My husband and I will be at the Palms on the 20th.
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Re Skip's group: I believe there are more casino executives on this board
than his, so sometimes post differently, and tend to post specific notes
about any special promotions over on Skip's list. Almost always, when Skip
has made any "moderator" decisions to limit discussions he has been
well-justified (especially on warning or kicking off people who were
disruptive/really nasty in their comments). He has tried to keep the group
more focused on video poker, rather than general Vegas comments, though both
types do appear there. He has done an excellent job overall, and his group
and website (vphomepage.com) are well worth the very small monetary charges.
He does a lot of work on the site and his fees cover some of his expenses in
running the site, but certainly not all of them.
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Regarding builders lawsuits/moving to Vegas -- I must say that the warranty
work on our house by U.S. Homes has been exemplary. They have fixed any
problems we had (mostly very minor) without any arguments, provided answers
to any questions, and were prompt and courteous. Our worst problem in the
new house were a few minor cracks on ceilings, and they repaired them all
(including the worst which required the kitchen/family room to be replastered
and repainted). Generally the quality of workmanship on the house was about
as good as could be expected, and the number and types of problems we found
after moving in were minor.
If you are planning to move into any house in Las Vegas, some things to
definitely consider are Homeowners Association Rules and cost of any monthly
maintenance. Many planned communities charge extra monthly fees for things
like swimming pools, parks, lights, gate guards, etc. Sometimes these
add-ons don't seem to be worth the price, since you end up getting no more
for your money than you would in a house outside a "planned community."
Houses in the Summerlin area are a prime example of extra fees being added
on. Since they are monthly, they never go away and can be expected to
increase.
Our house was built outside a "planned community" and thus has no extra fees.
We just pay the usual taxes. Yet we are within walking distance of a Senior
Citizen center, library, and park. We also have no Homeowners Association
with its sometimes onerous rules and regulations. So you can find places in
Las Vegas in nice areas without having either fees or Homeowners
Associations.
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PROMOTIONS:
Recently we missed winning a drawing for $1000 since my husband didn't attend
the drawing since he only had 1 ticket in a drum that was full of thousands
of tickets and we felt there was no chance. This kind of altered my
perception of which promotions to attend.
But I would just like to point out that promotions are a very important part
of trying to win money or at least lower your losses. We have won money
several times in the past 12 months from attending various tournaments.
Reading a book on tournaments (Stanford Wong wrote one) can help if you play
in blackjack or other tournaments. I've also done well at drawings
(electronic at the Palms) and scratch cards. Keeping your eyes open for any
signs, flyers, or noticies about upcoming tournaments, promotions, etc. is
important. If you see something you were not sent an invitation for, call
your host (or ask for a host) and often you can get in. If the promotion is
full, ask for the waiting list. Pay attention to 2x, 3x, etc. promotions.
Why play at 1x when you could earn your points on a 2x day? Sometimes it is
not worthwhile to waste a lot of time going to a casino for a low-paying
promotion (like the Palms Megabucks pulls), but if you are there anyway, be
sure to go. And of course there is always a slim chance of winning large
amounts even if most people win just a pittance (like the Palms Megabucks
pull or the drawing my husband didn't attend).
Even if you play only a 100+% game, with errors both of strategy and just
goofing up, you probably will end up losing money during the year. Cashback
and promotions will bring you back to even (or maybe give you a profit if you
are lucky). Most of us play even full pay games at less than optimum
strategy and often can be found playing lower pay video poker (like 9/7 DB or
DDB) and sometimes even poor paying "reel" slots or table games (like
craps!). So cashback and promotions serve to lower our overall loss. We may
lose money, but get a lot of fun over the year for it, and enjoy a lot of
free rooms, food, and shows too.
Best, Linda
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