Casinos and Free Alcohol

Greetings--planning on making my first trip out to Vegas later this year. Commonly in talking to my customers, they always mention the "free booze". In reading several of the reviews on this website, they mention things such as "$1 beer" or "$1 margaritas". Am I correct in assuming these are specials charged to customers off the floor for gaming? Or have casinos cheapened up out there?

Assuming I'm playing on a table or slot (no specific property), what can I expect to get for free? I'm a fan of things such as Weed/Lemonade, Malibu/Pineapple, etc. Are these things you can get for free? At what level of liquor do they charge you?

Thanks to any answers that may be provided. I have now spent far too much time on this site when I should be in bed sleeping.

If you're playing at the tables or slots, including VP, you get free drinks. It's customary to tip the waitress at least $1.

Bars do charge for drinks. There are cheap and expensive places.

On very rare occasions free drinks might not be available, but usually they are referring to tips to waitresses. These tips are not as optional as others.

If you don't care about which particular brand/variety you get, just generics, they are free. "Premium" drinks are only complementary in some places and/or for some players.

That's broadly, asking about particular casinos will yield specific info.

I have never bought a drink on a casino floor in Vegas in spite of my low-rolling ways. I also have never had a "call" brand drink while on the casino floor. The standard drinks are fine for me!!

A $5 tip to start things off usually brings consistent service...$1-$2 a drink keeps them coming...

Quote: PGBuster

Greetings--planning on making my first trip out to Vegas later this year. Commonly in talking to my customers, they always mention the "free booze". In reading several of the reviews on this website, they mention things such as "$1 beer" or "$1 margaritas". Am I correct in assuming these are specials charged to customers off the floor for gaming? Or have casinos cheapened up out there?

Every casino in Las Vegas offers free drinks for players actively playing on the slot floor or tables. The only casino that doesn't comp is Wynn--but only at their bar. Casino Royale sells $1 Michelobs and small frozen margaritas for anyone off the street. Otherwise, buying a drink at the bar will be significantly more expensive.

Quote:

Assuming I'm playing on a table or slot (no specific property), what can I expect to get for free? I'm a fan of things such as Weed/Lemonade, Malibu/Pineapple, etc. Are these things you can get for free? At what level of liquor do they charge you?

What's Weed? I've never had any trouble requesting a specific brand of liquor. Malibu is easy to get. My last casino trip I must have tried every kind of fruity tropical crap combination :) Wynn will comp MacAllan 18 year old.

Drinks are "free" if you're gambling, but as someone posted previously it's customary to tip the waitress $1 per drink she serves you. Typically its common stuff and asking for something different can be a problem. I was playing $10 blackjack at the Bellagio and asked for a Belgian beer called Stella Artois and they gave me a blank look. Maybe it was just mis-communication between the waitress and I, but I saw some people drinking it in the poker room so they had it.

The smaller casinos often have deals to get you in the door -- $1 beer or $1 margaritas -- O'Sheas, Casino Royale, and Bill's Gambling Hall & Saloon are some examples.

One angle to look at is signing up for various slot clubs to see what you can get. I've heard that Casino Royale has a coupon book that gives some good deals when you sign up for their slot club. Other casinos run similar promotions.

If you're looking for more -- like free room, food, and beverage or RFB -- then you're out of my league of experience. Typically RFB is given to you through "comps", but you've got to gamble a lot to get comps. The typical numbers you hear are $50 per bet on blackjack for at least 4 hours per day. I'm a low level player so I've never gotten comps on anything. The most I get is discount room offers. Different casinos will required different levels of play to qualify for comps.

Quote: teddys

What's Weed?

Jeremiah Weed. They make bourbon and sweet tea vodka. Mixing it with lemonade probably means he was referring to the vodka. Apparently their bourbon is the brand of choice for fighter pilots. I had never heard of it until they became a sponsor on the Adam Carolla podcast.

Hah when you said you are a fan of weed & lemonade I thought the casinos were starting to provide another substance to dull the pain of a bad loss :)

Quote: teddys

Wynn will comp MacAllan 18 year old.

As long as you are not playing video poker at the bar!

Quote: helpmespock

Typically RFB is given to you through "comps", but you've got to gamble a lot to get comps. The typical numbers you hear are $50 per bet on blackjack for at least 4 hours per day.

Being RFB'd, which stands for Room/Food/Beverage, varies from casino to casino. However, in my experience, most casinos will require a significantly higher average bet to get there, in the range of $300+ per hand for four hours a day. This was true at my last stay at the Mandalay Bay.

Now there are a couple of other comp status that people don't seem to know about. Since I personally don't drink alcohol, I specifically tell this to my host prior to arriving and quickly get to the RFT (Room/Food/Tea?) status at about $150 to $200 per hand for four hours a day. I assume that this is because most people that have the full RFB status really add on to their bill lots of wine and high end drinks. Perhaps I get this status because I don't abuse the free food either.

Yes, its "free" but its customary to tip the waitress and its a variable as to when she will be back, particularly if you don't tip.

Joints vary and waitresses vary, but in general if you want some sort of special booze: be specific and be brief with the waitress. She doesn't usually have much time to chat, so if there is some special brand or special cocktail you want, order it. Upscale casinos tend to serve better booze and if you have some black chips out on the table you may well get some booze that you request that otherwise might not be served. I'm sure you know what "well drinks" means versus "top shelf". If you ask for a specific vodka or scotch, you just may get it, but remember that the waitress and bartender tend to be busy.

Some places don't stock the bar that serves the casino floor with the same stuff that some of the specialty bars in that casino have.

Obviously if you are in the high limit room, you get fairly high quality booze even if you make no special requests for a particular brand.

Quote: PGBuster

Greetings--planning on making my first trip out to Vegas later this- year.

PG:

Do you know where you will be staying ? Mid-strip is a good place for your first visit,
because there is so much to see and do. And there will be a good range of hotel
rates there as well. A couple of places that come to mind at a mid-level price are
Bally's, Flamingo, and Harrah's.

Quote: JohnnyQ

Do you know where you will be staying ?

Likely the Tropicana, but I don't know how much action I'm going to get in there...I was thinking about actually playing downtown. Only reason for choosing the Tropicana is a friend won a free stay there.

Thanks to all for the information that has been provided.

2 more cents:

The TROP is in a pretty decent location as well. I stayed there once and
remember that it was a long walk from the Casino to the particular
tower my room was in.

If time permits, I think one of the highlights of the mid-strip is going
to see the botanical display at the Bellagio conservatory. The fountain
display outside is well known as well. The inside of the Venetian is
beautiful, in particular the murals on the ceilings.

There are tons and tons of good guidebooks out there.

The only place I know that charges for drinks is the "Dollar Room" in Sahara. They have $1 minimum 6:5 "blackjack", $1 beer, $1 shots, and $1 hot dogs.

The drinks are free in the rest of the casino, but most other tables have $5 limits.

If you're rollin' that low, you would be better of playing a penny slot and getting your drinks for free.



Most of what I drink is whiskey-based, and most of what I play is $5 tables or quarter VP at pretty much every property on the Strip and Downtown. I would get Jack Daniels about half the time, and nasty Evan Williams the other half. The fanciness of the casino didn't correlate as much as you would think. In my experience, all MGM properties gave me Jack.

Somebody mentioned the Wynn sucking. My wife often likes Bailey's on the rocks. The only places we have been that substituted the cheaper St. Brendan's was the Wynn, and somewhere downtown.

The amount of care taken in mixing the cocktail properly seems completely random and will vary from shift to shift.

ive never received a bammer drink on the strip. I personally think any strip property will give you the (middle to high end) liquor you ask for. i hit downtown the other week, the drinks were weak weak weak. never going back to downtown btw.

Quote: jpprovance

ive never received a bammer drink on the strip. I personally think any strip property will give you the (middle to high end) liquor you ask for. i hit downtown the other week, the drinks were weak weak weak. never going back to downtown btw.

Which places DT? I can't imagine it happened in every casino.

Mixed drinks that are 'free' (with a $1 tip to the waitress, or she won't be back to see you again) out on the floor seem to be made with a few drops from an eyedropper. Just enough bourbon so you know it's not straight coke. The Harrahs properties recently started a system where you can only get premium drinks if you're Diamond status or above, otherwise they're $3. Asking for an Absolut Bloody Mary will cost $3 now, or maybe they'll just put in Kamchatka and figure you won't notice. If you're a fratboy asking for a shot of Patrón, casinos might just bring you any ol' tequila and assume you're young enough, drunk enough, or don't drink it straight at home enough to tell the difference. Sometimes the waitress will bring you a double, or a beer AND a shot at same time, if you're a good enough tipper. I've ordered shots of Jager that I swear could have been watered down. They can't water down beer though. Remember that a Corona that's 'free' out on the floor might cost you $9 or more at a bar. If you think putting a buck into a bartop VP machine will get you a freebie from the bartender because now you're gambling, it won't.

Quote: PGBuster

....what can I expect to get for free? I'm a fan of things such as Weed...

And you certainly won't be scoring free weed for a dollar tip. But after dark you can prolly get some blow from the hookers.

I stayed at the Trop 10 years ago, and yes, I also remember it was at least a 1/4 mile walk from casino to hotel. Trop has just done a multi-million dollar rebranding renovation though, with upgraded rooms and casino, and a reopening of their poker room soon, so I'd think the Trop is THE place to be right now. There's sooooo much to see and do, you're gonna be overwhelmed for your first trip, so just have fun, drink plenty of water, take pictures and for god's sake, get a players card everywhere you go before you put a single dollar into any machine, and the email offers will start rolling in when you get home. Your whole next trip could be a freebie. A single Total Rewards card is good at all the Harrahs properties, of which there are 8 in this town. A single m-life card is good at all nine MGM/Mirage properties. Every slot and table game puts dollars on your player's card you can use for food, giftshop, hotel stay, anything. So get those cards!

I always order a double vodka on the rocks and 7up on the side. That way I know I'm getting a decent amount of booze. I then pour the 7up into the vodka.

I like to order "fancy" beers in a bottle. At least that way I can tell I'm getting the good stuff. I also can tell the difference between premium bourbon/scotch and the well stuff, so I can confidently order that too. Tequila, Vodka ... forget about it.

Quote: teddys

I like to order "fancy" beers in a bottle. At least that way I can tell I'm getting the good stuff. I also can tell the difference between premium bourbon/scotch and the well stuff, so I can confidently order that too. Tequila, Vodka ... forget about it.

I don't drink when I gamble. Except I did once, last trip when I ordered a black Russian at the Exalibur. The cocktail is made of vodka and Khalua coffee liquor. It was very good. I can vouch for the authentic Khalua and it had plenty of vodka.

My gripe is the opposite of the thread: it was too much booze and nearly knocked me out. Next time I feel bold enough to drink at the table, other than diet coke, I'll ask for something that isn't a mix of two high-proof types of alcohol.

Quote: Nareed

My gripe is the opposite of the thread: it was too much booze and nearly knocked me out. Next time I feel bold enough to drink at the table, other than diet coke, I'll ask for something that isn't a mix of two high-proof types of alcohol.

You could ask for just the Kahlua and Cream. The vodka just acts as a "kick" to the drink -- no flavor. Kahlua has very little alcohol content.

That is such a chick drink, though. Oh, wait ... :)

Quote: teddys

You could ask for just the Kahlua and Cream. The vodka just acts as a "kick" to the drink -- no flavor. Kahlua has very little alcohol content.

Really? It sure didn't feel that way.

Kahlua and cream served in a small glass with a cherry rolled in sugar is called an "angel's kiss," at least in Mexican bars.

Quote:

That is such a chick drink, though. Oh, wait ... :)

:)

I think I'd be more inclined to ask for plain Kahlua on the rocks.