Casino Reviews

We decided to write about slot machine etiquette after a recent experience that we encountered in a local casino near were we live. Over the years we have seen many different casinos with  many different situations . Which one might question regarding the appropriateness of how people act while they are in a casino.We have noticed some very bad behavior of late. It is bothering us so much that we will not be returning to this particular casino. People need to get a life.

In this post we will focus in on etiquette while playing slot machines or waiting to be able to play a particular machine that you might like. We will not be discussing etiquette in general at a casino or etiquette while playing table games. There are some very specific rules for these topics, but that is for another post.

Slot Machine Etiquette – Waiting for a Slot Machine

In markets were there is only one casino, the casino floor often becomes very busy. There really is no where else to go nearby. In addition, there are many people who have become regulars, playing at the casino every day for hours on end. We all have our favorite machines that we like to play and these people are no different. In fact they are some times even worse, preferring to play only one machine and sometimes waiting hours to get the machine they want.

The situation we ran into was interesting in that a man wanted a particular machine and made a request to us that if we left the machine, could we let him know so that he could get it. There is absolutely nothing wrong about this request, provided that it is done in a friendly manner and not in anyway intimidating. What he did wrong in our situation was sit on a stool about 5 feet away and stare at us to the point that it made us uncomfortable.

It was as if he was trying to make us leave the machine with his mind. After about 10 minutes there was another tap and he wanted to let us know that he was going to the bar to get a drink and could we hold the machine for him. We had also told him that we would, but we were not leaving the machine for some time.  Sitting and staring is definitely bad slot machine etiquette.

Standing Too Close

Another situation developed later on in the night on another machine we were playing. Someone was literally standing one foot behind us as we played, waiting for our money to run out. They again wanted that machine, but did not know if we were going to put another $20 in the slot machine or leave. I do not want anyone standing too close to me anytime, let alone a stranger in a casino.

We already talked about staring at the person playing. This is a no no, and very uncomfortable. sometimes in this case and the above case were they stand too close, I will just stop playing for awhile and if that does not work , I will turn around and stare at them until they leave.

We have seen two seniors racing to a machine and then fighting over it. This is totally ridiculous and uncalled for. If someone wants a slot machine that bad let them have it. First of all it is not worth it and secondly I think that it is bad karma to fight someone over a machine and besides it is really bad slot machine etiquette.

All of these things usually occur more often on a very busy night when the casino is really crowded and all of the regulars are there as well.

Reserving a Machine

Sometimes you need to go to the bathroom, get a drink , go for a smoke if you smoke or just take a brief break. this is totally normal and expected by other players and the casino. But sometimes people will go to dinner leaving their machine reserved, they will go to the bar and come back 30 minutes later and so on. Generally the casinos do not accept this and will not condone it.

If you suspect this to be happening and you would like the machine, just ask the casino to monitor the slot machine and they will remove the money and reservation token for you. Do not do this on your own. This is equally bad etiquette and just might get you in a spot of trouble.

Players will use coin cups, a napkin or piece of  paper on the screen of the slot machine, or leave their  jacket on the chair with their slot card in the machine to reserve it. They may leave a small amount of money in the machine as well. Never leave large amounts in a machine and walk away. There are actually people who wander around the casino looking for this type of situation to take advantage of.

Even with all of the above, I often ask the person next to me to keep an eye on the machine and let anyone know who might want to play it that it is reserved. You would be surprised at how many people just do not get it that the machine is reserved when someone’s jacket is on the chair and there is a napkin placed across the scree, even with money in the machine.

Playing Multiple Machines

During slow times, most casinos will allow you to play multiple machines. If someone requests one of the machines you are playing you should be willing to give it up with out any concern. During busy times when the casino is crowded and there are limited slot machines available, the general rule held by many casinos, is that you should only play the machine you are sitting in front of.

We have seen players make a request of the casino to allow them to play multiple slot machines with casino approval. The best example we ever saw was Chinese couple with their daughter had reserved eight dollar slot machines. They were playing them all as fast  as they could go with the maximum in the machines. The casino agreed to this, roped the area off so people could not get too close and even provided guards to tell onlookers to move along since the family really did not want to be watched.

Players Cards Left in Machine

Lot’s of people leave their players cards in the machine. They tend to forget them, however caution should always be used before you sit down and begin playing or remove the players slot card.  We always look to see if there are  credits still in the machine and will ask players siting near by if they know whether the machine is reserved or not.

If there is any doubt, move on or ask the casino to monitor the slot machine. There is no reason to ruin your day or vacation by getting into a useless confrontation.

Smoking

Many people smoke, which we just do not understand due to the health issues. That is another subject all together. Many  casinos are beginning to not allow smoking in their casino. It is a much cleaner environment for the employees and the slot machines as well. The cleaning and maintenance bill goes way down when you eliminate smoking. The casino will provide smoking areas for patrons to go for a cigarette. This is perfectly acceptable. They will reserve their slot machine using one of the approaches outlined above. They are usually be back in five minutes or less.

If someone is smoking beside you, I often will request the person to hold the cigarette on the side away from me. If the smoke is bad or they do not cooperate, I just move on to another area of the casino. They are applying bad etiquette, but then I am not going to make an issue out of it. After all they are in a smoking area of the casino and have every right to be there. Most smokers are quite cooperative and some will even put their cigarettes out.

Tipping

Tipping for drinks while playing the slots has always been a given. You should always tip, usually 50 cents for soft drink and a dollar for an alcoholic drink. If you do, then you will have the waitress around you whenever you are ready for another drink. I have seen people not tip at all which in my opinion is the wrong thing to do. These waitresses and waiters work hard and in most cases do not receive anything more than the minimum wage.

We typically do not tip for payouts. Some people do. However now in most cases it is not necessary. The majority of casinos now use ticket in – ticket out machines. Unless you win a jackpot of more than $1200, you will just take your ticket out and away you go. For jackpots larger than $1200, in the US, you must pay taxes and will receive a tax form for this. If you are not a resident of the US, you will pay the taxes on the spot.

In Canada, there are no taxes on lottery winnings or casino winnings, so no taxes to pay when you win a jackpot at the Canadian casinos.

Believe it or not there are great deals, Cheap Las Vegas Rooms,  in Las Vegas and other casinos around the country. You just have to know when and were to look. You can find some of the best deals available anywhere and you get to stay in 4 star and 5 star hotels!  I am still amazed when people tell me that it is expensive to go to Vegas , Tunica, Biloxi or Atlantic city. They tell me they are paying significant dollars for a room, the meals and the shows. Yes you will if you just call them up and book a room , dinner or a show.

In fact you will pay top dollar at all of these locations if you act like a tourist and book online or direct with any of the hotels at these locations. Especially in Vegas, the hotels are 5 star, or at least the large well know hotels such as Wynn, Bellagio, Ti , Mirage etc. When there is a major conference taking place, you can be sure that the conference attendees are paying top dollars for their rooms.

An Example of Cheap Las Vegas Rooms During a Large Conference

A few years ago I booked a room at the Bellagio Casino Hotel. We had a slot card and have played at this hotel several times, so I thought we would stay there for a change. I called our slot host and she quoted a rate of $125 per night which was the casino rate at the time. I thought this was high ( we have stayed there for less on other vacations), but we really wanted to stay at the Bellagio this time so we agreed.

Upon checking in I was informed that the rate was $250 per night. Of course I referred to our reservation and it was confirmed at $125 which was our original rate. Once we had all of this straightened out I asked the receptionist why the change in rates?

Apparently the hotel was near capacity due to a large conference taking place in the hotel. The hotel has approximately 4500 rooms! Anyway they had increased rates across the board, for casino patrons as well as conference guests. Anyone without a reservation was being quoted $700 / night and some were actually paying this amount for a very nice room, but not worth $700 any time!

Our slot card and slot host saved the day this time. This example just goes to show you that a room we would normally expect to pay $79/ night or even get free went to $125 , then to $250 and to $700 if you did not have a reservation at the casino.

Call and Book Ahead

Always call ahead and book a reservation. If the rates are over $100, ask for another night if you can be flexible and ask what events are taking place so you can get an idea of how you can negotiate and also perhaps when to change your dates. Sometimes by moving to another hotel that is not quite so busy , you can find very economic rates  and very competitive as well.

Always speak to your slot host. They will do what they can to get you into their hotel at rates that are competitive and acceptable to you. They will help you understand which weeks you might want to consider or when they can give you better rates as well.

Hotel – air packages are also good to consider, especially if it is your first time in Las Vegas. Many people will use these packages to get to Vegas and then book vacation packages separately after that through their slot hosts.

Flexible Schedules

A lot of people cannot change their schedules due to work, business and family issues. This makes it more difficult to obtain the best deals, however if your schedule can be flexible then you can stay away from conference dates, week ends and other high traffic dates to get the best deal.

For example the Consumer Electronics Show is on in Vegas in January. There are over 120,000 people attending this show, so even with all of the rooms that Vegas has available, you can be sure that hotel rates are going to be high during that time period.

If you happen to be attending this show, your company has made the commitment for you to attend. On the other hand if you are paying personally, then you will want to stay away from these dates to avoid paying high rates.

We hoped this short post is helpful to readers. If you have comments and / or suggestions, please feel free to leave comments that will help our readers save money.

Slot players, you will love the Horseshoe casino in Tunica! You can now order your drinks at the slot machine by touch screen using your Harrahs Slot Cards! All you do is activate the little screen on the slot machine that normally shows your casino points to show the drink menu and then order the drink you want. The casino waitress shows up five minutes later with your drink! Don’t forget to tip the waitress, this is how they make their living. The casino pays them very little and also limits their hours so tips are really important.

The RoadHouse Casino is also part of the Harrahs chain and they have implemented the same feature. We were in this casino early in the morning and there was really no one there except us and the employees and a few people playing at the tables. There is usually only one waitress at this time of day serving drinks. You can wait a long time for a coffee or something stronger at this time of day. We used the new screens to order our drinks and she was there with our drinks in less than 5 minutes. This is a great service.

We cannot wait to go to some of the other Harrahs casinos to see if they have implemented this feature to other locations as well.

Harrahs Slot Cards – Order Your Drinks

It is really great in the mornings when there are not many waitresses on the casino floor. Just order , the bar makes the drink, and the waitress picks it up for delivery! No more waiting to flag a waitress or playing at a machine just to be near the bar to get a drink! Order whatever you want – water, coffee, beer, wine, mixed drinks, and special drinks such as Irish coffee’s and liquors.

Needless to say we used this new service at the Horseshoe and also at the Road House Casino.

Call Slot Attendants

If you are having trouble with your slot machine you can call a slot service attendant the same way. They usually arrive within five minutes. Harrahs casino resorts is really leading the casino competition with this new service.

Slot Cards

In case you have not used a slot card, we cannot emphasize enough why you should always have a card when you are playing the slots. Some of the features of slot cards include:

• Free meals
• Free play
• Point play
• Meal and merchandise discounts
• Free rooms
• Free airport pickup ( High Rollers)
• Free airline fees ( High Rollers )
• Free gifts
• Invitations to slot tournaments or table games tournaments
• Free tax report( more on this later)

Frequent players can expect more while less frequent , or low denomination players will take longer to build up their comp’s. With all of these features everyone should have a slot card.

Express Comp’s

Harrahs has had this feature for some time, and MGM Grand hotels has just introduced this feature on their new MLife cards. Basically you build up comp credit on your card as you are playing slots. These comps can be used to purchase meals in any of the restaurants associated with the hotel your card is associated with.

All you need to do is present your card to the cashier at the restaurant you are dining in and they will deduct the amount of the bill from your comp’s. You do not need to see your slot host and you do not need to line up either. This convenience is another reason why slot cards are a must-have.

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MGM Grand has changed their slot card from MGM Mirage to “MLife” over the past few months. They have also updated features as well. We assembled some of the new features for MGM Grands New Slot Card MLife as described to us by a slot host at the Gold Strike in Tunica, MS.

This is the new slot card from the MGM Grand group, renamed and now called MLife. It still has all of the casinos that are part of the group listed on the back of the slot card. Several new casinos have been added and at least one removed. Treasure Island was sold and is now called TI. It is no longer part of the MGM grand group. MGM has so many properties and each of them have their own 1-800 number so they all have to be listed individually. Makes it tough to read for some of us who need better glasses. There are a total of 12 properties now listed on the slot card and your new MLife slot card can be used at each one of them!

MGM Grands New Slot Card MLife – Express Comp’s

MGM has added “Express Comps” to the screen readout. These Comps are used at the restaurants to pay for your meals. MLife  Comps cannot be used for merchandise. Use these express comp’s at any of the MGM properties all over the US and also at one property in Canada. This is also a great convenience which their competitors have had for some time. Watch our next post for an article about a competitors improvements to their casino slot cards. To find out more about slot cards in general, click here.

This saves a lot of time. Before you had to go and talk to the slot host to see if they would comp you for a meal. Now you go straight to the cashier at the restaurant and hand them your slot card. Now the cashier will deduct your meal from the express comp’s balance on your account. You can even use these express comp’s to pay for your hotel bill at the end of your stay.

Slot Hosts

Of course slot patrons should also talk to their host before checking out. There may be additional meal Comps they might have coming to them. It never hurts to ask. We have had several nights and meals written off amounting to several hundred dollars. It is the same as winning a small jackpot!

Also many people either are uncomfortable about doing this or cannot be bothered. One couple we know do not even bother to get a slot card. As a result pay top dollar for their rooms and all of their meals. They never get comp’d for anything. Of course they are forgoing thousands of dollars sometimes in lost comp’ds.

Provide Comments about MGM’s Mlife slot card. New enhancements or deals that our readers may have come across. Spam comments are deleted.

We just have to leave a post about this subject to show how cheap and sad the OLG really is. The Ontario Lottery Corporation is a running a month of OLG Give Aways, actually it is not even a full month, but then who is quibbling! OLG is run by the government and of course they see casinos as another source of income without the negative that taxes are perceived with. Here are the giveaways.

OLG Give Aways – 21 Days of Giveaways

January 3-9 You could win an all-expense-paid trip to Ottawa from January 29 – 31, 2011 to see country superstar Brad Paisley perform live!

Prize package includes:

• Concert tickets
• Transportation, accommodation and dinner
• $500 in spending money

Plus, we’re giving away 21 daily instant cash prizes of $100*!

January 10-16 You could win 100,000 Reward points!

Plus, we’re giving away 21 daily instant cash prizes of $100*!

January 17-23 You could win a Home Entertainment package!

Prize package includes:

• SONY Bravia 55″ TV
• A SONY Blu-ray player
• SONY Surround Sound System
• Tech Craft LCD Mounting Stand
• La-Z-Boy Diplomat Recliner

Plus, we’re giving away 21 daily instant cash prizes of $100*!

Minuscule Prizes

These are nice prizes, however what is so sad is the smallness of these prizes. Other casinos will give away huge prizes in the thousands of dollars, while here you might win $100! or one of the other prizes. And they really do not say how many of these prizes are being won or given away each day, so you can be sure there are not many.

This coincides with their slot cards which give away a minuscule amount of money and meals to patrons of the casino compared to US casinos. We go once a year to Tunica and stay at the Goldstrike there and we receive free rooms every year. We are only there for two days, yet we get all of these free rooms! The OLC does not even come close.

Government Taxing Canadians and Americans

Governments, which the OLG is part of is taxing Canadians to the hilt and taking even more money through casinos. Americans who do not live close to Vegas, Tunica,  Atlantic city or Biloxi are having the same thing happen to them. These casinos are built for one reason only, they are to bring added revenue into the states. The OLG has a casino in all of the major cities in Ontario and where there is not a casino, they place one at the race tracks close by. There is no competition and there are certainly no significant perks for patrons.

We recently saw an interview of a government representative about casinos run by local governments. There attitude is that their constituents are going to gamble anyway, so they may as well gamble in their province and the province may as well collect the revenue instead of losing it to Quebec or to the states. The state governors in the US feel exactly the same way. As a result you see all of these casinos springing up, spread all over the place which means no competition between them and poor payouts as well as poor perks.

OLG Lack of Giveaways

Or should we say OLG poor giveaways? These giveaways are only being done to try to keep Canadians from spending money in the US or in Quebec. January is a slow month, consumers have to pay their Christmas bills and there is less money to go around.

I really think that people living in Ontario should boycott their casinos for just this reason. The Ontario Government is just offering small baubles to entice you to go to the their casinos.

Comments are welcome. Maybe you agree with the writer or perhaps not. We would like to hear your opinion on this subject!