BMFM,
Giving out free rooms is what's known as a comp in Vegas. Comps go to high rollers (or near high rollers). Little guys like me are lucky if we get comped a free buffet or a 1/2 price dinner. Sometimes the casino will comp you if you get a big winner on a slot machine or at table play. (They expect a gratuity in return, proportional with the comp.)
To get a free room, you must gamble at a level predetermined by hotel standards to warrant giving you a comp. Your table play is monitored by the casino. Usually slot play doesn't count. Plan on gambling several thousand dollars on the tables to get a free room. You don't have to lose the money, just risk it fairly on the tables. Blackjack, craps, poker, roulette, and baccarat are the normal games that are monitored. Some hotels will also include games like Let It Ride or Three Card Poker. Usually, it's the pit boss or the pit manager who does the monitoring. You're also watched by the "eye in the sky", meaning the hotel security system (television monitors).
Food used to be really cheap in Vegas (a $5 bill would get you a prime rib dinner for two), but lately food prices have gone up. This is because many of the visitors to Vegas these days are families, especially families with children, and these people just don't gamble much. It was the gambling that sort of subsidized cheap rooms and cheap food in years gone by. But with families coming in, taking the freebies and the cheapies, and not gambling (translation: losing), the casinos have had to raise their prices on rooms and food. Buffets are now the cheapest food places, but the lines are long and tend to have as many children as adults in them. You may prefer to pay a few extra bucks to eat at a fancier restaurant, which would also be higher quality food.
The new casinos: Bellagio (very ritzy and expensive, European style), Treasure Island (free show in front of the casino every hour, British frigate battles a pirate ship; a must see), Mirage (white tigers, ceiling-to-floor aquarium by registration desk, erupting volcano; also a must see), Luxor (Egyptian pyramid theme), New York New York (expensive recreation of New York City), Monte Carlo (replica of Europe's Monte Carlo, very good magic show by Lance Burton most nights), MGM (relics from MGM movies, theme park open in the summers), Excalibur (medieval England theme, castles and wizards and dragons, excellent jousting tournament dinner show; another must see), Bally's (completely redone inside and out, a free monorail that runs between Bally's and MGM every 10 minutes) and the Orleans (off Strip to the rear of Excalibur, New Orleans theme and jazz music). Coming this year are Mandalay Bay (Tahitian theme, uppermost floors will become a Four Seasons Hotel and restaurant) and The Venetian (a replica of romantic Italy). Downtown is also a must see. They have renovated most of downtown. The main street has been closed to automobile traffic, and they enclosed the area in a dome-like covering. Every hour or so there is a free laser-like light show on the top of the "dome". Nighttime only. Must see, it's worth it. Three different shows (that repeat) each night.
KJC |
