Scouring for Casino Info
I’ve often written that if you need more info about a specific casino, you should check their website for details — about their promotions, players club, restaurants, amenities, etc. Most casinos do better than they did years ago, but it’s amazing how many still do not realize that for so many of their potential and returning customers, the website is their first go-to contact. Sadly, many casino websites are only a brief and unsatisfying resource starting point.
Where can and should you go next?
In this post, I discuss where I often go and give you some of the information I’ve learned recently, even though I can’t use another good technique I recommend, visiting a casino in person.
THE PALMS
I wanted to find details about the Palms the minute it reopened, so I checked their website. There was general information, mainly about food offerings, but very few details a serious player would need: the name of the new players club and a photo with partial views of all the various tier cards, but absolutely no details. You can sign up there for email updates, but you can’t actually sign up for a card.
So I went to vpFREE2, my usual first step for getting the nitty gritty info I need: VP inventory, sorted by machines or games, with locations, players club details, names of hosts, and general helpful comments.
Then I went to one of my best friends, Google, and found an article titled “Palms Casino Resort Opens with New Rewards Program For Las Vegas.” Bingo! Loads of details to fill in some of my information gaps.
I always liked Vital Vegas, Scott Roeben’s blog. Scott is a man about town who worked in Vegas marketing for a long time and is very well connected and knowledgeable. So I checked his article about the Palms re-opening, which includes a lot of photos and interesting personal opinions. He also gives a link to a Twitter message that gives a valuable tier-matching chart. Check your loyalty cards and see if you can score a higher tier level at the Palms. In fact, you can see there what other Vegas players clubs you might want to join for higher tier-matching benefits.
Now I’m waiting to hear from some you who are lucky to be able to do eyes-on research!
CZR Properties
Speaking of personal reporting I really appreciate, I recently received an email from a frugal friend giving some updates from his recent trip to Harrah’s Cherokee. The food offerings are still in a period of frustration and confusion as most of the food court, which was in the casino, is closing as the Gordon Ramsey Food Market, outside the casino, is in a slow-opening phase. Seems like they’re repositioning dining options so that they’re available to families, since you have to be 21 to enter the casino proper. However, you see many children in the hotel and other non-casino entertainment areas.
While I’m on the subject of Cherokee, I had several requests for a photo of our recent jackpot there. Some of you may have already seen it in a recent LVA YouTube (# 43).
Another way that I discover new information that sometimes doesn’t ever make it into a website is by carefully reading all casino mail, both hard copy and online. That is how I learned that a CZR player who becomes eligible for free rooms as they go up in tier credits can use these room nights in other locales besides Vegas, which is the old offer. I’m not sure whether this covers all over the U.S. or just specific ones; you would need to check with a host. You would also need to check the details; it used to be a free night every 5,000 tier credits, but I’m not sure of the limit, perhaps 6 or 7 free nights a year? Also, I’m not sure if this is a permanent benefit or temporary promotion. Again, check with a host.
MGM
Sometimes I find new information that might be mentioned on a casino website, but not for a casino where I regularly play, so I don’t check it frequently for any additions or change of benefits. That happened just this morning as I was beginning to edit and post this blog. I got an email from Southwest (my airline of choice, because there is no charge if you have to change/cancel a flight) informing me they have become a preferred partner of MGM.
MGM Rewards members who are also Rapid Rewards® Members can now earn 600 Rapid Rewards® Points for each qualifying stay at all Las Vegas MGM Rewards destinations: Bellagio®, ARIA™, Vdara™, MGM Grand®, The Signature at MGM Grand®, Mandalay Bay®, Delano™ Las Vegas, Park MGM Las Vegas, The Mirage®, New York – New York®, Luxor®, and Excalibur®.
Now to end this blog on a lighter note, some comments that made me smile when that 2016 YouTube interview “How She Made a Million” was recently re-posted. Seems nothing goes away online and people are still wanting to give their opinions – 463 of them at last count! Yes, there are many positive reactions, but so many of them are darkly colored by their personal painful losing casino experiences.
Commenter #1: This interview was done in 2016? How are they doing today? Wouldn’t Brad be about 90 years old?
My Response: Yep, it’s 2022 and Brad IS 90 years old.
Commenter #2: When they become a little bit off their game mentally as they get older, they will give their life savings back to the casinos. It’s just a matter of time.
My Response: Brad is in mental decline and doesn’t play unless I’m beside him helping him remember. I’m 83 and maybe not quite as sharp as I was in 2016, but with some review play with software on my computer, the few times I get to a casino these days, I think I remember accurate strategy pretty well. And I don’t lose enough to put even a small dent in that million dollars talked about in the YouTube interview. What does put a bigger dent in life savings is paying for senior assisted living. 🙁
Today, I’m very glad we always kept on the path of frugal advantage play and didn’t squander in our younger days those big video poker winnings!