January, 2013

February Vegas Promotions

All casinos are holding “Big Game” celebrations on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 3, with some promotions running the whole weekend.  Expect crowded casinos and gridlock traffic conditions in town, especially on the Strip.  The city will also be very busy President’s Day weekend.  Check for multiple points both weekends.  They are rare on the 3rd, but often seen on the 18th.

PALMS

The “Play, Earn, and Win” promotion continues on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, starting at 10 a.m. each day at the new Promotions Center.  You can pick up your earned swag until 10 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays and until midnight on Fridays.  By the pictures it looks like it is all “stuff” this month, with no Visa card options like last month.

The New Tier System for Caesars Properties

CZR’s rolled out a greatly revised player’s club system January 1, 2013. You can see the details here.   Although there are many changes, it is emphasized that the Tier Status you earned in 2012 is valid throughout all of 2013. Be sure to carefully read all four main sections in that long and detailed explanation:

A Thank-You from Brad

Brad sends a big “Thank You” for all the birthday wishes. He had a great day, with lots of phone calls, Facebook messages, and in-person greetings as we made our usual Friday casino rounds.  We cashed checks and did our free Megabucks pulls at the Palms.  We collected bounce-back cash or free play at four casinos

Happy Birthday, Brad

Tomorrow, January 18th, Brad will be 81!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

People often ask about his health – and he likes to say he hasn’t been in the hospital for almost 4 years.  Of course that last visit was a serious one, when he went into cardiac arrest for 5 minutes.  Fortunately there was no permanent damage from that, they put in a pacemaker, his heart meds have been adjusted, the 7 stents in his right heart artery seem to be doing a good job.  So we feel blessed that he can do pretty much what he always could do and still wants to do. 

Tax Time

It’s getting near that time when we start thinking about our tax returns.  And many casino goers are wondering about how they need to deal with their gambling information, particularly if they received one (or more) W-2G’s for the first time last year.  Many of these first-timers might be tempted to ignore them, thinking that even if they had one or two jackpots they were an overall loser for the year so didn’t need to give the IRS any information.

WRONG!  And you need to know why.

Some Additions to the January Report

ELLIS ISLAND

When we stopped in today, we saw signs at the players club desk about the change in the Platinum Tier:  The 6-month requirement has changed from  54k to 60K and January play would be reflected in the March mailer.

January Vegas Promotions

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.