Casino Reviews

Finding discounted hotel rooms at expensive Las Vegas hotels can be a challenge for many people, especially on weekends or when major events are taking place in Las Vegas. Many people are paying in excess of $200 a night for a room plus the resort fee, taxes and lately for parking. One night can suddenly balloon up to over $300 a night. This is way too expensive for many consumers visiting Las Vegas. They opt for cheaper hotels which frankly are not nearly as nice or comfortable. How do you go about finding discounted hotel rooms at expensive Las Vegas hotels?

Finding Discounted Hotel Rooms at Expensive Las Vegas Hotels

There are numerous ways to obtain rooms at far less expensive rates, which can also eliminate the parking fees and even the dreaded resort fee that all hotels charge in Las Vegas. Here is our list. While not all will apply to everyone, use these ideas when they work for you.

• Book rooms well in advance
• Stay during the week
• Avoid periods when large conferences are taking place in the hotel or in the city
• Negotiate your room rate
• Tip the desk clerk to obtain a better room at check in
• Obtain a slot card and subscribe to email notifications
• Utilize offers from the casino or the hotel for less expensive rooms
• Book stays as part of a Las Vegas vacation tour
• Stay in Las Vegas during slower periods e.g. Dec

Slot cards keep track of your gambling in the casino. If you want to stay at a particular hotel and plan on gambling, use your slot card to add points and comps to your account. Depending on the amount of play, you may become eligible for discounted rooms, meals and even free rooms as well.  If your not a big gambler do not be concerned. Get a slot card anyway. They may offer you a discounted room rate during slow periods at the hotel.

The Aquarius Casino Hotel Laughlin sold to Golden Entertainment is the latest news for the Laughlin Nevada casino market. We just got an email from the hotel advising of the change. We are slot members at the Aquarius Casino Hotel and are on their email distribution list. The hotel was sold to the Golden Entertainment group.  There was not much other news. Further, we have lots of questions. What is the impact on various comps we usually receive?

They offer free rooms and free play. Will this change, will they tighten up the slots? Will the continue with various upgrades that the Aquarius has been working on? The Aquarius Casino Hotel Laughlin sold to Golden Entertainment in June 2017.

Aquarius Casino Hotel Laughlin sold to Golden Entertainment

We included a copy of the email sent to us for your information. More to come on this deal and the impact on gamers and players in the future.

From the desk of the General Manager
Sean Hammond

As you know, our goal at Aquarius Casino Resort has always been to deliver the most entertaining experience possible. We consistently seek out new ways to make your time with us memorable. Consequently, whether it’s an upcoming event or tournament, or an improvement in our amenities, we look forward to sharing exciting news with you.

Our parent company, American Casino & Entertainment Properties, LLC is being sold to another renowned gaming organization, Golden Entertainment, Inc. Our team is excited about the opportunity to grow with Golden Entertainment. Especially because we know we’ll be able to provide the same level of superior service you’ve grown accustomed to. Your winning experience here at Aquarius is priority. You know from your history with us how sincere we are about that.

Golden Entertainment

I also wanted to give you a quick overview of Golden Entertainment. Golden Entertainment will operate over 15,800 slot machines, 114 table games. Also more than 5,100 hotel rooms across eight casino properties (currently, the four casinos they operate include three in Pahrump, Nevada: Pahrump Nugget, Gold Town and Lakeside, and one in Flintstone, Maryland called Rocky Gap). Golden Entertainment is also the largest tavern operator in Nevada. They have 55 locations that include PT’s Pub, PT’s Gold, PT’s Brewing, PT’s Ranch, Sean Patrick’s, Sierra Gold, and SG Bar.

The purchase of ACEP was announced on June 12th.  The management of Golden Entertainment maintains a long history of gaming experience in the Las Vegas region. They have an outstanding reputation for creating successful, well-run properties. We expect a smooth transition.

I will keep you updated as things progress. I am also proud to be able to share this news with you.I look forward to seeing you at the Aquarius!

Sean Hammond
General Manager

For more information about the Aquarius Casino Hotel in Laughlin, click here.

Trying to negotiate hotel room prices in Las Vegas NV can be a challenge. However if you are persistent, have a flexible schedule and willing to try various properties, lower prices are possible. Many people go to Las Vegas on package deals which includes the hotel as well air fare. thousands more drive to Las Vegas every year and book hotel rooms directly. They have a lot more flexibility in terms of timing. When the hotel is hosting a conference or nearing a high occupancy, it can be difficult to book at reasonable rates. Changing the date or trying a different property sometimes works. Visitors can save hundreds of dollars on their trip by moving to a different property or staying during the week vs. the weekend.

Negotiate Hotel Room Prices in Las Vegas NV

We recently made a reservation at the Bellagio for $87 per night. It appears the hotel is a little low on business during mid April and we were able to get pretty decent room rates. The week prior to our stay and the week after have rates that are more than double what we are paying.

There is a conference one week and a major sporting event scheduled. Rates jump when lots of people are in town for these events. Call your slot host or just talk to the reservations clerks to find out what is going on. If you are flexible with your dates, tourists can find pretty decent rates and top line hotels such as the Bellagio.

Conversely by moving off the strip to places like the Rio, which is the picture shown as part of this post can also help you obtain great rates for your stay in Las Vegas.

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Are video poker casino odds changing? Do they vary from casino to casino or even from one machine to the other. The answer is yes and players need to pay attention to the payouts to manage their potential to win. The best paying machines have whats called a 9/6 ratio. They pay 9 credits for a 1 credit bet on a full house and 6 credits on a flush. If you are playing a machine that plays less than that, the casino is taking a larger share of the pie. Typically you will find these payouts on a jacks or better machine. Deuces wild and double double bonus poker etc. have different payouts due to the nature of the game. You can still find better paying machines for these as well if you take the time to look around. Any machine that has progressives built in or multipliers typically will not pay the 9/6 ratio.

Video Poker Casino Odds Changing

Depending on the video poker game and the casino you are playing at some of the best machines will have a 98.98% payback. It goes down hill from there, again depending on the casino and game. Some are as low as 95%.

An almost 4% difference in payback can make a big difference, especially if you are a long term player who enjoys the game and the casino atmosphere. These paybacks do not take into account any promos you might receive from the casino such as free drinks, rooms and meals. When you add these items in, again depending on your play, you may even break even.

Casinos in competitive markets such as Atlantic city, Tunica, Biloxi and Las Vegas tend to have better paying machines simply for competitive reasons. Of course there are lots of other ways to compete i.e. the free rooms etc.

Bottom line, before you play, always check the payout structure and look for the elusive 9 / 6 ratio.

We visit Las Vegas once per year. What a surprise to find out that drivers must now pay for parking at MGM hotels and parking fees at Las Vegas hotels in other areas as well. We were shocked to find out that we had to pay $15 per day for parking. This is in addition to the $35 resort fee that everyone must pay if you are staying at the hotel. Don’t forget the tax that is applied to both of these fees. That is over $50 a day just for driving to Las Vegas and staying in one of the strip hotels.

This is in addition to whatever room rate you are able to negotiate. Your slot card just became worth a lot more. It is important to always use your slot card whenever you are playing. If you are a Pearl member or higher at MGM resort hotels, they will comp you for the parking. All other people get to pay for the parking as mentioned above.

Why are they charging parking fees at Las Vegas hotels?

We stayed at the Bellagio Hotel and were surprised by this parking fee. Apparently the new hockey stadium is being built between the Montecarlo and the New York New York hotel. Patrons attending hockey games will have to pay for parking just like they do in many other cities.

Casino players will also pay for parking unless they have a slot card at Pearl or a higher level. Free in and out privileges are available to these players. You must qualify each year to maintain your level. This can be accomplished by charging food etc to your hotel room along with your play at the slots and table games.

It would have cost us $45 plus tax for the 3 days of parking however we have a Pearly card and were comped for the parking fee. Some hotels further away from the hockey stadium have not yet started charging for parking, however, it is only a matter of time. This is really a huge revenue opportunity for these hotels.

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