Category: Las Vegas

Let’s sit in the Park, drink beer, play old 80s music and reminisce about days gone by!

Only the most premium of Electrolyte water for me. Truth.

Downtown at the Fremont Casino.

Ok not free but close. Decided to throw some money into the Walking Dead slot while visiting the Suncoast and try my luck, something I would have done anyways. I did not win but as I was getting up from the machine a cocktail waitress reminded me to check if I’d played enough for a buffet. So I did by finding a terminal, sliding my card in and checking my account status. Sure enough, comped buffet.

Each Casino usually has a loyalty program that allows you to insert your players card into machines or submit to the pitboss before your play. They then incentivize you to play by offering certain perks for your contribution to their bottom line. In this case, Boyds gave me a buffet worth 13USD for my 50USD of play.

Now you might be thinking, “But Zaal, that’s not a fair trade! They scooped 50 out of your gambling budget and all you got was a lousy Buffet!”

True enough, dear Reader! But here’s the rub: had I won money(which has happened to me in Vegas before) they still would have given me the buffet. These are the comps that you hear people talk about sometimes. I’m not a big gambler, but I do spend some time at the tables and try my hand at the occasional slot machine. Regardless of if I win or lose the casino has always made a promise to provide me with, at the very least, free rooms or buffet or other perks.

The one thing that must be kept in mind is the casinos don’t stick around because they lose money on buffets or rooms. Know there’s always going to be that one-sided part of the equation that allows them to get the best of us while we enjoy what we do to have fun and getting a few things back in return. Remember, if you win at a slot machine someone else has to lose.

My advice to anyone planning on a Vegas vacation is to sign up for all the loyalty programs you can and make sure you get credit for the gambling you do.

It’s 15 minutes until the next showing but they are just getting through the credits from the previous showing. That’s some tight scheduling.