Jean Scott's Frugal Vegas

I am not surprised that we are seeing a lot of comments on my last blog discussion about comps for table game players.  It is rare that we see consistency in casino policies, even among the children of a mother company.  Dysfunctional families in most cases!

So I suggest that if you are interested in learning more about table game comps, you go back and read the comments following that last blog entry. Read more… »

I write a lot about video poker in this blog because that is the game we play the most.  However, we do play blackjack once in a while, mostly on cruise ships where the VP schedules are usually extremely low-pay.  And sometimes I encounter questions about table games.

Recently the Las Vegas Advisor editor tossed me a question about getting BJ comps that they had received from a Question-of-the-Day reader.  I am going to reprint here the answer I wrote.  If you are a regular reader of that daily feature, you know what a wealth of information it contains.  And if you are a subscriber, you can access these Q+A’s anytime by searching in the archives.  However, even if you don’t subscribe to the monthly magazine, you can read the current QOD the day it is published.  In fact you can sign up for a daily notification e-mail that contains a link to the current question and its comprehensive answer – so you don’t forget to check it out.

The question I answered was from someone who didn’t want to be embarrassed by asking for a comp and being turned down.  Read more… »

Here are some questions I have received in the last few months:

Q:  How do you know when a royal progressive on a VP machine is high enough to make it a good play? Read more… »

“The devil is in the details.”  “Always read the fine print.”

I repeat those words often – so often that I’m sure many of you are sick of them.  I am weary of saying them myself.  But just when I think I will let up on these warnings, something bad happens to me or to one of my readers as a result of ignoring them.

Do sometimes I fail to check on details or neglect to read the fine print – even after 29 years of casino experience?  Don’t be surprised when I answer this with a “yes.”  There is a tendency to depend on one’s past experiences the longer one plays, but this is a dangerous habit in connection with casinos.  You can never assume that “the usual” will last.  Gambling smart requires constant diligence, not just in the big decisions, like choosing the right games.  All those constant small details often pile up and become the one deciding factor that determines financial success or failure.

Let me give you some examples, Read more… »

Here’s some good advice at many casinos these days since so many seem to be going to leased restaurants:  watch for gift cards and food coupons that aren’t good in all food outlets.  For example, some food vouchers we had for Caesars properties in Vegas Read more… »

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… »

The postings here have been spotty recently due to 18 days on the road, in the air, and on the sea.  And then when we got home we were both hit hard with a nasty flu bug.  But we are finally recovering, albeit slower than we’d like.  I have lots to share but until I get caught up, we at least want to wish everyone a happy holiday season.

Here’s Brad holiday greeting, clowning around while picking up some comps!

From the Seven Stars Insider Newsletter:  Caesars has reconsidered its decision and has reinstated its Total Reward benefit of two free tickets each month for selected Las Vegas casino shows – but only for Seven Stars cardholders, not for Diamonds anymore. Read more… »

No, we don’t spend all our time in casinos.  We have a richly filled “real” life.  Pictures below were taken on  Thanksgiving Day, Read more… »

Thanks to everyone who has said good things about the recent series on Brad’s gambling experiences down through the years.  To answer your queries about whether I will now start writing about my own early gaming history, that is a possibility I am mulling  over in my head.  I had “sworn” that I would never ever write another book.  But last night when I had a four-hour bout of insomnia, one started sketching itself in my head: Read more… »