Would You Still Visit Vegas if the Drinks Weren't Free???

I like the system the way it is. Its a reason I'd drive an extra 2 hours to Reno vs an Indian casino. Not because the value of the drinks, but its nice to gamble and not worry about the cost of drinks. The tips always seem to be appreciated from the CW, why mess up a good thing? I tend to drink beer mostly, since its more consistent than some of the watered down drinks. If I am gambling a good while , I will get through a lot of drinks, and its nice to know I won't be spending an extra $100 while gambling.

 

I don't drink much when I gamble but it would make me think twice about coming to Vegas over staying home. The free drinks are one of the few things that really make Vegas different than casinos here, especially considering some of the Indiana boats have more gaming positions than some of those cavernous strip casinos.

 

I was just going to post this exact same thing, +1

 

The free drinks are a big draw for me. With free flights using mileage, cheap rooms, coupons, and better pay schedules it all adds up to a cheap trip. I drink all of the time while in Vegas so if the free drinks went away I would be more likely to go to other places I hadn't been before like New Orleans, Tahoe, and Atlantic City although maybe they have free drinks too.

 

All those places you named have free drinks. New Orleans is currently non-smoking though. Harrahs is obviously trying to fight that. Most casinos in the Midwest you have to pay and ~3am alcohol cutoffs too. Spent $55 after tips at Blue Chip in Indiana for an overnight stay this month. Yikes.

 

Indian casinos in California don't offer free booze and they are packed. I think sinustry can testify to that. He just gets Gatorade and grape Crush.

 

Lol...I hesitated taking this pic, but here it is...



Sadly, that's only about half of what I have brought back from the Indians. I no longer bring back the sodas...just water (preferably Voss), Gatorade, and juice now...lol. I have a weekly routine...lol.

 

The "I don't drink" posts are relevant because those posters are saying or implying they would not visit less frequently based upon the lack of free drinks. They answered the question. So there is no logical reason to object to the posts.

Perhaps the poster objected to what was perceived as a moral judgment in those posts, even though none was stated directly. I DO drink, yet I do not particularly like "bumping into drunk people" in a casino. Occasionally, drunks can be entertaining. Sometimes, though, they get really tiresome. I have been that obnoxious drunk more than once, and felt bad about it the next day. Other times, especially late at night, drunk people make me very sad and tend to lessen my enjoyment of the gambling experience.

So to answer the question, not having free drinks might make Vegas casinos just a little MORE attractive to me.

 

Yes, free drinks aren't what bring me to Vegas.

 

I'll admit to two egregious gambling errors caused by being over the limit. I consider myself a better than average gambler. I'm still kicking myself over those two errors. This has caused me to slow down a bit while gambling, except maybe for bar top VP.

Point being, multiply the errors of a good gambler (me) versus the errors in judgment caused by alcohol of many thousands of poor or careless gamblers and the casinos are getting the results they are seeking. The object of the free drinks is being accomplished. That's the way it has always been and the reason Bugsy started the custom in the first place.

Maybe the vast majority of people just don't care about playing the games the right way. I do. I get a beer and nurse that sucker like it was rare earth metal. Most people just want to get drunk and hoot it up. I myself have walked away from a table game because my logic was getting very fuzzy, but I wasn't quite ready for bed, so I sat at a slot to which the rules were totally indecipherable and just punched buttons until 40 bucks were gone. Do the math of thousands upon thousands doing the same.

Las Vegas casinos will never end the practice so this debate is meaningless.

 

I would still go to Vegas but it would take some of the excitement out of it. One of the perks of having fun and gambling is being able to drink and smoke.

 

I enjoy drinking too much to have a problem with it.

But with that said, the Hollywood Casino in Grantville (near Harrisburg, PA) is a fave of my wife's, but I don't like it because they charge $5 for beers. I also believe that the on screen ordering system at some CET properties will be tied to coin in. At some point in the not too distant future I will get the message: sorry, you can enter your next drink order in 25 minutes, enjoy Ballys AC.

The suits just need to remember, you can shear a sheep many times, but skin it once.

No comped drinks would not keep me from coming out to Vegas, but no one likes a diminished experience and the erosion of goodies. Reduced payouts, higher hold, 6:5 blackjack, 2x odds, resort fees (sorry Ken, had to slip it in), early check in fees, incorrect ratings, overworked and stressed out employees..... folks may say screw it. We all have limits on what is tolerable.

 

Yet visitation climbs and climbs and climbs. Sure, some "core" players might disappear, but Vegas doesn't want them anyway. It's the relative handful of truly high rollers, the gamble-at-any-cost ploppies and the many-entertainments-wanted folks that fuel Vegas and that Vegas covets.

 

The "free" beers are the most value imho. Sometimes the drinks are watered down. I enjoy the relationship I have with my home casino but if the drinks are no longer offered while gambling then like I mentioned earlier in a previous post I probably will go less often and when I do go I will "self comp" myself by buying my own stuff at the store and storing and making them in the room.

 

I rarely ever drink at home, but I do drink a lot while in Las Vegas.

For me, I find drink service can be so spotty at times that most of the time I just go to the bar or gift shop to get a drink - over the years I've had too many of the $20 bottles of beer sitting at a slot machine where I should have moved on but didn't because I sat there waiting for a drink I ordered 15-20 minutes ago.

At my local casinos drinks aren't free ($7.25 for a bottle of beer, $9-12 for a mix drink) but when you order them on the floor since the waitress isn't looking to fill up her tray with orders they will take your order and go straight to the bar, get your drink and come right back - so there is a plus side to having to pay for them, I suppose.

 

Though I love blackjack, I've never played in Vegas. I guess I'm just nervous about being an obvious newbie. And since cheap tables are hard to find on the Strip, mentally I have a hard time committing the money required. I've dabbled in slots but it's not really my thing.

So my wife and I really aren't gamblers at all, but we come back every year. We always have things to do, including just relaxing. Consequently we pay for our rooms and our drinks anyway, so it wouldn't matter to us at all.

I'm not sure if the casino hates or loves folks like us?

 

Matt, please don't feel intimidated. It seems many who profess to "know" what they are doing are the worst when it comes to proper play. So consider it an exercise somewhat like driving the 405 at rush hour. When it's moving 80, go 80, when brakes are locking up, hit the brakes ... and throughout just tune out all the assholes around you.

 

A few of the big resort casinos offer gaming lessons in the morning: blackjack, craps, roulette and poker. Its OK if you know how to play - they don't really teach you how to play (in the sense of how to win) but how to buy, how to color up, how to bet, how to hit/stand/split/double down in blackjack, what you can do, what you aren't allowed to do, etc. For blackjack the lessons only run about 15 minutes and then they make the table live, usually at the lowest stakes the casino offers for that game where you can then either play for real money or get up and go... but if you stay and play you will be playing with other players who are new to the game.

 

More than one casino operator has suggested they would prefer to end this practice and Wynn has already stopped free drinks at VP bars so it's highly relevant.

 

If you read the comments on the article Scott Roeben says...

"I have first-hand knowledge that some of the biggest casino companies in Vegas are champing at the bit to eliminate comped liquor completely "

I can see it happening.....