Hello, my son came from a night in Vegas, he said they (2 guys, early 20s) went to a bar in NYNY, and if you pay with a $20 bill there they give you a free drink and just change your $20 into quarters so you can gamble.

Is it alwasy true or is it something end-of-the-year special? Is it only in NYNY or in all casinos?

I didn't know it because I hardly drink, especially without food. Now I wonder...

The bars in the casinos with video poker games will serve free drinks as long as you are gambling.

This is probably true to most if not all the LV casino bars with video poker games.

It's no different if you are gambling on the floor (slots, tables, etc). The cocktail waitresses will bring free drinks as long as you are spending money on some game. Good tips for the waitress will insure more frequent drinks

Oh, no, we all knew about the girls bringing free drinks. I was asking about breaking a $20 bill in quarters and giving a free drinks by bartenders. Don't know if they played video poker, though.

I will say that once when I couldn't get a waitress to come while I was playing the slots, I finally walked over to the nearby bar and asked about free drinks, but they said no, I'd have to wait for one of the special waitresses. A scotch and water at the bar was $4.50 instead of free. Normally once one has brought you a drink and you give her a dollar, she'll be back quick and often.

Not every casino bar has video poker games and the ones that don't will charge for drinks. The ones that have the bar top video poker games will serve free drinks to anybody that's sitting at the bar and gambling. If you are playing a slot machine or whatever the bar will not serve free drink. If it did then they might as well put the cash registers away. The idea is to have you spending your cash, and as long as they could see that you are, they will serve free drinks. That's why it has to be a cocktail waitress on the floor(she could see if you are playing) and that's why you have to be sitting and gambling at the bar(the bartender will make sure that you are playing) to get free drinks there.

To answer the OP:
Maybe you misunderstood or maybe this was a one time deal, but free drinks are provided only to ANYBODY that's gambling. You do not get free drinks when chamging money. The casinos are happy to serve you anything you want but only if you are spending (not changing) money.

Nope, it's not a misunderstanding: they ordered hard liquor at a NYNY bar and their $20s got changed into quarters (coins) and they got free drinks. They changed those rolls of quarters into bills at the cashiers window.

That's why I am surprised: never heard of anybody not gambling getting a free drink! Unless you have a coupon, but this was not the case.

I'd believe anything is possible. The one rule in Las Vegas that is hard and fast is "there are no rules in Vegas". Anything is possible.