than what you were going to spend anyway, then that seems like a terrible way to spend a weekend.

If on the other hand, the answer is instead of playing at 6 different casinos take your action to one place, and make this small tweak to how you play, then hey, I'm all in.

Conversely, knowing that I get offers from time to time from Tropicana for free weekends based on 2 hours of $15 BJ play one time 2 years ago, I wonder if there is something to be said for doing just enough somewhere to get on their radar, milking it until it dries up, and then moving on to the next "target".

You seem to think this will take up your

a) entire weekend - No, if you and your wife play on your card at a $1 or $2 VP machine playing what I consider slow (500 hands per hour) that's 800-1000 hands per hour for the two of you. At $10 coin in = 1 TC, and you need $5,000 TC, you need $50k coin in... So on $1 that's 10,000 hands (~10 hours) and $2 that's 5,000 hands (~$5 hours).

b) trip every time you go - No. This can be something you and your wife do together for 5-6 hours one time, one day, and you'll see the rooms and other benefits of it for 2 years. It's an investment to get that "home base" setup that you're looking for. If you time this well with other promotions CET runs (because they allow you to stack them) then you quite possibly will need to earn much less TC too. For example, the past couple years they've always run a spring promo that whatever TC you earn they'll match 50% back to you up to like 5k or 10k or something. Thus, you'd have to earn a lot less and play a lot less, but again, this involves looking for promotions and playing at the right time.

At the end of the day nothing is ever "free." But for what it's worth rooms/food/resort fee's/drinks/etc should be with Diamond and it's a "small" hustle of 1 or 2 days to get it done for 2 YEARS. It was 110% worth it to me, and I'll do it again in the future... You just need to decide if it's worth it to you.

Quote: Romes

At the end of the day nothing is ever "free." But for what it's worth rooms/food/resort fee's/drinks/etc should be with Diamond and it's a "small" hustle of 1 or 2 days to get it done for 2 YEARS. It was 110% worth it to me, and I'll do it again in the future... You just need to decide if it's worth it to you.

Curious, how many trips per year do you make to Vegas? Obviously if you're going every 4-6 months that flips the value on its head pretty quickly. I'm likely to make this trip, and one more next year.

Quote: razmaspaz

Curious, how many trips per year do you make to Vegas? Obviously if you're going every 4-6 months that flips the value on its head pretty quickly. I'm likely to make this trip, and one more next year.

I do frequent Vegas more often than you... probably 3 times per year on average. But even if you go once per year that's still $200 for 2 diamond dinners, 4 show tickets (~$60), access to diamond lounges and food/drinks during both trips (~$200 for 2 over 2 trips is definitely underestimating the value), $60-$100 in resort fees saved, and whatever it's worth to you to cut the lines.... OH and btw we haven't even talked about Return Rewards, Comp Dollars, or Free Play mailers that you'll get as a result of playing this in a day or two (I personally got like $230 back in Return Rewards, about $50-$60 in comp dollars, and mailers for months with Free Play).

So just if you go this year and next, once, you should still get ~200+60+200+75+200+50+50 = $835... and this doesn't count the price for the FREE rooms you'll get because that's what you're after. This ALSO doesn't include the random "tournaments" you'll get promotions for to go along with your free night stays, etc.

If you do this play in vegas you can find 9-6 JoB somewhere for $1, $2, or $5... So EV(50k) = (5*10,000)*(-.0046) = -$230...

So basically you're being given over $1k with an Expected Value of like -$230 to be diamond and get what you want (and more) out of your Vegas experiences.

That is quite a bit of return for $230. That sounds more promising. I might even be willing to play a $5 or $10 machine to speed that up. I did a quick check of vpfree CET machines and can't find a JoB 99.64 machine that pays $10/TC. They all specifically list $25/TC. I'm sure this perk is a major reason for that. The $1 one in Tunica lists as $50/TC, yikes. Looks like you've gotta go to 98.45 JoB to get the $10/TC benefit. Still +EV, but significantly more as a % of my bank roll.

razmaspaz,

Just like all the mentioned, CET properties are the most generous with comps at your level. I do not recommend going to Downtown because not a lot of the casinos are chains. There are 9 CET properties in Vegas alone and you can go gamble at any one of them and you'll get credit! Also, once you secure status with CET, you can typically get free rooms at casinos you've never visited. For example, I was a diamond and got free weekends at Harrah's New Orlean, Harrah's Tahoe, Caesars Atlantic City and etc. Getting a free room at a hotel you've never visited is typically the most you'll get. Once you arrive and start gambling at a new hotel, you'll earn points and it will also trigger mailers and email offers. I like the fact that CET has properties all over the country.

Some of the perks of being a Diamond mentioned and not mentioned
- $100 anniversary dinner to be used at any CET property (renewed every 2/1)
- Free 2 tickets a month to a show from a list from various small venues...This perk used to be awesome, but now it doesn't include many shows. It still has Penn and Teller
- Free priority parking and free valet
- On off-peak seasons, I've been upgraded to really nice suites without asking. When i checked it, it was a nice surprise.
- Almost every property has a Diamond lounge. Depending on which state you're in you can get complimentary drinks and or food. When I wasn't that hungry, I've spent many dinners at Diamond Lounges eating wings, salads, and etc. Not too shabby.
- Preferred restaurant seating. I've had a few times where busting out my diamond card helped with priority seating at restaurants. Usually, I have a host who does that, but when I don't want to bother him/her, it works.

If I were you, I'd find a really good game in one of 9 properties and just keep collecting points and statuses instead of spreading your play in different casino chains.

Quote: razmaspaz

That is quite a bit of return for $230. That sounds more promising. I might even be willing to play a $5 or $10 machine to speed that up. I did a quick check of vpfree CET machines and can't find a JoB 99.64 machine that pays $10/TC. They all specifically list $25/TC. I'm sure this perk is a major reason for that. The $1 one in Tunica lists as $50/TC, yikes. Looks like you've gotta go to 98.45 JoB to get the $10/TC benefit. Still +EV, but significantly more as a % of my bank roll.

FWIW, VPFree is showing 99.17 BP at Rio for $10/TC. And speaking of Tunica, the Roadhouse does have a (two, actually) 9-6 JoB machine that is $10/TC. The catch is that it is a 1c machine! How long you got? ;)

Before you jump in with this, I'd ask someone like Romes what your "Risk of Ruin" is with a $3k bankroll for each denomination to get an idea how likely it is you go bust. It would suck if you lost your entire bankroll and didn't get Diamond!

Also, how are you with your VP strategy? These expected loss numbers are figuring perfect strategy. Whenever I think I know it cold, I play the Wiz's VP trainer and discover how wrong I am!

One more thing, there is a time lag between when you have accumulated 15,000 TC's and when you actually have Diamond status.

Quote: Total Rewards FAQ

Tier Credit bonuses will post to accounts within 4 days.

My personal experience has been within a day or two, but there still is the possibility that you earn Diamond, but can't use the benefits on this trip.

If you still want to try for Diamond, I'd recommend doing it at a local casino before your Vegas trip. This way, you have your Diamond card in hand when you touchdown in Vegas, and you get to devote more Vegas time to "Vegas Fun" rather than chasing Diamond. Also, you'll be able to utilize any Return Rewards and Free Play mailers this might generate, whereas if you did it in Vegas, it sounds like you wouldn't make it back in time to take advantage of these.

You mentioned Chicago. Harrah's Joliet has a 9-6 DDB for $1 through $25, and the $1 machines are progressives. All $10/TC per VPFree2.

I will have to keep this in mind. Considering the time delay, the RoR potential, and the limited time I have before my trip (2 weeks from tomorrow) I may skip this for the upcoming trip then make an event out of going to Joliet for a day to try to qualify next January. I just don't have the time to get this done anywhere in the next 32 weeks.

I would like to say that you guys have all been awesome in answering questions and offering advice. Thanks especially to Romes, Joeman, and "Babs?" I think someone else wrote a long helpful post too!!

Hopefully I can put some of it to good use.

"I just don't have the time to get this done anywhere in the next 32 weeks."

Ha, next 2 weeks. Not 32, that's ridiculous.

These guys must work for CET. I see more love for that evil empire on this site compared to real gamblers in Vegas. I'll stick up for downtown and I'll tell you this ... downtown you will get full pay VP and you will only need two to three hours of play on dollars to get monster offers of free rooms and a much better players card system/rating... etc. so all you need is two days of dedicated play on 5 properties and you'll have rooms all the time with free play and tournaments. Now if your feeling ambitious and don't mind playing some 2% or 1.5% losers you should go to the Golden Nugget with your out of state ID. You won't believe what they send you for 10-20k coin in.

You want to play bigger downtown? They got that. They have 1.5% losing games with a 1% card. Add in your offers and you get over your 100%. Now you might lose 2k to 6k messing with those so I suggest you keep your play to dollars and below. Don't combine your players card account with your wife. That's crazy talk. Keep that separate so you earn double offers which you can stack together. I could tell you plenty more but your too worried about taking a taxi to the strip so you know have fun up there.

Quote: monet0412

These guys must work for CET. I see more love for that evil empire on this site compared to real gamblers in Vegas. I'll stick up for downtown and I'll tell you this ... downtown you will get full pay VP and you will only need two to three hours of play on dollars to get monster offers of free rooms and a much better players card system/rating... etc. so all you need is two days of dedicated play on 5 properties and you'll have rooms all the time with free play and tournaments. Now if your feeling ambitious and don't mind playing some 2% or 1.5% losers you should go to the Golden Nugget with your out of state ID. You won't believe what they send you for 10-20k coin in.

You want to play bigger downtown? They got that. They have 1.5% losing games with a 1% card. Add in your offers and you get over your 100%. Now you might lose 2k to 6k messing with those so I suggest you keep your play to dollars and below. Don't combine your players card account with your wife. That's crazy talk. Keep that separate so you earn double offers which you can stack together. I could tell you plenty more but your too worried about taking a taxi to the strip so you know have fun up there.

I'm wondering in this thread they also may be suggesting CET because they also have casinos in the Chicagoland area. But Boyd also owns Blue Chip in Michigan City, Indiana, which would get him a downtown connection, but full pay VP doesn't exist there.

If he is hoping to play 9/6 JoB, he really should go downtown. Or maybe TI if being on the strip is important.

Quote: monet0412

I could tell you plenty more but your too worried about taking a taxi to the strip so you know have fun up there.

Do tell more...I think its the other way around. I'm happy to do the opposite. Stay on the strip and take the bus downtown for the day, but I prefer to have a meal on the strip, go see a show, stop to gamble a bit after and stumble up to the room, as opposed to take the bus/taxi back to Freemont after. At that point I might as well have gone to Joliet and slept in my own bed. Its a convenience thing, not a money thing.

I'd be lying if I didn't say that the jet set eye candy aspect of the strip doesn't play a part in it, but it is more about being where the $$ is that makes it feel more like a vacation. I know it's elitist, but oh well.

I Love the D as a place to spend the day but despite playing 6 hours of blackjack from $10-40/hand, over an hour of craps, and close to an hour of random action on slots didn't hear word one from them regarding mailers. Kind of left scratching my head there. Maybe they have an old address on file, I dunno.

Quote: monet0412

These guys must work for CET. I see more love for that evil empire on this site compared to real gamblers in Vegas.

I am kind of surprised that based on what I have read about TI that nobody even suggested I try that out (it is where i am staying this trip). They have full pay JoB for $0.50-$5, and great BJ rules, as well as perfectly acceptable craps, and is across the street from 2 mega resorts full of stellar restaurants. However, I have also not gotten much in the way of attention from them, maybe because all I ever do is show up for 2 hours and leave with slightly heavier pockets.

Quote: monet0412

That's crazy talk. Keep that separate so you earn double offers which you can stack together.

I'll file that away for reference. I guess I hoped/assumed that both of us playing on the same card would cause them to consider us playing 2 hands, or playing more hours or SOMETHING.

Idk why you wouldn't have heard from the D. Worth a phone call imo, because my experience has been great comps for very little play, month after month.

The point of pushing CET is your specific scenario. You absolutely should get your rooms comped at checkout for this trip,and a decent offer for next year's trip, with the br and mins you plan to spend.

Yes, absolutely get your diamond if you can, lots of sn good advice here how to do it. But you'll still get the rooms without the diamond.

If you're going to play tables, carnival games are your best value for your rating .of course, their HE is higher. Best ratings values are on UTH, 3cp, hi card flush, miss stud, because the hand per hour is a good rate. Pgp and Asia Poker less good because they're very slow games. Blackjack worth slightly less than any of those. Craps worst for ratings. Roulette and baccarat I'm not sure, think roulette goes with Asia poker, and baccarat goes with bj. They don't publish those ratings.

The higher your rating, the more likely they'll write off the rooms at the end of your visit. It's not how much you actually won or lost; they go by the theoretical value you have to them.

OMG kittens. I mean deleted

Quote: mcallister3200

OMG kittens. I mean deleted

When I was in Vegas this past weekend a female teammate wanted to blow $20 on OMG Puppies for the lolz... I went $20 in with her, got a bonus round, made $40 ($20 each) and will never play it again. E Z Money =).

Quote: mcallister3200

OMG kittens. I mean deleted

Exposing an ap slot play...

Low-mid CET and MGM properties should give you a room, but I doubt any property will fully comp your room on the backend (you need to get it up front). MGM is property specific whereas CET is company-wide (staying at Flamingo... you can play at Cromwell). My guess is you won't be able to comp Paris/PH or Mirage/Mandalay over weekends.

Huge caveat though, playing blackjack and getting comps is tough. Most people I see bitching and moaning are blackjack players. You might not even get rated if you're flat betting $25 and bust out within 60 minutes. Plus, I'm pretty sure blackjack HE is extremely low for comp reasons. This is anecdotal, I play craps.

Quote: beachbumbabs

You absolutely should get your rooms comped at checkout for this trip,and a decent offer for next year's trip, with the br and mins you plan to spend.

I'm already planning on staying at TI, so I don't know that the backend comps will do me much good, but I am kind of surprised by this statement.

As far as the D, I'm going to call them this week and ask. At worst nothing happens, at best they offer me some free slot play or something for the trouble. I'll see where that goes.

Quote: ahiromu

Huge caveat though, playing blackjack and getting comps is tough. Most people I see bitching and moaning are blackjack players. You might not even get rated if you're flat betting $25 and bust out within 60 minutes. Plus, I'm pretty sure blackjack HE is extremely low for comp reasons. This is anecdotal, I play craps.

Was just looking at the RoR table to figure out if busting out in 60 minutes on $25 is going to happen (odds of $2k ruin @ 3 hours play is .01%). I'm kind of shocked at how much difference there is in RoR on a $10 vs $25 bet for a $2k bankroll. We're talking about sharply rising RoR around 5-15 hours instead of essentially unlimited play for $10. I assume that dropping the HE on BJ from .41 (what wizard used to calc) to .28 would have a meaningful impact on that, pushing the statistical likelihood down considerably over a 15 hour stint. (assuming 100 hands/hr)

Well the trip is over and done. It was a fantastic trip, and I took advantage of a bit of the advice offered here to ensure that we can do this even cheaper next time around.

We stayed at TI, with a pre-payed room, something I will certainly never do again, and something I didn't realize I was doing until I had already booked the room. We had a nice strip view which we enjoyed and a good location to get us where we wanted to play/eat. Overall I was really happy with our choice of hotel and would stay there again in a heartbeat. More to come on the TI blackjack later (it involves some bad acting, an angry pit boss, and a lasting vacation story).

We got in pretty late on Friday, and my wife wanted a refresher on Blackjack before we sat down at a table, so I suggested we head over to Venetian for some video blackjack (thank you forum for sharing this gem) to slow play a few hands and get a good feel for everything. It was nice to have a $5 game with reasonable rules, but video BJ is just about the worst change to the game I can think of. Most of the fun for me is the group excitement at the game, and it just doesn't have the live table feel at all. After about an hour of slowly bleeding out $150 or so we called it a night. We took a tour of TI to get the lay of the land and headed to bed.

It is nearly impossible for us to sleep in while in Vegas being on central time, it is just so late in the internal clock, so Saturday we were in the buffet line in TI by 9, and out on the strip by 10. Our first stop was the Mirage. My wife wanted a picture with the big LOVE sculpture, but despite asking several employees we never found it. This place is monstrous, and we gave up looking for it. My brother-in-law stayed here for his honeymoon, and spent a good chunk of his trip camped out at the Playboy $1 blackjack progressive video blackjack. He swore it was a 3-2 machine, but I had to confirm for myself. Indeed the pay tables on the machine state BJ pays 3-2, though in my 5 straight $1 bets I lost all my hands and never confirmed the payout with an actual payment. I was itching for some live BJ so we moved on.

We made our way down to the south Strip where we planned to play for the day, and had show tickets for the evening. A quick stop into NYNY to redeem win cards and we were on our way. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the $5 tables at NYNY were full, I'm well aware they are 6-5 tables, but I wanted to bet as little as possible on the promo chips to increase the chances they would pay off. With the BJ tables occupied I settled for the $10 craps table and ran through them pretty quickly for about a break even on the original $40 we invested here. We ran into a friend we hadn't seen in 10 years, spent some time chatting, and then GotTFO of the casino because with their 6-5 BJ they clearly don't want MY business.

Our next stop was Hooters to play some match coupons, and after some frustration trying to actually get to the casino (bridge on east side of strip is closed) we sat down with $5 and $10 match play coupons and a $100 buy in. This was intended to be a quick +EV stop and go, but after 5 hours of play on our original $100 we were still at it. The dealers here were fun, the company at our table was lively and friendly, the pit boss was more than happy to have us there (made sure the Purdue game was on for us, checked on us constantly, chatted with us, etc) and we just kept playing and drinking and tipping, and never thought to move on. After about 4 1/2 hours of play @5-20/hand I got up the nerve to ask the pit boss if they rated/comped for 4 hours of low dollar play, and he arranged dinner at Hooters for us. It isn't like this is some amazing comp, but it feels good to give some action, win some money, and be taken care of. There is no way I would downgrade my trip to stay here with my wife, but if I were there for a guys weekend or something I would seriously consider Hooters as a home base.

After dinner we played our freeplay on the VP machines and were on our way. We had more win cards to do after all. We had intended to go back to our room prior to returning to NYNY for Zumanity, but it was clear that wasn't going to happen now, so we hatched a plan to play our win cards chips at Mandalay Bay and meander back to NYNY before 9:30. We got our $60 worth of promo chips and I picked my spot at a $10 craps table to see if we could fare a little better. 10 minutes and there was $100 of real money sitting in the rack. I handed $70 to my banker (wife) and went for another go. Taking my money seems to be one of my wife's favorite jobs, I like to find myself up a little at the table and hand her the original buy in, then play the rest either to a new limit or be done. It works great for BR management, and she gets all giddy stashing it away for safety. We bounced around a few tables at MB and Luxor before reaching the theater at NYNY for what I considered to be a much better show than Absinthe. I had picked up $60 tickets for the second row and IMO it was worth every penny.

When the show was over we made our way back to TI through the winding interconnected set of trams and hallways that lead to Bellagio before emerging on the street by Caesar's and getting rained on (turns out sometimes it rains here, ;) ). We played for a couple fun, but rather uneventful hours, and after a couple of good big bet doubles we were up a smidge overall for the trip. 2AM and time for us midwesterners to call it a night.

Stay tuned for pt 2.

Sounds like a pretty fun trip so far razmaspaz. Looking forward to part 2 =).

Day 2 had a bit of a different start to it. I'm training for a marathon and needed to get my "long run" in for the week. I had 12 miles to do, but as I told my wife, I've been dealt enough of those this week, it's Vegas, I'm going for 11. I left TI headed north, and turned around a few steps past Stratosphere. From there it was down to the Vegas sign for a quick selfie and back to TI. I reached TI at 10.8 miles and did a few back-and-forths around the front of the building to hit 11 on the nose. This is the running version of rubbing Buddha's belly.

After the run we headed to Bellagio for brunch at Lago. The view was entertaining, and we were in the restaurant for the morning's rendition of the National Anthem. I wasn't impressed with the food, but the atmosphere and view were good. I don't think the rent we paid to sit in the seats was worth it overall though. Put that in the don't do again list.

After brunch it was a quick stop at the Paris bus kiosk and a ride downtown for a low roller coupon frenzy. Note tothe couple who were sitting across the aisle from me, I'm sorry I told you the bus goes to Hash House A Go Go. I asked you if you meant the one in the Plaza, and you said yes, that's a long bus ride back to the Linq.

I called the D and talked to the players club about not getting any offers from them, they didn't have much except that they didn't have my email on file, we fixed that, but nobody seemed interested in incentivizing me to stop by, so we stopped in, got our freeplay chips, played a couple hands at the $10 BJ table, won our $25 match play bets and walked out winners. I really like this hotel, but we never made it back to play the rest of the day.

We wandered up to the Golden Gate to cash in the next match, we sat down at the $5 table where we chatted with a friendly guy from Detroit, watched people come and go from the seats next to us, and had a pleasant couple hours of play, ending the session even. When we pulled out our match play chips and set $25 on top of them, everyone got excited, and cheered when we won. My Detroit friend said he had one, but hand't "felt it" yet, so wasn't playing it. I like the conversations the match plays start. People ask how we got them, we explain the ACG book, they get interested, hopefully they get some value out of it for their next trip. Between the match plays and the strategy card i always have out at the table, we get pretty popular among the table hopping low roller crowd. We spilled back onto the street without a real plan, but since we had dinner booked for Oscars we headed over to the Plaza to see what was up. By this time I think it was already close to 5, where did the day go.

We signed up for the player's club, and it seems that the lauded free play offer they have had for so long has been replaced by a crummy t-shirt and a friendly offer of good luck. The whooping at the $5 craps table lured me in though, and I sent my wife off to go play joker's wild. "Go play the Joker's wild, or the JoB at the bar, they'll make you some nice drinks and they are full pay" I told her. I had made some little cheat sheets for us for VP, but left them in the room. She was convinced she could navigate it without too much issue and headed off in the direction of the direction of the 100+ JW. I knew she was wrong, but she's not one to drop a lot of money uselessly, so I wasn't too worried about her. I played along at the craps table for an hour or so while some fellas from LA rolled collectively between the three of them for about 45 minutes. I had a good run making place bets on 6 & 8, but they couldn't keep their money off the field and resorted to borrowing money from their buddy $100 at a time. This was a new one for me, watching someone bankroll his friends on a weekend trip, for what I'm sure was two thousand dollars. I just can't even imagine a world where I would loan my friends a couple grand to dwindle it all away at a craps table. I guess that's Vegas, and they were having a blast, so whatever.

Back to the VP, I left the Craps table and found my wife on a nickel JoB machine somewhere in the depths of the Plaza with 7-4 payback. Doh, I should have given her money to the boys at the craps table. She was struggling to figure out if she was supposed to keep her pairs or her high cards. Oh well, she was playing nickels and hadn't been through even $20. "Staring at this screen is no fun" she said, and off we went. We sat down at the BJ table with $200 and played till we were up about $75. It was time for dinner, so like a naive tourist, I told the pit boss I'd come back and give him another shot at our money if he would throw us a little discount at Oscar's. He called upstairs for us but said we needed at least 2 hours on the table. I said fair enough and went up to get my steak.

Oscar's is a strange place. The food was good, the service was classic NY steakhouse, and we enjoyed the meal. I can't say it compares to some of the Strip's better steaks, but after the 25% off coupon, it was about half the price, maybe even less, and so in my book it gets 5 stars. The only negative of the whole place is the giant slotzilla tower they stuck right in the middle of the beautiful view the place must have had before. It was fun to sit amongst the flashing lights of GG and Main St Station/LVC and take it all in amongst the hush of Oscar's. The meal experience for the day is saved.

After dinner we headed back down to play some more. We sat down in the middle of a lively table, with lively dealers. The minimums stayed $5 all night on a Sunday night, and we played until almost midnight stuffing black chips in our pockets as the money just kept flowing in. I was all excited at the end of the night to color up to a pink chip, but was crushed to find out that my wife had cashed her blacks at the cage on a bathroom trip.

We left and went back to GG for a bit, but the atmosphere was completely different. I like the dancing dealers and the music, but they really put a damper on being able to talk to people at the tables. The dealer was zoned out, just doing her thing, and we started losing, so we bailed. We had free ace coupons and some freeplay to use at the downtown grand, and had never been there, so we wandered over and got set up. We won one and lost one and used our fp on an atrocious pay table JoB machine, but still cashed out a little bit. The wife was tired so we caught the bus back to TI and she called it a night. I played a couple hours bouncing from table to table at TI playing $10-$40/hand and bled out a little bit, but nothing to get worked up about. After wandering for a while I was surprised to find $10 on one side of the casino and a mix of $50, $15, and even $5 at the other side. I was hesitant to sit down at the $5 table, but i asked the dealer, $5, "3/2, surrender, and 6 deck", SCORE! This was at 3AM. I played for 20 minutes or so, but the other players at the table were grumpy, didn't speak english, and largely clueless. I decided my time was better spent in bed and called it a night.

Day 3 on the way.

I had a plan for day 3, we were going to head up north towards SLS and Stratosphere and explore a little bit. I had made dinner reservations at Cleo at SLS and was hoping to make a day of it. We started our morning at the Cosmopolitan for the Wicked Spoon buffet. It was a highlight of our first trip, and it didn't disappoint this time either. We still had time on our 24 hr bus pass, so we hopped the bus to Circus Circus to buy a combined $90 for $60 in win cards chips. The craps here was $5 and we played for a bit, but we made the mistake of both playing at the same time, effectively making it a $10 table. We walked away with about $30 when it was all said and done. Total bust, but oh well. I would be curious to see the calculation on the EV of the win cards chips, because while they seem like a good deal, since you can't cash them in I think it might be a big drain on their EV.

Our next stop was Lucky Dragon to find out if the match trade in offer was still good. It was, and this is a killer offer, I maybe should have even given them our SLS match coupons, but I dragged out a random locals $10 coupon and got it matched to $20. We took the match to the baccarat table, and much to my surprise they let us bet opposite each other. 4 cards hit the table while I blinked, and before I knew it, my money was gone and my wife had $60 in front of her. There was some question about whether the casino would let you do this, but it all went down with the pit boss standing over us, and nobody was questioning it. All good. We played our $8 in sign up freeplay at the JoB machine and cashed out with about $20. LD is nice, and I wish them well, but i have a feeling they are screwed.

We hopped across the street to SLS, and I was really hoping it would be a good place to spend the afternoon. I knew it would be quiet, but I didn't think it would be completely dead. I walked the room looking for the 3-2 tables, but they were $15 min, not the $10 that all the write-ups and surveys suggested. I asked the craps boss about it, and he said they almost never go to 10. It was about 2PM on Monday at this point, and the place was dead, including the $15 3-2 table, but whatever, its their funeral. We tried playing our freeplay here, but the slot redemption was so confusing we almost gave up. We finally got it to work and immediately watched it disappear into the ether.

I walked back to the craps table with 2 $25 match plays in hand. Mine and my wife's. She walked off to explore for a bit. I put down my pass bet and waited for the shooter. He was all alone keeping to himself just doing his thing with his pass line bets and rolling the dice. He got a point, and I put my $10 on the 6 and was going to match it with my coupon, but the boss got all anal about it and told me it had to be even money.

"OK, sure.".

"Let me see that thing" he said, "I have to verify it". OK, whatever. I puled back my 6 bet, lost my pass line, and just waited.

5 minutes later he comes back. "That one is your wife's."

"Oh, OK, here's mine."

Verify again. "OK sir you can play that one."

$25 on the line + my match. This time it is my roll. 7, pay me.

This time my wife is next to me, so $25+ match on the line. 11. "Wow", in genuine disbelief from the dealer who clearly hadn't been doing her job for more than 2 weeks.

Put the 100 in my pocket and played for a little while before picking up my money and heading for the cage. I'm sure much has already been written on the subject of SLS's fate, but I really don't think they wanted me there. Our dealer at Hooters was full time on the swing shift at SLS and she said they haven't been able to figure out how to get the club set into the casino at all.

Back onto the street and over to the Stratosphere. We played on a $5 6/5 table for a while, and can I just say, in addition to knowing you are getting shorted, getting paid $1 extra on your blackjack is just depressing. We went up and down here for about 90 minutes, and left no worse than when we started, except for the bad taste in my mouth. I had read from onlineblackjackrealmoney.org that "Red chips players looking to visit the tower should ask the pit boss. These passes are easy to obtain with a minimum amount of play.", but was told when I asked by the boss who really didn't care that I was there "This is VERY hard to get, VERY HARD".

With nothing to do up this way we abandoned our dinner plans and headed back to center strip. We took Uber back, and what a mess Uber is in LV. They are even less wanted at the Strat than I am. We finally found our driver and he got us back to TI in one piece. My wife had wanted to eat at red 8, so we mulled over a plan for a little while and went to go walk through the Wynn. We took a look at the menu, decided against it, and were suddenly in the mood for Grimaldi's. About 4:30 we wandered into Grimaldi's for the old people dinner shift. We hadn't eaten since 10, so give us a break. We've been to the original NY, and the one in the Palazzo, so we knew what to expect and it didn't disappoint. Always good pizza. We had to wait until 5 before we could order, so we went downstairs to get our money back from that stupid video blackjack dealer. She was happy to oblige. 30 minutes, $70 win. Pockets and bellies full, we headed back to the hotel to start our final night of play.

We sat down at the double deck game at TI, somewhat by accident, but decided to stay, and boy am I glad we did. There were a couple guys sitting at the table playing small, one betting green chips, and occasionally 2-3 of them, but never anything outrageous. After about an hour of play a guy starts hovering over the table, says he will wait for the shoe to finish, and sits down. As the last hand is coming out he remarks to the player at 3rd base that he shouldn't have hit that hand. The reply was startling. "When the count is negative you hit a 12 on a 14." After some lively discussion between the two of them, the new player says "I know what the count is, same as you do, but you don't hit that". I didn't really care about who was right, but I did care about what was about to go down.

Our new friend bought in for $1000, and asked what the minimum was for playing 2 hands. $20, he was told. OK, sounds good. He struck up a conversation at the table, clearly excited to be there, and I just sat back to watch the show. His bets came out, $20, $20. I noticed, the pit boss was staring right at him, and hadn't moved his gaze since the buy in. After 2 hands he struck. It wasn't a subtle increase, he went from $20-$120. I had been betting 20, and figured, what the heck, and dropped another 20 on top of my bet, but I also noticed that my green chip friend had gone from $25 to $100. I wasn't going to count, but I was sure as heck going to follow when 2 guys indicated the count looked strong. Dealer bust, everyone gets paid. I never went over 40, but when they went up and down, I followed. It didn't take 3 hands before the guy who had been sitting there happily counting cards was being asked for his ID. Multiple trips to the phone, and some studying of paper from the pit boss, I knew what was coming. Sure enough. Excuse me gentlemen, I'm going to have to ask you two not to play blackjack at Treasure Island anymore. All of this was expected, but the thing that happened next was not. In the most contrived voice you can imagine, "What? What's happening?, Why can't we play?" We got 2 or 3 minutes of bad theatre that was more entertaining than a Cirque show. Eventually they both got up and left without a fight, but it was all I could do to keep a straight face. We went back to playing, and the dealer acted like it never happened. Our remaining buddy at the table was shocked. I honestly thought for the first time that maybe he was counting too, but I suspect not. The shock and disbelief was so genuine "they weren't makin' no crazy hits or nuthin', people aren't allowed to win here?", he was stunned. As our new friend was leaving I asked where he was headed next, he told me, but despite looking for him, I never saw him again. We took a breather shortly after as I was so excited I had to get off the table to talk about it with my wife.

We meandered down to the Flamingo and I ended up buying in to a craps game for $100 at Margaritaville. I quickly won about $100 while the shooter rolled 8s over and over. He was getting killed on his hard ways bets, and left right after my streak. I really don't know the etiquette when you are winning on someone's roll. I cleaned up and eventually pulled off my bets for a nice big win, should I have given him $5?

We made it back for a second session of BJ at TI and played well into the night. When we were done I asked the host what they could do on the bill. He settled on removing a buffet for what he had at 5.5 hours at 17/hr average. Again, here I'm happy to be getting taken care of. Hopefully that is enough to get a decent offer from them in the future, but I really don't know. Every time I bought in I told the boss we were both playing on the same card, but I think they ignored my wife and just rated me. I won't make that mistake again.

Tuesday morning saw us off to the airport first thing, and we were back to reality by mid afternoon. All in all a great trip and we came home up about $70, no doubt heavily buoyed by our match play successes.

Thanks everyone for the help.

Love hearin the hustle of the ACG and all the coupons you're using... A lot of value!

The TI DD game is notoriously sweaty.

Quote: Ibeatyouraces

The TI DD game is notoriously sweaty.

Yeah, I had read that, I was not at all surprised to have him sit down, but its fun to know what's coming before it starts and watch the whole thing unfold. It's like a good book where the narrator has already told you the ending and you're in on it before the characters know. Highlight of the trip.

There is only one detail I don't know. At one point he spilled his water on the table. I suspect it was on purpose but am not sure. Is there some value to stalling or distracting that I am not aware of? Seems like when the heat is on you want those hands to come out, and fast.

Quote: razmaspaz

...There is only one detail I don't know. At one point he spilled his water on the table. I suspect it was on purpose but am not sure. Is there some value to stalling or distracting that I am not aware of? Seems like when the heat is on you want those hands to come out, and fast.

Some players will do this on purpose because the floor will sometimes block the wet spots off so nobody can play them making less players on the table. I don't know if that was this players intention though.

Quote: razmaspaz

We stayed at TI, with a pre-payed room, something I will certainly never do again, and something I didn't realize I was doing until I had already booked the room.

Well, with all the time and effort spent running around with coupons, they probably wouldn't have comped you your room anyway. Comping a weekend room is harder than comping a weekday room. Comping a third party room is impossible.

Playing on one card is strange. It means the value of the play is credited to just one card.

Anyway it looks like you enjoyed the trip and avoided the red ink column, so congratulations.

I think in the end this is what "saves" my bankroll. We wander around from coupon to coupon and top off back to even, and as long as we aren't in town for too long we can keep that going the whole trip. I'd love to push it just far enough that we could come once a year, stay in a free room, and play the game all over again. After our night at the Plaza I suspect that we will get an offer in short order. Hooters I would think would be all over it, and probably the GG, but I don't know how generous to expect TI to be. We bought in with the same 200 several times, and I don't think ever had to make a second buy. Despite carrying close to a thousand with us, we never tapped into the 4th hundred.

Quote: FleaStiff

Well, with all the time and effort spent running around with coupons, they probably wouldn't have comped you your room anyway. Comping a weekend room is harder than comping a weekday room. Comping a third party room is impossible.

Playing on one card is strange. It means the value of the play is credited to just one card.

I didn't really expect the room to be comped, it was booked direct with them, just on a prepaid rate, and all for about $17 in savings. I wouldn't have done it if I had realized it at the time.

As far as the card, lesson learned. I also probably should have kept it when I bought in at the $5 table.

Thanks for the reports. Always good to read different experiences in Vegas.

Raz,

Many thanx for the detail you included in your trip report. I only visited LV one time (for about a week in 2006). I was with a buddy who goes to LV several times a year and knows the city like the back of his hand. He knew where to go and what to do, and it really made the trip special.

As best I can tell from so many of the Vegas trip reports -- including yours to some degree -- it appears LV casinos over the years have become a lot less friendly to the gaming public. Seems too many of the casinos have forgotten they depend on "happy players," (even if most wind up as overall $$ losers). Best I can tell, it's a very different atmosphere now than when I visited. Also, a very different atmosphere than the casinos I frequent in southern Mississippi.

I'm glad you enjoyed yourself and did all right. I look forward to any future trip reports you share.

Quote: LuckyPhow

Raz,

Many thanx for the detail you included in your trip report. I only visited LV one time (for about a week in 2006). I was with a buddy who goes to LV several times a year and knows the city like the back of his hand. He knew where to go and what to do, and it really made the trip special.

As best I can tell from so many of the Vegas trip reports -- including yours to some degree -- it appears LV casinos over the years have become a lot less friendly to the gaming public. Seems too many of the casinos have forgotten they depend on "happy players," (even if most wind up as overall $$ losers). Best I can tell, it's a very different atmosphere now than when I visited. Also, a very different atmosphere than the casinos I frequent in southern Mississippi.

I'm glad you enjoyed yourself and did all right. I look forward to any future trip reports you share.

There may be some truth to that, I suspect inflation, the eroding buying power of the American worker in the global gaming market, and corporate profit margins have conspired to make the green chip player the new red chip player.

I am a regular wine drinker with tastes that run to the expensive end, and I've watched the price of a collectible bottle of Bordeaux go from an attainable $40/bottle to well over $100 for average bottles in the same time period you reference. I think the reality of the Asian boom has had a significant impact on the low end luxury experiences average Americans used to be able to afford, and a Las Vegas vacation is bo exception to that.

My in-laws used to get treated like royalty at the golden nugget for their $3 action, but I think the nugget misplaced their phone number a few years back.

All told though, I think there is tons of fun to be had for extremely cheap, and I'm convinced that if you look in the right corners there are casinos willing to roll out the red carpet for red chip players.

Awesome trip report, Raz, thanks for sharing! Glad you were able to have fun and come out ahead.

Quote: Joeman

Awesome trip report, Raz, thanks for sharing! Glad you were able to have fun and come out ahead.

Thanks, I obviously am not a regular poster here, but the discussions and information here have contributed significantly to my gambling knowledge and allowed me to have a really good time while putting very little at risk. You folks have an incredible community that contributes a huge wealth of knowledge and loves sharing it.

I'll be back in Vegas in March for a conference, and while it will be significantly less gambling, and way more limited opportunity for advantage coupon play, I'm still looking forward to some time on the tables.

Quote: razmaspaz

Thanks, I obviously am not a regular poster here, but ...

Hullo?? Best I can tell, no one here is suggesting, "Please come back again when you can't stay so long." Notwithstanding WoV has some great "trip reporters," word from the assembled throngs is that your reports are right up there with the very best.

Quote: razmaspaz

I'll be back in Vegas in March for a conference ...

Your next "Mission Impossible" assignment -- if you choose to accept it -- is to balance both work and play during your March Las Vegas trip, and to continue the fine WoV tradition of reporting back to the group assembled any adventures of note. OK?

Hey, my next Biloxi trip isn't scheduled until May, so I have to make do with vicarious experiences others share with WoV. C'mon, raz! I'm counting on you.

Quote: LuckyPhow

Hullo?? Best I can tell, no one here is suggesting, "Please come back again when you can't stay so long." Notwithstanding WoV has some great "trip reporters," word from the assembled throngs is that your reports are right up there with the very best.

I am afraid to find out what the assembled throngs refers to, but that's an awfully nice thing to say nonetheless.

Quote: LuckyPhow

Your next "Mission Impossible" assignment -- if you choose to accept it -- is to balance both work and play during your March Las Vegas trip, and to continue the fine WoV tradition of reporting back to the group assembled any adventures of note. OK?

Will do, though I'd like to note that before I can spend the bankroll I have to attend to keeping the tap open. I'm not particularly happy about staying at MGM, and I am guessing I will be forced to join some co-workers at a 6-5 table or two, but I'll do my best to bust out and play somewhere that isn't in the scam business. I'm not going to drag co-workers over to Hooters, which I think really just leaves Tropicana, and a few of the center strip places like Paris/Bally's that may or may not be offering $10 3-2 in the evenings.

Question: It is still listed in the BJ survey, but I would be shocked to find the $25, S17 game at MGM Grand, this is long gone, isn't it?