May 2-17 planning

FINAL BOOKING SCHEDULE

These bookings and changes will make my expenses run like this:

May   2-3 - free nights at Orleans $0

Wild Bill and Slink are at Bill's these two days.

May 4-  Eastside Cannery  $0

May 5-11 - Sam's $15.69 for 4 nights = 62.76$

                    $54.90 for 2 nights =  $109.80

                     $ 172.56 total
Mat 11 - Matt will meet me at Sam's check out at 11 am and drive me to the Rio and then we will head out to the Bighorn to eat and look around.

May 11-12 - Rio $0
  May 12th is a Thursday. 

•  Booked with Budget:
• Take the 202 and then the 108 to the airport and then the shuttle to the car rental.
• Rent a car at noon and drive to Redrock for an afternoon hike. Stop at McDonald's on the way back.  Supper at the Silverton.
• May 13th - check out of Rio and drive to 4 Queens leaving enough time to get to the airport by noon for the car return.
• 
  

May 13-14- Four Queens $0

May 15-16 -El Cortez.  Between 0 and $70 depending on how the freeplay plays out.


This makes my average room charges between $11.50 and $16 a night. I also have replaced my three longest bus rides with car rides, Sam'stown to Rio, out to Bighorn for free meals, Rio to downtown.

Notes:

I first booked at $34 using the American Casino Guide, but the newest promo lets me get a Cabana room for $60 a night and gives me $25 free food and $35 freeplay, so in effect the entire deal is free.  Since I stay right at the El Cortez, I'll easily use the comps and in the process I'll get to try the Cabana room.

I honestly don't know how to figure this in the mathematics for night room average.  I'll wait and see how much of the freeplay I am able to keep.  At the worst, were I to lose all of it, I'd pay $70 for the two nights as opposed to $34 but get a better room and avoid the Pavillion rooms that I don't much enjoy anymore.

Let's leave the food out, as that can hardly be a room expense.

$120 - $50 = $70 or $36 more than my other deal.

So at most, if all the gambling money is lost, my room average is $16 a night.

If I break even on the gambling, my room average is $11.50

4/15 - Well, I think I have everything cancelled and my booking is now firmed up.  Yesterday I got a free room at the Eastside Cannery, and so I made that for the first night on Boulder, May 4.

3/2/11 -  Well, I hope I am not going backwards in my frugality.  I do not look forward to the Pavillion rooms, so I booked the El Cortez at $60 a night in a package that gets me $25 a day in food and $35 a day in freeplay.  So, the rooms are basically free unless I lose the money I wager.  Then it could cost me twice what I was to pay.  Not a bad gamble, however, to be in Cabana.

2/12/11
Okay, the deals are still rolling in.  So I cancelled May 2 and May 3 at Sam's and took two free nights at the Orleans.  I adjusted the chart.  This means I won't have the long bus ride after the airplane ride.  I can get off at Tropicana and take the 201 or I can just take a shuttle depending on how tired I am.
On May 4 I will have to get to Sam's, but I can walk to Flamingo and just take one bus.  It puts me at the Orleans for their senior day if that promotion is still going on for Tuesdays.  I probably won't have to pay the resort fee and they give me $10 food credit in the deal.
2/7 -  I called the Host section at 4 Queens and checked to see if there were any mailings and he told me I had two comped rooms, so I booked for May 13-14.  Those were my most expensive two nights, so the comps saved me $80 I was going to spend at the Gold Spike.

1/22 - Well, I stumbled into this deal at Sam's Town and I booked there for my first 9 nights.  Some nights were just $10, almost $15 with the resort fee added.  Still a good deal.  Weekend was lower too $44 plus $5.  Saves me $141.

Funny thing was that I looked at it, clicked out, and then could not find it again.  I had just clicked on an ad.  I used my computer history to find it again.  It is a B Connected booking.  Then Westie, the board guru, told me how to access it on the site.  The offer lasted just overnight, but a few of us booked in time to grab it.

4/15 - I got an offer for one night at the Eastside Cannery and booked it today for May 4th.  Then I rebooked Sam's to reflect that change.  I have confirmed all my rooms and organized coupons, bus schedules, shuttle routes and schedules, free buffet letters, and strategy sheets.

I thought about whether I wanted to be so long at Sam's Town, and catching the Orleans and Eastside Cannery free nights brings it down to just six days.  Also there are some benefits:

• would put me very close to Gayle and crew.
• would give me a daily option to taking a free shuttle to downtown or to the strip and getting a free ride back as long as I did not play too late.
• would give me one spot to play full play VP and play live poker.  Sam's Town offered that small blind 4-8 game that was fun. Now I have read it is a 3-6 game, my favorite. However, the players were pretty good.
• Jokers Wild would be just a bus ride away, so I could get in some very cheap craps.
• It lets me check into one spot and not check out for 7 days.
• All bed bug research does not show me much activity or complaint there.  It makes sense to me that Sam's Town does not draw the big city folks or international travelers, so the odds are better.
• The pool looks just fine although it may be a bit chilly as it is unheated except by the sun.

HERE IS WHAT I FIRST DID.  NOTE TO SELF:  REMEMBER TO CANCEL.

So far I have booked:

May 2-3-4  Super 8 Koval - $115 cancelled on April 15

May 5-6-7  Super 8 Koval _$162  cancelled on April 15

I booked in two bookings so I can cleanly cancel one if I should get free rooms at the Orleans.  Otherwise I might be required to rebook at a higher price.

May 8-9-10  Gold Coast - $80 cancelled on april 15

May 11-12 - free rooms at Rio - FREE

May 13-14 - booked at Gold Spike for under $40 each night. cancelled on april 15

May 15-16 - American Casino Guide coupon at El Cortez - $15 each night and a free ride back to the airport. cancelled and changed to Cabana suite.