Since positive expectation VP is a thing of the past (unless you want
to grab your sword cane and duel the locals for a seat at one of the
last few fullpay quarter Deuces carousels), the basic strategy for
anyone not wanting to get massacred has shifted to promo-hopping and
taking advantage of mailed offers.
The big Strip properties each maintain their own marketing databases
even if there is common ownership of the properties; for instance,
Park Place ("Connection Card"), with Hilton, Paris, etc.
Therefore, what has worked for me is:
1. Pick a casino---any large Strip property with $200 weeknight rooms,
$14 sandwiches in the coffee shop, and crap VP (you're lucky if you
find 9/6 JOB any more, and forget anything POSITIVE (and yes, I know
about Pick Nose 'Em, I'd rather be eaten alive by red ants than spend
a weekend playing that game)).
2. Give them a concentrated burst of play over a period THAT DOESN'T
STRADDLE MIDNIGHT OF A GIVEN DAY (important). Play anything that
doesn't have a high volatility even if the EV is lower than the best
game (for example, play 9/6 JOB rather than 10/7 DB; play Ugly Ducks
rather than 9/7 DB; etc.) Particularly good is a multiline game for
the decreased variance (ideally, 9/6 JOB; but the best widely
available game for this purpose is 15/9/4/4/3/2/1 "Ugly Ducks").
3. Now you have a high "trip average" coin-in. Sit back and wait for
the offers to arrive, and DO NOT PLAY AT THAT CASINO AGAIN until the
offers dry up. (NB: They will dry up once, but then there will be
another burst of offers as they try to "reclaim" you.)
I have received over $2000 worth of bounceback cash, room offers, free
high-equity tournament entries, food vouchers, gift certs, etc. etc.
from EACH of several high-end Strip properties using the single-visit
approach. The best ones have been Venetian, NYNY, LV Hilton, and
Paris. Less worthwhile have been TI, Mirage, and Caesar's; Bellagio
has been WORTHLESS (they HATE VP players there).
BTW, I averaged $23,000 coin-in on each of my one-day visits, playing
at a theoretical cash loss of $100-$300/visit, before comps and
cashback were filtered back in (usually at least 0.5%).
Conclusion: You can still beat the system, but now it's more in the
line of "get a cheap vacation" than the "Frugal Gambler" "play quarter
fullpay VP and get handed the keys to the casino" approach.
Postscript: AZ Charlie's is apparently gauging its bounceback mailings
on ACTUAL RESULTS rather than coin-in or theo(!!!!!). I was
mail-snubbed by them for two months, which roughly coincided
(factoring in time-lag) with the month wherein I hit SEVEN royals
there. As of last month, the mailings have resumed, at the same level,
as if nothing had happened.