Vegas Struggling (April 28, 2025)

Change the headline to...

Vegas is Dead!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgEI...IgZGVhZA%3D%3D

Quote:

Originally Posted by brutal_thinker

1. Is it correct to play at the higher denominations even with the same basic bet sizing?

For the most part, yes. Many (but not all) machines are programmed to give a higher return percentage at higher denominations. This, in fact, affects slot advantage play, as the threshold where these machines bridge into advantage mode happens earlier at higher denominations -- but again, only on certain machines.

Quote:

Originally Posted by brutal_thinker

2. Does anyone think that maybe hotels are starting to loosen their machines to bring players back or entice new players?

Not likely. This is a possibility to occur in the future, but at the moment the casinos are still in denial that their shitty games are somewhat causing people to not return to Vegas. In fact, even those not in the know about the degraded odds are probably staying away, simply because they notice they can't win. It's also important to know that the "tight machine, loose machine" thing is somewhat of a myth. While there definitely are difference in return percentages between machines, changing a machine to be "looser" is not trivial. This is because, at least in Nevada, the Gaming Commission regulates such changes, and the casino must seek and receive approval in order to do so. This is a slow and somewhat cumbersome process, so it's not worth doing unless the casino is making a long-term change to the machines. There is no such thing as Vegas machines being set to be looser during the day compared to at night, or on certain days of the week.

There are settings in many machines which allow the casino to pick from one of a few pre-selected return percentages. However, as I said, they need to put this through Gaming, so most casinos don't bother. They usually set it and forget it.

Might they eventually loosen the machines in order to reverse the downward trend in visitation and play? Perhaps, but if they do, you're likely to hear about it via advertising.

Quote:

Originally Posted by brutal_thinker

3. Maybe this is unique to the Red Rock as it caters to mostly locals?

It appears you just got lucky. And that's great, because all of us have had brutally unlucky streaks in gambling, so it's nice to have trips like these, even if otherwise playing -EV machines. There's not much to read into this success, however.

Quote:

Originally Posted by brutal_thinker

I normally go to Vegas for one of two reasons. The first is to visit my family there (Dad who is near 80), brother, sister in law, niece and nephew. The second is for my own recreational fun, which is not nearly as often as the first reason. When I do go to visit my family, I either stay with them, or, because my dad plays 4/8 limit holdem almost every day at the Red Rock, he can normally get me a comp. To be clear, I don't play pit games and rarely will I play a slot machine. About 3 weeks ago, I got an unsolicited offer from the Red Rock for 2 free nights anytime between 8/1/25 and 9/30/25. This offer comped everything. Resort fees comped. Room tax comped. They also gave me $50 in free slot play.

This part is particularly interesting to me.

First off, I'm shocked that a $4/$8 limit holdem player gets room comps, especially being local. They make very little money on that game per player per hour. If Red Rock has been comping your dad rooms for a long time for just playing that, they've been very generous with him. To compare, no matter how much I play $30/$60 or $80/$160 at Bellagio, they will not comp me anything. At best, I will get a reduced (but still not so great) poker rate, and that will still require play during the stay that I have to prove! I don't even bother.

What type of play did you do in 2025 at Red Rock? While it sounds like they hand out room offers easily, I'm especially surprised you got $50 freeplay. However, if you've played some slots this year (which I think you have), that could easily generate such offers. Oh, and just to let you know, you will never pay room tax if there is a comped room and comped resort fee. Clark County makes it illegal to charge tax on hotel rooms if no cash exchanges hands to pay for the room. This is a little known law, but that's why you saw no tax. In fact, even Caesars isn't aware of the law, and they violate it when you pay for your room with RCs! The government doesn't care, though, because that tax gets remitted to them! Caesars is just too clueless to know they shouldn't be charging it.

Some additional info:

1. Dad plays 4/8 limit for 5-6 hours per day, but often goes to play pit games after that. He plays blackjack and craps mostly, so that may be how he is able to get so many comps. He also has north of 1.5M player points on his account which he occasionally uses for meals and things like that.

2. I didn't play many slots over the course of 2025, but, the trip before this last one, I played a bit to kill time, so maybe that generated the offer.

3. I am sure that this was 100% dumb luck and have no doubt it is not likely to occur again. If I am lucky, maybe this gets me more comps for future trips.

Things are falling apart at Paris:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8XPTstkC8U