Hi there,
I think the answer to your question all depends on how serious of a gambler you are. Since you mentioned this is your only trip of the year and that you are not fully comped I am assuming you are not trying to make a living while gambling. If that's not the case please let us know.
Quick response: Book them both, play at both, have no agenda other than to have fun, enjoy the free stuff, and only gamble with whatever amount of money you are comfortable coming home without.
Long response: It all depends what you want out of your trip. Sightseeing? Nothing but gambling on the best games? Nice hotels? Location to other hotels? If you only go to Vegas once a year then I would not worry too much about keeping whatever casino on your "friendly" side. My only advice is that if you like a certain place and want to stay there again then be sure to spend some good time gambling there. The casinos will always send you offers even if you booked a comped trip and do not play there at all. The offer will not be as good as the last one but odds are you'll get another great offer from a different property. The only thing you need to focus on is not spreading out your gambling too thin. If you just play 30mins at 30 different casinos then you won't get many good offers. Again this advice is only for people who don't frequent Vegas very often and are mainly there to have fun and won't be in trouble if they lose all the money they brought.
To me it's fun to have multiple hotel rooms and no set plan. My wife enjoys this freedom as well. You could also book just a few nights at one place and book the rest as you feel. Sometimes you'll want to stay a whole week at one place and other times you, or your party, doesn't feel the vibe there in which case you can go somewhere else. This is especially true since you have a car and don't have to worry about getting around by taxi.
If you're worried about playing the best video poker then stay away from the Rio and only stay/play at one of the good places on vpfree2.com. I recently stayed at the Rio and did not end up playing at all there. (You can read my blog about it if you want: http://www.lastminutegamblingtips.com/casino-review-rio-in-las-vegas-nv/. Also keep in mind that Gold Coast is directly next to Rio and also near Palms which has some of the better video poker.
Hope that helps! At the same time feel free to ignore everything I said if you want...just wanted to throw some different options out there since you're trip sounds one like my friends would take as opposed to the more hardcore gamblers.
--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, lasvegaspilgrim@... wrote:
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> Hi all, I guess I am luckier than most people in the world, in that I have almost two weeks in Vegas booked in mid December (right after the rodeo, so I will have some room among the locals). Right now I am double booked at hotels, one straight through at the Rio (used a LVA code a month ago--11 nights for 178$US TOTAL), the other at various Boyd properties (2 nights at Orleans, 3 at Gold Coast, 2 at Sam's Town, 1 at SunCoast, etc.) with a combo of comps, low rates, and slot tournaments, for around the same price. The Rio is centrally located, would include NO MOVING around, and has the poorer VP payouts, from what I've read. Of course, the other option is exactly the opposite in all categories. Looking at this from all angles (only trip of the year, would like to maintain "friendly" relations at both sets of properties, and win$$), what would the "smart" play be)? Keep one reservation over the other, or take 6 at Rio, 5 at Boyd properties?? Will have a car of course (which costs more than either hotel combination, ironically enough), so transportation isn't an issue. Anyhow, any input from the smart people in this group would be appreciated!!!
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