Of course there's more to it than "I don't require an expensive room or 5-star dining!". One post recommended being open to the sublime and wonderful casino. I shouldn't be looking for the drab and defunct, when making a choice of my "first destination," my home casino. And the casino being hungry isn't sufficient, either. A good operator knows an inspired comps program is a prerequisite to attracting crowds of happy gamblers! When the bean-counters take over casino operation, a decent comps program will be the first to go.
Examine what happened to Binion's Horseshoe (and Union Plaza and Las Vegas Club). Benny Binion laid down a completely original and powerful foundation, and the result was Binion's became the world's best at poker (witness the World Series of Poker) and also the very best in the world at craps. Not only that they were right near the top at blackjack. I watched this personally, starting in 1987. I haven't been interested in VP until now, but I'll bet Benny was real, real generous in that area too! He sure installed great low prices on food, and I could go on and on about that. When Benny died the slide began. It ended up being sold for taxes. Instructive. Same with Union Plaza and Las Vegas. When Jackie Gaughan owned them his name was plastered right on the building, in great big letters! And Jackie tried to outdo Benny. No doubt Las Vegas Club had the most generous blackjack anywhere. But when Jackie sold out, it was just a
matter of time and these places would become just a shadow of their former self; El Cortez, which is where Jackie lives to this day (and at advanced age), apparently has also suffered with new ownership.
I've selected Main Street Station as my home casino, subject to change of course. Their buffet is super, and also affordable (morning to night, too). Their location kitty-corner to the city bus terminal means the #108 bus is for all practical purposes the Main St shuttle from the airport! A Boyd property, I'm wondering if what I'm learning about comps in Jean Scotts' "More Frugal Gambling" will apply. I sure hope so. The vpFREE2 database shows Main St. #7 among 485 casinos statewide, another plus for me. Further, vpFREE2 leads me to JB (Jacks or Better) and DB (Double Bonus), as games I must learn. After all I'll be a beginner at VP, and I love the challenge! Paymer's VP software will be mine, a super duper product. JB and DB are low volatility games, so I'll also select a high volatility game to learn, possibly DDB.
This is a time of great changes for me, as I expect to show up monthly in LV, primarily to play VP. I appreciate much the very substantial help I've been getting from the vpFREE members! Thank You!
________________________________
From: "TedChee@aol.com" <TedChee@aol.com>
To: vpFREE@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, February 4, 2012 1:23 AM
Subject: Re: [vpFREE] Planned Vegas Trip
I'd normally agree with your choices but here was the original request:
"I'm hunting for a single casino where I can play VP with the only object
to get comped for my room and food. My bankroll is limited, perhaps $3,000.
Certainly I don't require an expensive room or 5-star dining!"
I've never played at Ellis Island but I did dine there as a guest of some
local high-rollers & didn't get food poisoning. Locals recommend it due to
the long-time dining privileges which I'll leave for someone else to
describe. El Cortez, I also haven't stayed there either but did book a room which
was like straight out of the '50s & made a mental note to myself that I
would use it in the future if I needed to be Downtown. If was across the
street from the casino & access was guarded & required a room key. I avoided El
Cortez for years due to an image from a decade ago but I haven't
experienced any of it in the last 3 visits last year. Re Terribles, I'll defer to
your opinion since I haven't been there in a couple of years but this used to
be one of the best places to gamble & I'd invite Jean Scott to weigh in
with her insight since she used to gamble there frequently. Sam's Town - it's
been over a decade since I've been there so I can't comment about its
current state but that's a curious one to bring up since it's so far from the
Strip. Rampart is also an odd one due to its distance.
However, Rampart is a past favorite of mine. If anyone has the time, please
give us an update.
Since I've cut down my LV trips in frequency & duration, I don't have as
much time as before to visit some of the outlying casinos. It used to be the
best plays were in the off-Strip casinos & it's probably still that way.
However, to maximize you have to be a local because the incentives are
normally oriented toward getting you to show up on a frequent basis. Walk down
memory lane, Santa Fe & AZ Charlies was where I played the first multi-line
games (by Silicon Gaming) & it was FP Jokers Wild with 4700 RF. And who
remembers the Odeyssey VP with the bonus feature on those machines?
In a message dated 2/3/2012 8:52:14 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,
vpFREE@yahoogroups.com writes:
_Re: [vpFREE] Planned Vegas Trip _
(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vpFREE/message/119187;_ylc=X3oDMTJzZTcxdWtyBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzQ2NDEwMTcEZ3Jwc3B
JZAMxNzA1MDY1NzMyBG1zZ0lkAzExOTE4NwRzZWMDZG1zZwRzbGsDdm1zZwRzdGltZQMxMzI4Mjg
3OTMw)
Posted by: "rob.singer1111@yahoo.com" _rob.singer1111@yahoo.com _
(mailto:rob.singer1111@yahoo.com?Subject= Re:%20[vpFREE]%20Planned%20Vegas%20Trip)
_rob.singer1111 _ (http://profiles.yahoo.com/rob.singer1111)
Thu Feb 2, 2012 8:55 pm (PST)
If I were just starting out I'd stick with Tuscany out of that group and I
wouldn't go near El Cortez, Terribles, Sam's Town, or esp. Ellis Island.
The gross-out factor weighs far greater with me than whatever a property
offers for vp.
Don't get the wrong impression on your initial trip: visit the M, South
Point, Rampart, or even the Orleans or any of the beautiful hotels on and
around the Strip.
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
