Part five in my series of money-saving tips for your Vegas vacation involves gambling. Following are just a few ideas for making your gambling budget go a little farther on your next trip.
Gambling
Budget your gambling money AND stick to your budget - Set a limit before you begin gambling - like $200 per day or $40 per session, for example - and stick with it no matter what. This will keep you from going to the ATM for more money, or delving into your next day's gambling funds to continue trying to chase wins. When you've used your gambling money, you're done for the day, so find something else to do with your time. There are lots of things to see and do in Vegas, so you'll never be bored...even when you have no gambling money left. See my post: "A few of my favorite 'free' things to see and do" from June if you need a few ideas to get you started.
Use envelopes to divide your daily gambling funds - Before you leave for Vegas, put each days' gambling funds in a separate envelope and label each of them "DAY 1", "DAY 2", etc. I use this technique for each trip to ensure that I do NOT go beyond my daily budget and spend more than I'm willing to part with. In addition, you should keep non-gambling monies separate from your gambling funds so that you don't spend all your money gambling and have nothing left for food, entertainment, and transportation.
Take your winnings home - Something else I do: If I win of $100 or more on any machine in a slot machine bonus round or while playing VP, that money goes back home with me. Yes, seriously. I put it into a separate envelope so that I'm not tempted to put it back into a machine or spend it on something else. This way I always know I'll be going home with a little bit of money if I manage to hit a nice payout.
Consider lowering your bets or denomination - If you feel you go through money too quickly when you're gambling, think about taking your bets down a notch or two. Playing blackjack? Go down to $5 per hand, or head to smaller casinos like O'Shea's or Casino Royale to find $2-$3 blackjack games. Playing video poker or slot machines? Stop playing $1 or 50-cent games and play 25-cent, 5-cent, 2-cent, or even penny games. Most of the machines are now multi-denominational, and you can change the denomination of your game without changing seats in many cases. Also be sure to check the machine's denomination before you start playing so you don't risk more than you're willing to on a single bet.
Play max lines, but not max bet - When playing slot machines, especially the video reel slots with bonus games attached, be sure you always play the maximum number of lines for the game to get the most out of the winning combinations. You don't have to play the maximum bet, though; many of the video reel slot machines with bonus rounds will not engage the bonus rounds without the maximum number of lines played, but will still pay out winning combinations with even one coin bet per line. So, you could play for very little cash while still taking advantage of the bonus features.
Play downtown or off-Strip for better payback on video poker (VP) or blackjack games - The Strip is dominated by lesser pay tables because of the large corporations that own them, such as Harrah's Entertainment, MGM-Mirage, Wynn, and the like. The corporations know many people visiting Vegas may not want to venture too far away to find better gambling options because they're unfamiliar with the city or don't have transportation, so they're willing to play lesser games than go looking for the better deals. Gambling at local's casinos (for example, the Station casinos, Sam's Town, and downtown casinos) will give you better pay tables to choose from because they are geared towards keeping their local customers happy and offer the good payouts to keep their guests coming back again and again.
Learn to play live poker, but avoid no-limit games - The popularity of poker is higher than ever before, and low-limit games can be found in casinos all over the Las Vegas area. You can play for long periods of time with a small investment, and you can earn comps for free buffets or lunches more quickly than playing slots or video poker. In addition to being a Vegas bus guru, my friend Dewey is also a big poker player, so you may find some great tips in his blogs, as well: http://vegasbirthdaybash.blogspot.com/ and http://www.pokerbluegill.blogspot.com/.
Set your loss limit and stick with it - Don't go with the "one more $20 bill" mentality. If you decide to only gamble $40 in a certain casino, that's what you need to do. After that it's time to move on to something else.
There are so many gambling options in Las Vegas these days that you can certainly find something that will fit your budget and still allow you to have a great time. Walk around the casino before you start gambling to make sure you've found a game that you feel comfortable playing at a denomination you can afford. After that, it's all up to Lady Luck.
Tomorrow's tips: Entertainment
Great advice! I have been using the envelope system for years and it works.
ReplyDeleteSomething else you may want to add is to hold back on gambling the first few hours after you arrive. Relax, get a drink, walk around before you get your game on.
JBinVegas
Different strokes for different folks, right? I know a lot of people who just can't wait to start gambling. I personally want to unpack, get something to eat, and take a look around first.
ReplyDelete