Jean Scott's Frugal Vegas

A note here at the beginning, particularly for new readers of this monthly report.  I don’t report on the same casinos each month. And even with those I usually mention, I don’t cover every promotion or mention all the details if I have described it in earlier reports.  My main goal is to pick casinos and promotions that I think will help locals and out-of-towners have information that might not be widely known, particularly those frequent changes casinos make –both the good and the bad!  So if you haven’t been reading here recently, you might find it helpful to go back a few months and “catch up” on the information in previous reports.

I also would like to recommend a resource that I find has useful information for both Vegas visitors and locals, particularly details about players clubs.  Read more… »

I just got an e-mail from the Palms informing me of a 1/2-price “sale” tomorrow  (Wednesday, Feb. 27).  That is a regular play-and-earn-stuff day, but the required points for the ”stuff” items has been reduced, many by one-half.  Read more… »

Happy New Year to all – and hopefully some of the information here will help start you off to a prosperous gambling new year.

Do you like to keep up on changes in VP inventories all over the U.S?  You do check vpFREE.com frequently but you would like to know sooner when information is added/changed in their database.  Easy – subscribe to their free e-mail service and you will get timely notices.

CAESARS ENTERTAINMENT PROPERTIES

Major changes in their tier program for 2013 – for all their properties, not just in Vegas.  Read the details here.  Or if that link doesn’t work go to http://www.sevenstarsinsider.com and click on the January 2013 newsletter. Read more… »

This is the monthly promotions list I promised so both out-of-towners as well as Vegas locals can have more information to help them find better plays.  Some caveats here:  This is by no means an exhaustive list but just what I have found in my own mailers, my treks around town, and my Internet research.  I will not be giving complete details – you need to check casino Web sites and make in-person inquiries, especially since casinos can be guilty of changing the rules mid-stream.

Another thing to keep in mind is that this is not a basic tool. Read more… »

We will soon be left with a large – and useless – collection of tokens for the Palms car wash.  It is closing the end of the month.  Brad will really miss it – he likes to keep the Frugal Breeze spanking clean and shiny.  If you see us in a casino, ask for some tokens – Brad will carry some in his pocket and I’ll have some in my purse.  However, I’m not counting on it being operational right to the end of June.  It always broke down frequently – and I can’t see them spending money to repair it if it breaks down now.

Lots of other changes Read more… »

The Palms has extended the date of their “$200,000 Cash –  Play, Earn, and Win” promotion that originally was to end this week.  This Monday-through-Friday promo now goes on another week, finishing up on Friday, December 23rd.

This bonus promotion pays out in cash, not free play - and is on top of the regular point value.  That is, when you pick up your “prize” amount, they do not take away any points.  Pick up a copy of the rules at the slot club desk , which will show you the range of cash you can earn, depending on whether you play slots or video poker.  As little as 350 slots points or 1500 video poker points will earn you a bonus of $5.  At the other end, 84,000 video poker points will earn you $280.  And, if you want to,  you can do this bonus promotion every day Monday through Friday.

While you are at the slot club, pick up the rules for the “Holiday Green Backs” promotion that is also ongoing  through December 23rd.  This is a very very small-value promotion, but you can always use even a tiny scoop  building your promotional ice cream cone.

Note:  This is one reason I read the daily newspaper.  This promotion extension that I hadn’t heard about anywhere else was mentioned in a Palms ad in the R-J.  You never know when or where you will find a kernel of information that might help you make better gambling choices.  I’m not saying that this promotion is for everyone, but the more options you have the better you can cherry-pick the best.

“I don’t try to reinvent the wheel.  I study the person who invented the wheel.” - a wise saying from Mickey Crimm, one smart gambling cookie.

A wise video poker player is a sponge.  Read more… »

Pickin’ from the folder marked “I Must Put this in my Blog Sometime.”: Read more… »

I am going to talk about losing today – but not in the way I had planned to discuss it.  However, yesterday I found an unusual way to lose – not, of course, because I was looking for this!  :)   Here is the sad story: Read more… »