Players Card Comparisons

 (Photo of The Wynn Casino)

Time to be a little honest here, and say I am only a member of about 6 Casino groups (that I could find membership cards for in my safe anyway), so I can't really speak for all of the many, many, many casino membership options that are available in Las Vegas. Furthermore, I go as a tourist, looking for high quality resorts and on-strip locations. But Las Vegas in the larger sense has far, far more to offer than just one (albeit) long street. I'm not even a fan of Fremont Street and it has another whole set of very famous casino's, that offer a great deal to its clientele. I'm just not in to that vibe. But I know people who wouldn't stay anywhere else. And the locals love Ellis Island, Golden Gate, El Cortez and the Station Casino's which are anything but 5-star, but they are known to offer some of the best odds in town and also have excellent players card benefits - I'm just not in to those as resort destinations. I like sparkly clean casinos, soft pillows and gigantic beds, fine dining and all mod-cons in total luxury. Expensive Luxury. But I want that as cheap as I can get it, and I'm happy to put a fair amount of money through a slot machine to prove willing. But if you are not that pedantic about needing a 5-star resort, or if you're a table-game player wanting better odds than the strip offers, or if you like video poker and understand the differences between the various machines and their advertised returns well enough to know a good deal or a bad deal when you see it, then you really should go to these other destinations to gamble, and stay the hell away from the worst paying odds in town - namely any casino on The Strip!
Having said all that, and having been as brutally honest about it as I can be, let me re-state the whole point of this blog - how to play slots without ever losing. I'm not trying to get you to win a million dollars gambling, I'm here to help you put $10,000 in a slot machine and get $20,000 of free and luxurious hotel rooms, food, shows, limo's, flights, cruises, sauna's, facials, massages, show tickets and so forth, completely irrespective of what happens with your $10,000 investment. Winning or losing you are winning, so you can have a lot more fun knowing you don't really care about the money because you've definitely already won compared to just paying for that luxury, and this way is FAR MORE FUN. Also, later, we will actually discuss winning on the slots for proper - but that's way down the line I'm afraid.

Oh, I was supposed to be talking about the various players cards wasn't I, and got sidetracked somewhat. So, my point was that I am NOT talking about ALL the players cards because I don't care about any that won't land me in a 5* hotel on The Strip, with added benefits. So we are just comparing Total Rewards (Caesars), MLife Rewards (MGM), The Red Card (Wynn/Encore) and Grazie (Venetian/Palazzo). But if you have a LONG trip to Vegas planned and want to get to see some of the sites and sounds of the town and have fun while doing it, then I'd recommend following the top 10 list HERE and seeing how much you can get from each location while you're there.

Now, in a sentence, comparing the fancy four TR, MLife Rewards, Grazie and Red Card - the answer is fairly straightforward - if you live anywhere in mainland USA within a driveable distance from a Harrah's casino (and they have nearly 40 as listed HERE) then you really have to join their program. If you happen to live near to one of the MGM properties in Tunica, Biloxi or Detroit, then you really have to join their program, and if you live no where near any of those, then you should join them all! Perhaps not all at once though. Focus on Caesars first, because they will give you free hotel stays most frequently. Then join MGM for the same reason and you can mix and match their free offers so you stay perhaps Sunday though Tuesday at The Paris and then move to The MGM for a couple of extra nights stay either for free or very cheaply. Then later join the Wynn and make sure you earn enough to get a free buffet as well as entry in to their daily free Slot Tourney (someone has to win) and see what offers you get in the mail. Then finally sign up at The Venetian and keep your fingers crossed - but you'll almost definitely get some super deals on stays with them too. I'm off to Las Vegas next month and I'm doing 2 nights at The Palazzo for $60 a night including free entry in to their $25,000 slot machine tournament (worth $100 otherwise). I'm then at The Paris for one night for $60, followed by one night at The MGM for $44 including a suite-upgrade and $50 in free-play. Why am I paying at all you may ask - well firstly I stupidly missed the deadline on the MGM for a free room which I didn't realize had a use-by date. Secondly I'm going during the World Series of Poker season so rooms are hard to get (and I think there must be a convention or something else going on too as The MGM is actually full). And finally I really want to stay at The Palazzo, and I'm willing to pay $60 a night for that luxury. I just checked and those nights at The Palazzo are now fully booked too, but the same days the following month on Hotels.com show a room rate of $299 per night. I'm not complaining, especially if I happen to win anything in the slot tourney! But all this is kind of against the history of my trips to Las Vegas over the past 7 or 8 years where as a norm I have actually never paid for a room. Oh, and once you're Diamond with Caesars there are no added fees, so free really means totally free with them.