Las Vegas for Dummies
 

Are Comps and Freebies only for high rollers.

What about the average Joe?
How can we get 2 for 1 stuff?

Yes - comps and freebies are given only on the premise that you're going to lose a lot of money.

You can check out the various hotel programs - but very few provide anything - except free drinks (but you have to tip) - to regular guests.

Before playing go to the "club" to register. They will give you a card which you either put in a slot or give to the girl at the table. Depending on how much you lose, you may get some freebies back.

No, it's not only for high rollers. I believe you get 1 point for every $1 spent... and you need a minimum of 1,000 points to get a glass with the casino's name on it... or something like this.

Oh, another thing to consider: if several casinos have the same ownership, you use the same card.

If a different ownership, sign up for another card - they may give you freebies for playing with them while staying elsewhere.

But Vegas getting more and more expensive with less and less freebies, so don't count on it.

If you don't already belong to the various player clubs at the casinos, when you sign up sometimes you get some "freebies".

The Harrah properties give you a coupon book when you sign up - there are coupons in there for restaurants and shops in their properties. We used the $5 off per person coupons for the Paris buffet and for breakfast at the Harrah's buffet.

The Wynn slot card I signed up for gave $10 "free" play. You have to put money in the slot machine to get it, but I only put a dollar in a nickel slot and played for about an hour on that. Yes, you can tell I'm not a gambler.

My sister is more of a gambler than I am, and she earned enough points on her Wynn card in the same amount of time to redeem for a free buffet - she said she put in maybe $50. So you don't have to necessarily drop hundreds to get stuff free.

I was at the Mirage playing a video poker machine and a woman came around to sign me up for a slot card. She also gave me a coupon for $5 in free play.

If you're talking about free rooms, meals at fancy restaurants and show tickets, then you probably have to gamble on a higher scale. The small stuff like I noted above you don't really have to gamble much at all.

Check out Las Vegas Advisor:
http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/whyjo...valueslist.cfm

Lots of 2:1 coupons.

Re comps and freebies, it depends how you define high roller and where you play. If you play at MGM or Venetian, they won't even look at you if you're betting $25 or less at a Blackjack table. At a less high end hotel, you could get some comps at that level.

I don;t consider spending $1000 to get a "free" glass worth a couple of dollars free.

Yes, there are lots of little offers worth a few dollars - but being comped anything sizable requires betting (and almost always losing) major amounts of money.

Try http://www.smartervegas.com there are plenty of discounts for both shows and hotels that everyone can use.

Lots of places have coupons and flyers, trying to attract visitors. At VegasResource.com they kinda collect all these offers and mail you the ones that you want, for a service charge. it can be well worth it if you find a show coupon for a show that you want to see, or a meal coupon for a place that you are planning to eat at.
The Imperial Palace, a hotel on center strip, always has a coupon on their website for free admission to the cool auto museum.

"But Vegas getting more and more expensive with less and less freebies, so don't count on it.'

Sad, but very true!

The few bargains there are you would find more off strip and in Downtown LV.

Thank you so much for all your replies. Alot of helpful info. I will sign up for players club.

We are staying at the Paris.

Too bad I am not a high roller so I wont expect alot of freebies.

Isnt it funny that the ones who get all the free stuff arent the ones that doent need it. ;0)

Another question. If the monorail only goes to the Sahara, is there anyway from there to the Fremont Experience except by cab?

Thank you so much for all your replies. Alot of helpful info. I will sign up for players club.

We are staying at the Paris.

Too bad I am not a high roller so I wont expect alot of freebies.

Isnt it funny that the ones who get all the free stuff arent the ones that need it. ;0)

Another question. If the monorail only goes to the Sahara, is there anyway from there to the Fremont Experience except by cab?

All casinos have comp systems, to get the most bang for your buck you'll need to venture downtown or someplace like the Stratosphere. Both great if you are just going to gamble, not so much if you want to visit the Strip, do shows, shop, etc. If it is your first trip, you'll want to stay in the middle of the Strip. Otherwise you'll spend more $$ on cabs, than you'll save on comps. Also keep in mind the $$ adds up faster than you think. If you are playing blackjack @ a full table @ $10/hand, you're probably going to go through (@ least) 50 hands an hour, that's $500 bet (w/out any splits or double downs). Always use your player card.

If you want to take advantage of comps the best you can, read "Comp City" by Max Rubin.

Instead of taking the monorail to the Sahara and then transferring to go downtown, take either the Deuce or the Arrow busses. They both run down the strip and leave from the front of the casinos instead of the back. They are quite a bit cheaper too!

As the old saying goes, there's no such thing as a free lunch (or drink or room, etc)