My quote to remember and strive for in 2014: “Always try to be a little kinder than is necessary.”— J.M. Barrie,Scottish writer and dramatist
Sorry this report is a little late – I like to give you a heads up by the first of each month. However, Brad and I just returned home from a 12-day family vacation, in Columbus, GA, and New Orleans so now I am plowing through a tall stack of casino mail to see what promotional goodies I can share.
THE STRIP
First MGM Resorts International and Hyatt Hotels Corp partnered on customer loyalty programs. Now Caesars Entertainment Corp has partnered with Starwood Hotels and Resorts.
Caesars Entertainment has a new tier bonus for 2014: 5000 tier credits in one day earns you a 10,000 tier credit bonus.
TUSCANY
Sounds like business plummeted the last few months since they changed/downgraded their promotions. They have put out comment cards at the players club desk that give you a list of things you might want brought back, i.e., pull tabs, gift cards, 10x points for VP, and gives space for you to write in other promotions you would like. Here is your chance to give a casino your opinions when there is a likelihood they will at least be read. Promotions are very weak in the January mailer, but they have a new marketing director (who formerly worked at the Gold Coast) so perhaps the casino will heed our suggestions and promotions will become stronger in February.
PALMS
I have heard good things about the casino coupon Web site http://slotplaycoupons.com/featured. Among many other offers, you can get $40 free slot play at the Palms for $25, and you can do this once per month. If you have had experience with this Web site, good or bad, I encourage you to share it in the “Comments.”
“Play, Earn, and Win” continues as usual on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (but not the first week of this month) and offers a $200 Lowes gift cards plus some “stuff” January 6-17. You can use points over multiple days for this “Warm and Toasty” segment but you need to pick up the order/rules sheet at the Promotions Center for details before you start your play so you know how that option works. January 20-31 is a “no-stuff” offer; instead you can earn over $200 in free slot play per day, on the M-W-F promotion days. There is no carry-over on this segment – you must collect your free play on the day you earn it. Remember they do not take your points for these “Play, Earn, and Win” promotions so you are still earning your basic slot club benefit plus the bonus.
The weekend drawings have undergone a drastic change, including a cut from two to one, with a Friday-only one and the time changed to 7:30 p.m. Bob Dancer has analyzed these changes in his latest article, a must read for anyone who uses drawings to boost their gambling EV. http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/bob_dancer/2013/1231.cfm
The car wash still closes periodically but seems to be open more often these days. Remember to ask for your car wash tokens at the slot club – All Star card holders get one per month, MVP’s and Hall of Famers get two.
Sterling Advantage 50+ members should check for new details on the Thursday benefits, including a drawing at 4 p.m.
The long-running free Megabucks pulls are now called Palms Power Pull and were supposed to work on all slot machines (not on VP) but in December it seemed you could only use the tickets on Megabucks and they didn’t even work there a lot of the time. Sometimes there was an employee right at the machines to exchange your non-working tickets but often you had to trot back to the Promotions Center. Not fun! The time to get your PP voucher at the Promotions Desk is still 10 a.m. until 8 p.m., but remember the days are only Mondays and Wednesdays – NOT also on Fridays as before. Power Pull days don’t begin in January until the 6th and hopefully they will have worked out the kinks by then. The January mailer said this about the PP: “Use on your favorite machines throughout the Palms.” But this was followed by an asterisk so who knows what the restrictions may be!
They have added another seafood buffet on Tuesday, with a price that is $3 lower than the regular Friday and Saturday offerings. I don’t know if the food selection has been lowered too.
ELLIS ISLAND
Pretty much same- old same-old here. You can again choose pizza OR a half Boardhouse sub with your Tuesday and Saturday coupons. However, your selection of sandwiches in December was limited to a plain turkey or ham. That probably will continue into January. Gift days are still on Sundays.
One new thing, for the low roller, is $3 “Happy Hour Craps,” 3 pm to 6 pm daily.
BOYD PROPERTIES (Gold Coast, Suncoast, Orleans, Sam’s Town)
After a couple months of rumors, it is finally a reality: Players cards must be swiped at a kiosk before playing in order to activate any point multipliers. This is necessary at all four properties.
Another all-property change: the 50+ Young at Heart day has changed to Wednesday, beginning January 8. Some new benefits have been added, including a Mystery Point Multiplier (up to 50x) from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (They must think we oldsters don’t like to be out and about in the evenings. In Brad’s and my case, they are right!) Check to see other benefits – drawings, food specials, and movie discounts – at http://www.boydgaming.com/promotions/young-at-heart-Wednesdays.
There is also an all-property jacket-give-away promotion in January. Collect from all four casinos, two max per property with a total of eight max. Details at http://www.boydgaming.com/promotions/jackpots-for-jackets.
You need to check Scot’s Bonus Point list to find out the multiplier times at each of the four casinos. They are definitely NOT all the same. http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/greatdeals-slotpromotions.cfm And go to each casino’s Web site to see property-specific promotions, i.e., tournaments and drawings.
I used this coupon once with ease. They were great at the Slot Club. On “their” $40, I won over $100 🙂
We have been using the $40 for $25 coupons for a couple of years. We have never had any difficulty. At Palms the $40 play can even be used on full play video poker.
I’ve had no problem with the Palms $40 for $25 deal. The staff at the players club has been familar with it, so no problems redeeming it.
I have purchased the $40 for $25 for the Palms several times. After purchasing this promotion through the company website, you print out a voucher and bring it to the Club Palms booth and they will add $40 onto your club card. I usually combine this with the $10 LVA Member Rewards coupon.
Also, once you have ordered from the company, you will receive an email with a promo code offering a 5% discount. This promotion generally occurs around holidays. The most recent was for New Years 2014. I plan on using my coupon when I stay at the Palms on Martin Luther King Day.
We did the Palms slot coupons each of the 3 times we went to Vegas in 2013. You pay for the coupon online and you print out a page that you take to the players club desk with your players card and your ID. Takes a couple of minutes since they have to go into the back and do something first. It is nice because with the extra $15, I play games that I wouldn’t have tried otherwise.
We come to Vegas once a year and have used the $40 free slot play at the Palms for $25 during our last two trips (its a better offer if you are a new sign up). We have never had problems with this promotion and the staff at the players club both times we used it seem to be familiar with the promotion. The hubby and I both sign up for it. Easy as free play elsewhere. Tropicana used to offer a similar promotion at this same site but I believe they suspended their participation last year. Its a good deal if you rent a car or can get your self to and from the Palms via the free shuttles. If you had to take a cab, maybe not worth it. I always play it through in quarter VP and neither time lost my investment. :o)