Casino Comps | The Big Play Casino Gambling Day

Casino Comps Big Day of Play

More play in fewer trips is going to net you the most casino comps. This is just a general statement about casino gambling because the amount of play that will generate marketing offers is not an exact science.

Vegas News | Casinos Open This Week!

Vegas News May 31 2020 | Casinos Open This Week!

Businesses in Las Vegas are slowly opening. Phase 2 of the state’s Nevada United: Roadmap to Recovery reopening plan started on Friday. Gyms, bars, spas, and more are allowed to reopen. Of course, most of you are here for the casino biz and the news that casinos open this week!

Vegas News | Getting Closer To Las Vegas Casinos Opening…Maybe

Closer to Las Vegas Casinos Opening - Vegas News May 17 2020

Heyo! Las Vegas is 115! I’m old enough to remember when the TV show “Las Vegas” celebrated Las Vegas turning 100 (originally and last week). This week’s big “maybe” revolves a lot around whether we are getting closer to Las Vegas Casinos opening.

Vegas News | Reopening Las Vegas One Phase At A Time

Vegas News May 10 2020 | Reopening Las Vegas One Phase At A Time

Before we get to talking about the reopening of Las Vegas…… On Saturday I woke up crankier than usual since it was 3:30 am. After listening to a couple of podcasts I grabbed a cup of chamomile tea and plopped down on the couch to see what was on TV. It was with great surprise that reruns of the old NBC show “Las Vegas” were airing on E!

Vegas News | MGM, Boyd, Station All Planning For Reopening

Vegas News May 3 2020 | MGM, Boyd, Station All Planning For Reopening

For a few weeks, it looked as though there wouldn’t be much Vegas news to share. Well, that concern is over. There should be lots of news now that Las Vegas has a “roadmap to recovery.” This is a multi-tiered plan to reopen the entire state. There’s one important thing to know before you read this plan – there is no opening date for casinos yet.

Vegas News | Traveling Downtown, Opening Vegas, And Lots Of Biz

Vegas News April 26 2020 | Traveling Downtown, Opening Vegas, And Lots Of Biz

On Friday I took a nice mellow drive to downtown Las Vegas. This was my first visit downtown since casinos closed. My primary objective was to grab some Pizza Rock to go. I took a longer route heading downtown to see how Circa Resort is progressing. The photo above is from Symphony Park (more on that another time) to show the scale of Circa vs. Plaza. It’s huge! Now, onto the Vegas News!

Vegas News | Looking Forward To New Vegas

Vegas News April 19 2020 | Looking Forward To New Vegas

Las Vegas casinos remain closed for the month but there are signs that things are starting to get back to a new normal, “New Vegas.” This week local TV news started actually reporting on news besides providing COVID-19 updates.

Vegas News | Casino Players Club Updates and Casino News

Vegas News April 12 2020 | Casino Players Club Updates and Casino News

The local Las Vegas news is usually a waste of time for me. They typically have 3-5 minutes of local news before going to national news, weather and human interest stories. I don’t watch the local news often because 95% isn’t interesting to me. Don’t get me wrong – I love that I live in a sleepy town like Las Vegas. (Unbelievably, we still have a number of weekly items to share, including details today about the casino players club updates.)

Vegas News | Get Vegasy At Home…And Read Some News

Vegas News April 5 2020 | Get Vegasy At Home...And Read Some News

It was April Fool’s Day last week and thankfully nobody was making bad jokes. Unfortunately, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak made another announcement. He extended the non-essential business closures through the month of April. As of now, the big Vegas News is that the soonest Las Vegas casinos may be able to re-open will be May 1. Of course, that could change again by the time this is posted on Sunday.

Vegas News | Happy (Almost) New Year

Vegas News 29 December 2019 | Happy (Almost) New Year

Congratulations! We made it through another year! This will probably be the shortest Vegas News of the year so I’ll deliver it once again in Quick Hits format.

Vegas News | Resorts World, Residencies and a $2.3 Million Pai Gow Winner

Vegas News 24 November 2019 | Resorts World, Residencies and a $2.3 Million Pai Gow Winner

Before I get to the “big” Vegas News about the Resorts World plan, I must say this has been a chaotic two-week stretch with friends visiting. So many people I know visit Las Vegas for work and/or pleasure. Being able to catch up with friends and acquaintances so frequently is part of what makes living in Las Vegas so great.

Vegas News | KAOS Out At Palms, Eldorado Almost In With Caesars, Getting Out Of Vegas Fees, +More

Vegas News 10 November 2019 | KAOS Out At Palms, Eldorado Almost In With Caesars, Getting Out Of Vegas Fees, +More

Quarterly casino earnings calls and reports often have information that we can use to look at the current and future state of the companies. The calls, specifically, don’t have major breaking news. This week Red Rock Resorts (AKA Station Casinos) dropped a news bomb that was news but not all that surprising. Let’s just get to it because this is probably the biggest story to hit Las Vegas during the week. Plus, we will be talking (again) about Vegas fees.

Vegas News | More Casinos On The Market

Vegas News 3 November 2019 | 3 November 2019

Quarterly earnings are the best and worst at the same time. They often have interesting information. The earnings calls are another level. They often have additional commentary that isn’t in the reports and press release. Let’s explore more in Vegas News.

Vegas News | 2 Casinos Sold, Another On The Block?

Vegas News 20 October 2019 | 2 Casinos Sold - Another On The Block?

What a week! The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) was a blur. That blur sparked many memories both inside and outside of the expo itself. I’ll share thoughts on G2E another day. Let’s direct attention to the Vegas News focusing on casinos sold!

Vegas News | G2E Preview + This Week Was a Blur

Vegas News | G2E Preview + This Week Was a Blur

The Las Vegas PR machines might be slow right now but this week was a blur and I expect more of the same next week. A friend was in town for a conference and that gave me an excuse to enjoy Las Vegas like a tourist for a few days. Let’s get to all the Vegas scoop, and also my Vegas News G2E Preview.

Vegas News | The Calm Before The Storm

Vegas News 6 October 2019 | The Calm Before The Storm

Let’s call this week the calm before the storm. It was a relatively quiet week in Las Vegas aside from the Palms Casino Resort drama (details on that shortly). The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) is in just over a week. Casino operators and gaming manufacturers will have lots of news for us around the gaming conference.

Vegas News | Grasshoppers Invade!

The big news in Las Vegas this week seems to be the grasshopper invasion! I live about 20 minutes west of the Vegas Strip towards Red Rock Casino and I’ve only seen one grasshopper. He or she was outside of my apartment four times I went in and out on Friday. I named my new […]

Consequences of Total Rewards 2018 Devaluations

Total Rewards 2018

While the upcoming changes, effective 02/01/18, to the Caesars Total Rewards program, is a massive slash in benefits, some of the changes certainly make sense from their perspective. I try to play devil’s advocate and understand the business purpose for these decisions. Some I get, while others baffle me when I try to view them through the bean counter’s eyes.

[Ouch!] Major Changes to Total Rewards 2018 Benefits

Total Rewards 2018 Benefits

Caesars unveiled their Total Rewards benefits for 2018. While rumors had been circulating of an upcoming degradation of benefits, nobody predicted how steep it would be.  Most of the key benefits of the Total Rewards program that made it the best casino loyalty program in the country are all gone. The biggest head-scratcher, is that the higher the tier one attained, the more that was taken away.

Caesars Total Rewards | Part 4 | Generating Casino Offers (Marketing Offers)

Caesars Total Rewards | Part 4 | Generating Marketing Offers

How do you alter your play to receive the best casino offers possible based on your bankroll? As I stated in the previous installment, it’s done by the timing of your gaming sessions, which directly affects your Theo (your theoretical loss to the casino, which is the way that the casino calculates what you are worth to them.).

Caesars Total Rewards | Part 3 | What is a Caesars Marketing Offer?

Caesars Total Rewards | Everything You Need To Know - Part 3 | Marketing Offers

Earning Caesars Marketing Offers (and continuing to receive them) from a large casino loyalty program such as Total Rewards is a very complicated endeavor. There are numerous variables to consider, such as which property you are playing at and how popular that property is, how badly that property wants to drum up business, what games, amenities and restaurants are available, etc., but before I launch into specifics, let me define just what a Marketing Offer is.

Las Vegas | Boyd Gaming’s B-Connected Players Club

Boyd Gaming

Boyd Gaming’s B-Connected players club is an interesting form of a national players club. You can earn and use points in 14 casinos from Las Vegas to Indiana. It’s largess is contained mostly to the casino and restaurants owned by Boyd Gaming.