Newbie Hits Vegas. Any tips?

[venetian]

The Venetian is harder to get comped just because it is so expensive. I checked the website and for your dates the rate is $449 per night! Ouch. You would love it though....I just emailed you so maybe we should talk that way I don't know if we are boring the rest of the forum. LOL

[winbig]

Not boring here....useful information

[Flizzin]

Yes, as Venetian says, sorry for all the figures and stuff and for boring anyone.

[silcnlayc]

Side Question: Is is customary to tip the host ?

The floor slot host that pays you , usually gets a few dollars (like win $1200.00 I usually give 20-50 dollars if she is quick in bringing it to me).

[venetian]

The floor slot host that pays you , usually gets a few dollars (like win $1200.00 I usually give 20-50 dollars if she is quick in bringing it to me).

Technically those are not real slot hosts. A slot host, casino host or VIP host etc are the people who deal with the players during their visit to the casino. You are not supposed to tip them in cash. However I know some high rollers that will buy them expensive jewelery, big screen TV's and the like. The floor personel that pay out jackpots...yes you should tip them. I won $5000 on a 1.25 5 line VP and was dealt the royal and in my excitement I tipped him $100. Every time I saw him during the rest of my stay he would go out of his way to thank me. It made me feel good.

[winbig]

The floor slot host that pays you , usually gets a few dollars (like win $1200.00 I usually give 20-50 dollars if she is quick in bringing it to me).

I'm sure they'd love to be working when my dad would be playing. If a hostess/waitress put him on to a hot machine (insider info? lol) and he hit good, he'd give them ~10%

[vinylweatherman]

Unless you like chaos, and walking through corridors of building site safety screens, avoid the Aladdin until the upgrade to Planet Hollywood is complete. Staff do not have the information necessary, and misinformation from staff lead me to miss two Casino Action events and the shuttle bus back.

Talk to the friendly locals.

Locals tip 1 - Only a mere block off strip and prices fall by 25%.

Obvservation - walk slowly to exit with luggage, ensuring host desk etc can see. You may get an offer.

Tip 2 - get hold of 24/7 booklet from street touts & check for freebies.

Tip 3 - Rooms off strip will be cheaper, will make a good first night while looking for an opportunity to get further nights comped. (Was not an issue for us as my flights and room had already been comped by Casino Action)

Tip -4 Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam day tours take ALL DAY (6am to 9am start to 5pm+ return), they are not a filler for a few spare hours. (We had no time with a 2 day trip).

Tip -5 The magnetic strip player cards keep getting wrecked as the dry desert air and lavish casino upholstery mean you get a static jolt on almost anything you touch (including when inserting the cards).

Tip -6 The ticket payout system has pissed off the locals, the casinos laid off around a third of their staff who used to handle the cash - they have ended up flipping burgers or working in the other shops, stalls, etc for less pay than before.

Tip - 7 Try not to fly with United - Cabin service is fine, but logistics sucks. A 1 hour delay at Heathrow was my introduction to this, and despite 8 hours warning they had nothing in place at Chicago to speed customers to connections that were also with them. This resulted in us parting company with our luggage till past 10pm from a landing around 3pm in the afternoon.

The flight to catch the International LA to Heathrow was ALSO subject to a delay of almost the same length, and we only made it due to gaining an hour with moving to LA time from Nevada time. The captain's slip of the toungue did at least keep us amused, as he announced that once airbourne it was a short flight of some 46 HOURS!!!!!!!!!

Tip - 8 The Game King Video Blackjack (multi-game) is surely up to no good, worse than a bad run on MG, and pretty obvious shut down on the dealer hands. The fact that the "free slots" promotion is valid on these Video Blackjack games says it all. Whatever happened to that Nevada law about video card decks having to behave like real ones!
The Video Poker machines seem fair though, but Aladdin did not offer full pay.

Comps. I played sessions from Friday evening to late Saturday night. Took a total of $400, and returned with $26 plus souveniers. The casino floor probably saw half or less of this, and the comps were:-

$13 cash
Starbucks breakfast comp covering me and guest (who didn't play)
$25 free slots gaming (no obvious WR and I cashed in $19.02 after a few games)
Complimentary carry bag.

I was not offered an inducement to stay longer as I had made it clear I had flights already booked (and had put the date of return on my Visa waver slip.)

I found the casino floor of the Paris more impressive, with the fake sky making it feel like playing outdoors. The Aladin has the fake sky in the shopping mall, and there is supposed to be a thunderstorm every 30 minutes.

Given the opportunity, I would go back. I would want to make it a long week though, perhaps Tuesday through to the following Thursday, around 9/10 days. This would also avoid crowding at the airports compared to the weekend.