Hi all --
I recently set up a trip itinerary to LV for mid-December, and thought I'd
invite discussion on the planning strategy involved. It occurs to me that
this approach is what the casinos seem happy with, and it's the kind of thing
we've done before. But more experienced hands might disagree with our
"logic". I'd appreciate some feedback.
First -- we're starting our stay at the absolute slowest, deadest time of the
year (as far as LV is concerned). Cheapest air, cheapest rooms.
Second -- we can't really, really really do "cheapest", because that means
driving cross-country in my Yukon, snarfing greaseburgers and tilting the seat
back in a rest stop when I get tired. 
So this is rather what they call a
"civilized" husband + wife scenario.
The 11 days of stays are all comped rooms (aka "RFB") from mail offers we'd
received, from previous casino visits (and from their computer links to
casinos in AC.) These offers are usually written without conditions -- but
it's clear the casinos expect a certain number of hours played (and cash in)
to cover their largesse.
Their computers have told them that they'll make money on us with this type of
offer, and it's true: based on our net cash out on previous trips, in some
cases casinos have feasted on from 2x to 5x their "listed room rate" (which is
another fiction).
For this trip we chose 5 casinos, and without renaming them, I'll try to
categorize based on our perceptions --
1. M-T 2 nights midclass off-Strip (but not Downtown) Rock Solid, Old
Reliable. Relatively "fair" VP.
2. W-Th 2 nights midclass off-Strip (but not Downtown), probably a direct
marketing competitor. Not stayed at before -- my impression is their VP is
so-so and I might have to learn a couple new game strategies to survive any
time there.
3. F-S Weekend: 2 nights _way_ off-Strip at a local/family-type place.
Loosest machines, lowest "requirement" for X hours of play. You can
practically play here in your sleep (but watch the nickel slots!) It's the
weekend, a psychological break in the middle. Might even get some shopping
and sightseeing done.
Holiday week:
4. S-M-T 3 nights on the Strip. Up a class level from the first two. Well --
it is the holiday, and it's supposed to be a vacation, right? If earlier play
was good, we might give it all back to Casino #4 here.
5. W-T 2 nights, on Strip, "second-best" hotel in LV (with a long history of
union troubles). Most upscale property of this array, and if my wife or I
were trying to impress each other, we'd talk about how beautiful it is and why
shouldn't we just stay here all the time in the future.
(R-i-g-h-t! To me, it epitomizes a Madison Avenue marketing vision of a
perfect secular Christmas. We hope to see a higher than average number of
Oriental, Muslim, Jewish, Indian people (for this kind of place, anyway). And
it's a good way to leave town, whether or not there's anything left in the old
wallet by the time we get to the airport.
Discussion:
1. It's clear that we're not going to be playing long enough at any one
property to really penetrate a players' club in the way of significant
cashback and comps. Casinos seem to prefer this. We should generate enough
business for them to invite us back again (in the slow season). Then again,
most of these properties aren't so big on either VP or players' clubs. Better
odds will be found far off the Strip, including but not limited to Downtown.
2. We're not locked to this agenda by any means. We've cancelled before (if
we have reason to). my wife in particular has gotten so good at these 2-week
trips that often we just book the first 3 days, then find accomodations when
we're able to scout out the conditions locally. but in LV, you don't want to
go in without a plan, even a bad one.
So what does everyone think? (I bet Jean's cringing right now.