a.bentonab
Expert
I went with my fiance at the time and her family a couple years ago. For the love of God, sign up for the rewards cards at every casino you go to. You get loads of coupons for just signing up, in addition to racking up rewards points for all the money you gamble. At slots, you just put your card in the machine before you gamble. At table games, you just give them your card when you buy in. For table games you usually have to ask the dealer in order to cash in your rewards for stuff like meals or rooms or stuff. Do this between shoes so you don't make all the other players mad. For slots it is automatic I think, although I haven't gotten enough of those to be sure.
Many casinos that are owned by a parent company all share one rewards cards, like those owned by Harrah's. It is nice because your rewards add up between several different places instead of starting over at each casino but you don't get as many coupons. Our normal routine was to go to a new casino, each of us signs up for the coupon books. Then we'd use the best coupons, usually winning some money in the process, and move on to the next casino. It's a good way to make some money and see many of the casinos in town, although it doens't work so well with the casinos owned by large parent companies.
We saw the ice skating show, I think it was at Rio (meh), Jubilee at Bally's (true vegas showgirls), and the price is right also at Bally's. Price is Right is a scaled down version and doesn't get televised, but they change the rules slightly so that about half the audience gets at least a T-shirt. probably 1/5 gets to go down to contestants row because they replace all of them every time. I won big here so of course I loved it
We both liked downtown (aka old las vegas) better than the strip. Every half hour they have a 2-3 minute show on the incredible lights outside. I think it was the golden nugget that had a shark tank you could see. The gambling downtown was better, as all blackjack tables I saw there were 3:2 as opposed to the cheaper (read: my budget) tables were 6:5 on the strip. Wife also won a pretty penny at several places slot machines.
The best thing about Vegas is the fact that you never have to pay for alcohol. If you are gambling AT ALL or even LOOK like you are gambling, they will bring you all the free booze you want. They can't do that here in IN, which sucks. Normal tip is $1 every drink or two.
Do you have a favorite game or are looking for one? If you know how to play, and play perfectly, some games even give you an advantage over the casino. At least you should be an informed gambler and know how to play smart. I use both a blackjack and a video poker trainer. I can make all the mistakes I want and I don't pay for like I would to learn the same lessons at Aztar or a Racino.
Hit or Stand - Blackjack Game and Trainer
9/6 Jacks or Better Video Poker Trainer
Many casinos that are owned by a parent company all share one rewards cards, like those owned by Harrah's. It is nice because your rewards add up between several different places instead of starting over at each casino but you don't get as many coupons. Our normal routine was to go to a new casino, each of us signs up for the coupon books. Then we'd use the best coupons, usually winning some money in the process, and move on to the next casino. It's a good way to make some money and see many of the casinos in town, although it doens't work so well with the casinos owned by large parent companies.
We saw the ice skating show, I think it was at Rio (meh), Jubilee at Bally's (true vegas showgirls), and the price is right also at Bally's. Price is Right is a scaled down version and doesn't get televised, but they change the rules slightly so that about half the audience gets at least a T-shirt. probably 1/5 gets to go down to contestants row because they replace all of them every time. I won big here so of course I loved it
We both liked downtown (aka old las vegas) better than the strip. Every half hour they have a 2-3 minute show on the incredible lights outside. I think it was the golden nugget that had a shark tank you could see. The gambling downtown was better, as all blackjack tables I saw there were 3:2 as opposed to the cheaper (read: my budget) tables were 6:5 on the strip. Wife also won a pretty penny at several places slot machines.
The best thing about Vegas is the fact that you never have to pay for alcohol. If you are gambling AT ALL or even LOOK like you are gambling, they will bring you all the free booze you want. They can't do that here in IN, which sucks. Normal tip is $1 every drink or two.
Do you have a favorite game or are looking for one? If you know how to play, and play perfectly, some games even give you an advantage over the casino. At least you should be an informed gambler and know how to play smart. I use both a blackjack and a video poker trainer. I can make all the mistakes I want and I don't pay for like I would to learn the same lessons at Aztar or a Racino.
Hit or Stand - Blackjack Game and Trainer
9/6 Jacks or Better Video Poker Trainer