PRO TIPS for first-time CASINO Travel

First-time to a casino? – We got you covered! Following our last post on basic newbie tips for your first casino travel, here comes a few pro-tips from a pool of bloggers who have been keen to share their experinces. From free loyalty programs, to getting free drinks, and where to play and stay while in Las Vegas, we have it all for you. (The first tip being the most important…)

1. Before entering the casino you have to decide how much money you want to lose and once lost that amount MUST exit from the casino. – (By Inguaribile Viaggiatore)
2. Luckily, nearly every casino has a membership program you can join for FREE. You’ll need to find the registration desk, but once there you can take a breath, fill out the form an get acquainted with your surroundings. If you’re lucky you might even get some free credit on the card to get you started. That free credit could turn into a small windfall, who knows! – (Tip by Jordan Bryant of Tiki Touring Kiwi)
3. Always enroll in the casino’s loyalty program. It’s free, and you get a lot of perks such as free drinks, free buffet Coupons, reduced room rates, etc. You just have to present your card at any card gaming table, or insert it into the slot machines when you play it. The more you play, the more rewards you earn. – (By Karon Warren of This Girl Travels)
4. I was planning a road trip to Disneyland with some friends, with a stop in Vegas along the way. One of my co-workers let me know that you can often drink for free there if you’re gambling. I wasn’t exactly sure how much you had to spend so my friend and I just sat down at a bar with the computer card games and ordered drinks. The bartender told us the regular price and then said we could put $20 in the machine instead. We ended up doing that and cashed out before we had spent the amount we originally would have on the drinks. – (By Rachel Simmet of http://followyourwander.com/)
5. Getting free drinks at the Casino: Pretty much every casino will provide their gamblers with free drinks. The trick to this is – if you aren’t a gambler find the lowest cost slots around, like many places have penny slots. You can gamble away at $2 for an hour. If you want more than just one drink when the waitress comes by, tip her well. Most people don’t even tip so if you give her one every time she brings you a drink she will start coming by more often! This makes for a great way to cut costs, start your evening and enjoy a few free (or cheap if you count the tip) before heading out to dinner or dancing. – (Tip by Megan MacNee of Traveling Nine to Fiver)
   

   Newbie Casino Tips for Vegas (- By Hawaiian Brian)

   

6. The cheapest time to visit Vegas is when it’s really hot in (July or August) or the week before Christmas.
7. You will save a ton of money if you stay on the weekdays. Most room rates double or even triple on the weekend. This is because a ton of people from LA and the rest of the country like to visit Vegas for a long weekend.
8. I prefer to stay on the strip at either Harrah’s or the Flamingo.  They have the best rates in town and their locations are in the middle of the Las Vegas strip.  Since they are located in the middle of the strip you can avoid paying a taxi because one day you head south, the next day you head north out of the hotel.
9. The nicer the casino the worse your odds of winning are. These casinos need to generate more money to pay for these fancy casinos. I know the Wynn Casino needs to make 5 million a day just to break even.
10. Visit downtown Vegas. Downtown Vegas provides much better odds at winning in slots.  Downtown also usually has some of the best food deals in Vegas. Downtown also provides one of the best free shows in Vegas – ‘The Freemont Street Experience’.
11. The house has the smallest advantage if you play Black Jack or Craps.
12. Vegas also has a ton of free shuttles that most people don’t know about.  Below are the free shuttles in Vegas: The Rio to Harrah’s; Aria/Monte Carlo, Crystals and the Bellagio; The Linq, Gold Coast and Orleans; Excalibur to Luxor to Mandalay Bay; Mirage to Treasure Island; Harrah’s to Sams Town.

Casinos in Reno: The state of Nevada’s other glittery gambling mecca has plenty of extravagant hotels and resorts and the same hassle-free marriage and gaming laws that have made Las Vegas famous for a flutter, a party or a quickie wedding  – but the so called ‘Big Little City’ of Reno often has better deals than it’s big hitting neighbor. For example ‘The Peppermill Resort’ has branches in both Vegas and Reno – both with the decadent atmosphere of a classic casino – and downtown Reno itself has some unexpected delights to offer, including a thriving dining and brewing scene, Nevada’s only state art museum and the world’s tallest rock climbing wall. – (Tip by Jaillan Yehia of Savoirthere.com)