Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2011

ferf1223

March

ogs20 wrote: »

When everybody talks about getting things comped how much are you talking of gambling/spending in the resort per day to recieve this? I know it wont be an the same amount all the time but a rough guide would be good! Are we talking £100, £200, £500 £1000 a day??:huh:

It doesn't really work that way, but I get what you're asking and duchy's given you a good idea of her personal experience.

But for slots it's based on play-through at most places, not based on how much cash actually leaves your pocket.

So a crude example - you put a $20 bill a machine, and you play a bit and win a bit and lose a bit and win a bit and lose a bit etc...that $20 may = $100 or more in play through...and that's what comps are based on. Of course there are times that you put a $20 bill into a machine and it hoovers it up...a series of machines like that could see a daily budget gobbled up relatively quickly without much in the way of comps earned.

Table games are a bit different.

Ultimately no one should ever play for comps, but if you're going to play anyway, you may as well sign up and take what's coming to you...sometimes you do not have to wait for the next trip - sometimes if you ask before checking out if they can do anything on your rooms, they will if you have played enough.

Harrahs/Caesars traditionally favours slot players and MGM seems more geared toward table players (but this may change with the new MGM club).

We generally stay for 8-9 nights and with a few exceptions, usually don't pay for our rooms - also concentrate our play at HET properties - and have a few meals and other room charges (internet, etc) covered...we do have a higher gambling budget than duchy per day (it's buying entertainment to us and we do enjoy it) and there are two of us...but historically we have brought back on average 30-50% of our budget, which probably brings us to duchy's ballpark...and our daily budget includes food, etc.

Spursman180

March

ferf1223 wrote: »

It doesn't really work that way, but I get what you're asking and duchy's given you a good idea of her personal experience.

But for slots it's based on play-through at most places, not based on how much cash actually leaves your pocket.

So a crude example - you put a $20 bill a machine, and you play a bit and win a bit and lose a bit and win a bit and lose a bit etc...that $20 may = $100 or more in play through...and that's what comps are based on. Of course there are times that you put a $20 bill into a machine and it hoovers it up...a series of machines like that could see a daily budget gobbled up relatively quickly without much in the way of comps earned.

Table games are a bit different.

Ultimately no one should ever play for comps, but if you're going to play anyway, you may as well sign up and take what's coming to you...sometimes you do not have to wait for the next trip - sometimes if you ask before checking out if they can do anything on your rooms, they will if you have played enough.

Harrahs/Caesars traditionally favours slot players and MGM seems more geared toward table players (but this may change with the new MGM club).

We generally stay for 8-9 nights and with a few exceptions, usually don't pay for our rooms - also concentrate our play at HET properties - and have a few meals and other room charges (internet, etc) covered...we do have a higher gambling budget than duchy per day (it's buying entertainment to us and we do enjoy it) and there are two of us...but historically we have brought back on average 30-50% of our budget, which probably brings us to duchy's ballpark...and our daily budget includes food, etc.

I agree with ferf, I generally budget $1k a day and I play a lot of poker. Most places don't comp on the players cards for poker, Harrahs do and the IP seems to do so quite liberally. Places such as the Orleans have a separate card for the poker room and you ring up or speak to the card room manager for rooms and meals etc whilst you're there.

I do play the machines and predominately stick to the poker machines, most of the other machines don't have any skill factor or strategy involved. The poker machine games which ever variation do have an optimum play strategy that it is well worth learning in as much detail as possible, there are a couple of simulators out there that make it easier to learn than trying to learn off a chart. What is also important is to be able to recognise the various paytables on machines, you will find if your read any articles they will describe machines as full pay, that is on a jacks or better machine looking for a 9:6 paytable, that is 9 coins for a full house, 6 coins for a flush. on a bonus poker machine 8:5.

Unfortunately most casinos on the strip will short you and I've seen the pay tables differ between a weekday night and a busy Fri/ Sat night. I've seen J-O-B paying as little as 7:5 and in somewhere like the MGM 6:5. I will refuse to put a cent in any of the machines on the strip as whilst your putting coin in your not getting much more than 1 1/2 to 2 times your original money in. You will probably lose anyway but using optimum play I usually expect 4 times my coin in does start to rack up points. I can usually over a couple of thousand hands play at above 97% optimum, if a machine is 95% payout I over time will play the machine at 92% of the pay table, that means on average I should lose $8 per $100 put in. One little quirk I have is I play a machine until I hit quads or better and move on.

smaller places like O'Sheas and a fair few of the downtown casinos have full pay machines, my favourite place is the Gold Coast which seems to have a higher than average number well placed in the main body of the casino.

You will find having said the above that most places will advertise full pay VP but might have only one machine set amongst the hundreds of others.

You should also learn basic strategy for Blackjack, again and not play it on the strip as BJ only pays 6:5 where as full pay is 6:4, it impacts a lot on the odds, somewhere like the Golden Nugget doesn't rate you unless you're playing $25 a hand and at about 30 hands per hour on a full table you can burn though money.

At craps always take the odds it is the only proposistion in a casino that pays the true odds of getting a result.

All the table games have proper strategies that will help you lose more slowly, variance will give you good runs and bad runs on all games.

the other machines I play for laughs the latest favourite is the linked Star Trek on full volume where you create an id and that number or ticket when put in to another machine anywhere in Vegas starts you at the rank you last finished on, the higher the rank the more features you activate, not won a bean but it's a great hoot when there are 4 of you in a row shouting and dressed as Mr Spock. I've seen players in full captain Kirk dress up mode. Me I want it updated so I can see a few 7 of 9 look alikes..........oops did I say that out loud?

The last thing we do before leaving the hotel for the last time is get the wole group together and put $50 each into Megasbucks and go for it, I know it's just been won in the Aria $11.4m, I think the ride to the airport might be waiting a while.

Have a blast, play within your means and comfort level and not until it hurts, they're not losses all they are is the cost of entertainment and comps are just a salve for your conscience.

The best feeling in Vegas has to be having to declare your currency to customs when leaving, then you know you've won.

ferf1223

March

Spursman180 wrote: »

the other machines I play for laughs the latest favourite is the linked Star Trek on full volume where you create an id and that number or ticket when put in to another machine anywhere in Vegas starts you at the rank you last finished on, the higher the rank the more features you activate, not won a bean but it's a great hoot when there are 4 of you in a row shouting and dressed as Mr Spock. I've seen players in full captain Kirk dress up mode. Me I want it updated so I can see a few 7 of 9 look alikes..........oops did I say that out loud?

I never win on this machine, but if you're willing to forego some points on your card when playing this particular machine at HET properties don't put your players club card in and enter dennycrane (William Shatner's character on The Practice) as the user ID...has a gazillion medals so has all the available games unlocked.

As for video poker, I don't like it...I like pressing buttons with no thought or strategy involved. I understand that some people prefer to play games that involve some sort of strategy...not me.

Spursman180

March

ferf1223 wrote: »

I never win on this machine, but if you're willing to forego some points on your card when playing this particular machine at HET properties don't put your players club card in and enter dennycrane (William Shatner's character on The Practice) as the user ID...has a gazillion medals so has all the available games unlocked.

As for video poker, I don't like it...I like pressing buttons with no thought or strategy involved. I understand that some people prefer to play games that involve some sort of strategy...not me.

Cheers ferf, dennycrane it is, it's gonna be scary, I've written it down in the first page of my passport!! I suppose they'll be 6 dennycrane's beaming around town at the same time.

duchy

May

Video poker of course earns comps at a lower rate than the usual slots. OK if you understand the stratagy I guess as you balance it out with a better win rate (theoretically)

Also in the HET properties not just food and drink but also show tickets and shopping at any HET property earns you points too. I assume it's the same at others like MGM but don't know for sure.

ogs20

August

Right iv joined the TR scheme and may choose my hotels based on this. i will be staying for 14 nights and spreading it over 3 or 4 hotels:j.

I assume you get your total rewards acc number on the card through the post because i cant find it anywhere on my TR page.

duchy

May

Unless anything has changed you pick it up at the Players Club in any HET casino on arrival. You'll get a few dollars free play it it too

If you are going for 2 weeks you might want to consider Rio for one weekend-Just off Strip with its own free shuttle (or you can use the Gold Coast's one next door too). Much cheaper than the Strip at weekends and the rooms are huge and the Palms across the street is always very lively at weekends.Strip is really close.

duchy

May

Right now we've discussed comps.....should we now discuss the $20 trick ?

ferf1223

March

ogs20 wrote: »

Right iv joined the TR scheme and may choose my hotels based on this. i will be staying for 14 nights and spreading it over 3 or 4 hotels:j.

I assume you get your total rewards acc number on the card through the post because i cant find it anywhere on my TR page.

I don't think you can sign up for TR online - I think you can only sign up for their general email list online, but have to sign up at one of their casinos for Total Rewards. Unless they have changed something - where did you sign up?

But really, please don't base your choices on the prospect of comps...that's pretty dangerous. If you're looking at hotels in the group anyway then that's great...but otherwise just be sure you're not choosing where you stay based on an unknown fact.

We stay at their hotels because we like them and can generally stay for free...we've tried other places and are happy at Bally's/Caesars/Paris and hopefully PH since that's where we are staying next time. But others wouldn't stay at an HET hotel if their life depended on it.

duchy

May

I'm looking forward to your PH report Ferf
Oh I'll be PMing you shortly have a clip from NYC for you