Jean Scott's Frugal Vegas

Just got this info from my Harrah’s Laughlin host about the LV Harrah’s “Total Rewards Great Gift Wrap Up”: Read more… »

From the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel & Casino Facebook page: 

When we introduced the Buffet of Buffets, Read more… »

Here are two new buffet promos for May: Read more… »

Most of the eat-all-day-for-one-price casino buffet promotions might not appeal to many visitors. After all it can be pretty boring eating at the same buffet for all your meals, even if it is a good one. However, the recent promo running at the Las Vegas Harrah’s properties solves that problem. Read more… »

There has been some panic over reports that Harrah’s is not giving Seven Star status to some video poker players even when they earned the required 100,000 Reward Credits in 2009. Read more… »

I’ve had a lot of e-mails in the last year complaining about Las Vegas casino hotel “resort fees,” particularly from people who felt they were “tricked” into paying for something they didn’t want and something they didn’t know about in advance. I had been meaning to write about this, but hadn’t got around to it yet when I saw an article in the Las Vegas Sun on the subject.

I sugest you read this article that reports on a new Harrah’s press release – and then read some very interesting reader comments that follow. You may find some new information that could save you money the next time you stay at a Las Vegas casino hotel!

My last blog entry, about our holiday trip to Harrah’s New Orleans, generated a lot of questions and some negative comments – as I knew it probably would. Some of you wrote to me privately and some left comments here. If you have not done so before, you might want to go back to that blog entry and click on “Comments” to read some of the discussions there.

I’m not going to answer every question specifically, but the following general information will give lots of answers – and, more importantly, give you possible options for improving your VP results, some you might not have thought about. Remember, my “mission” is not to provide you with a daily fish dinner, but to teach you how to fish so that you will be able to feed yourself.

1. Be aware that your bankroll will largely determine what games you will play and at what denomination. We have a much larger bankroll than many gamblers (primarily because of almost 26 years of extremely disciplined advantage-only gambling); therefore, we can play at higher denominations and thus achieve a higher casino tier status that will generate more comps.

2. Remember that being frugal doesn’t mean playing at low denominations – it means getting good value for your money. We stayed at single-line quarters for many years and then slowly went to 50-cent and then dollars. When multi-line was introduced, we progressed to $15 a hand ($1 Triple Play), then $75-$125 ($5 Triple\Five Play). Now we even occasionally play $250 a hand ($1 Fifty Play), but our personal frugal rule is just the same as when we started at quarters: We must have an advantage over the casino – and the bigger the better.

3. You find good plays by constant research. I almost never specifically answer questions about where and what we play. It is more helpful to give general information since people have different bankrolls, goals, game knowledge, and/or experience. A few of our plays come from tips given to us by other knowledgeable players, but most come by at least scanning ALL the posts on vpFREE and related forums and scouring the database at vpFREE2. You need to do the same to find plays that fit your requirements. We don’t limit ourselves to casinos in Las Vegas – we have found good plays in other cities or casino areas.

4. Be careful in judging and criticizing other players. You may not have all the facts. There have been many times when people assume we have “backslid” and are playing at a disadvantage when they see us playing what looks like a negative-expectation play. We often have extra benefits that don’t “show,” like an offer mailed only to specific players. Recently we were e-mailed a good offer that included double points, one that was only for customers of two particular hosts at that property who were having a “host party.” Out-of-town offers can be especially lucrative and a local wouldn’t know about them. – and visa versa!

Brad and I just got back from a wonderful holiday family reunion in New Orleans.

We had 3 rooms at the Harrah’s Hotel, one a suite that served as “holiday headquarters.” We decorated it with garlands, and nativity scenes, and artificial snow, and a small Christmas tree almost hidden by wrapped presents stacked high around it. But it was a huge suite so there was always room for Wii games. (I used to be a good bowler at the alleys but my Wii bowling skills need a lot more sharpening!)

Since Brad and I both have 7 Star tier status, it was possible for us to provide luxurious “champagne” living for 13 people and costing us only “peanuts” – and occasionally some Reward Credits. We had a total of 13 room nights, only 2 requiring the use of our points.
As usual, tips were the main expense that cost real money.

Since we were on my annual 7 Star trip (we’ll take Brad’s in a month or two), they put $500 worth of Reward Credits in my account. That (plus some mailed food coupons) covered many meals and room service, which we used more often than usual since you have to be 21 to enter the casino where the buffet and many other food outlets are located. The teenagers didn’t mind, however, since they think room service is pretty special. We used both our annual $500 “Celebration Dinners” for two big meals, one at Ruth’s Chris Steak House, and the other (when there were little kids and we wanted to be more casual) at Gordon Biersch Brewery. (Both of these restaurants plus Grand Isle are in or near the hotel so were good choices where we could take kids.)

Other 7 Star perks included free valet parking at the hotel. This was a big freebie since the rate was $25 a day and our group had two vehicles. We also got free tickets for 5 people who were brave enough to take the nighttime walking Haunted History Tour around the French Quarter. Brad and I skipped that since we had done it many years ago. (Carriage rides are an alternate comped option, but we had done that with the family last year.) Free movies was a popular perk plus there was free Internet.

As usual, we were able to maximize casino benefits by taking advantage of some mail offers that coincided with our visit. I picked up a 7-day cruise and Brad collected $400. Plus we had some extra free play from the quarterly coupon books we each get. And, of course, we had no travel expense since the airfare for two people is included in your annual trip package.

It goes without saying that the most important “perk” for us was being with family – but it never hurts to have lots of comps!

IF you can get to Laughlin in December and IF you want to get to the Harrah’s Diamond Tier, here is a promotion in which you might be interested: Earn 3,000 points in one day in December, from midnight to midnight, at Harrah’s Laughlin, and you will earn your Diamond card for the entire 2010 year AND it will be good until March 31, 2011.

Now I very well know that many players no longer play at Harrah’s because of some of their cost-cutting and player-unfriendly moves. However, for many, Harrah’s remains a good opportunity to snag free rooms at casinos across the country and that is important to them. Thus this may be valuable information since you usually have to earn 11,000 points to achieve Diamond status.

Please don’t write and ask me what the best video poker games are at Harrah’s Laughlin and where they are located. My goal is to teach you how to be a successful fisherman for life, not to put a fish dinner in front of you for individual meals.

You can go to the excellent VP resource at vpFREE2 and find out about the best VP in casinos across the country plus valuable information about their slot club benefits and comp systems.

Skillful luck on all your fishing trips!