Surprisingly Few LVA Coupon Users

I was listening to the new Gambling with an Edge podcast where the hosts were interviewing LVA's Anthony Curtis.

https://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/gambling-with-an-edge/podcast-guest-anthony-curtis/#comments

Anthony talked about efforts to put the 2020 LVA coupons together. I see a lot of discussion of LVA coupons on this Message Board so was surprised when on 5:15 of the podcast, Anthony said that there were only 15,000 subscribers. Given that these coupons are easy profit making plays, I was surprised with the low number. I have been subscribing to LVA and using its lucrative coupons for a couple of decades.

Is anyone else surprised about the low numbers of LVA coupon users?

FAB

 

I'm actually not terribly surprised by that number. I think that for coupon books in general, you have to be of above-average "savviness" to be inclined to go to the effort of getting the coupons, signing up for the player's clubs at casinos where you do not have a player's card, and planning to hit all the right places to use all of the vouchers.

I agree with you that it's exceedingly easy to do, both in terms of being simple and not time-consuming. But IMO, the majority of Vegas visitors won't go out of their way to squeeze out a bit of extra value in this way.

Personally I think it's fun and I enjoy doing it. But especially considering that most of the casinos at which you can use these vouchers are off-strip, I don't think that using these coupons fits into the motions of the average Vegas visitor.

 

Doesn't surprise me at all.

Discussed on this board for years is that Vegas is drawing fewer and fewer "gamblers" as they are now marketing more towards clubs, high-end restaurants, bougie hotels and the overall "Vegas Experience". None of those people are going to search out the Las Vegas Advisor (or American Casino Guide, for that matter).

Likewise, loyal players that earn beau-coup RFB will be working with a host and likely not casino hopping, which would also render LVA/ACG irrelevant.

There really is a small subset of Vegas visitors that are both looking for value while also happy with visiting multiple properties in one trip. Last year I got my first LVA and although I eventually got value for the book when taking a group of 5 to Top of Binions and getting 25% off the entire check, it was otherwise frankly a pain in the ass to devote an oversized pocket to the book because you aren't allowed to rip the coupons.

However, because I did find some value, this year I got the ACG when they were 3-for-2 during the Target presale. Splitting the cost with two friends, having some Reno and midwest coupons, and not having to to take the full book everywhere I went made that decision for me.

 

Are there any triple-zero roulette matchplay coupons in the 2020 LVA book?

 

My "go-to" method for carrying the book around (with my ACG coupons) has always been to tear out the ACG coupons I do want, tuck them into the middle of the LVA book, and put it in the back pocket of my jeans or shorts. It sticks out, sure, but only about a third of the way. Sitting on it does minimal damage, and I don't notice it at all while sitting down.

Another strategy to "lighten" the LVA book is to tear out the complete pages of coupons that you know for sure you don't want. My 2019 LVA book was about 90% unused, so that's what I'll be doing this year... rip out the pages of "useless" coupons, leave the ones I plan on using intact, and I'll probably be able to fold it in half at that point (might have to bust the spine in the middle, but that won't affect the coupons' perforated attachment).

 

See, I look at it and see WHY the EV has value, but I don't see the value for my personal situation:

- I'm in Vegas for ~72-120 hours a year; I'm on vacation, and I have to decide how much time I spend doing something like this when I'm having "fun." I don't need to go to seven players clubs to get $10 of slot free play.
- My friends generally don't have an interest in doing this.
- I have no interest in spending a day driving around to rinky-dink places (personal opinion)
- Most of the restaurant comps are useless to me
- I already get comped rooms and plenty of comped food
- The best value is probably spending a day churning food and gaming comps downtown, but that means I'm blowing most of a gaming day when I'm in a comped room that might suddenly be not comped, and it means wandering to 5 casinos instead of staying somewhere that I might be having fun with my friends
- I generally don't go to Vegas with my spouse; it might make more sense as a duo given you'd be doubling up the EV

IMO, the best use of this book is not for tourists unless you're here for a very long time: it is for Vegas locals. They can clear out hundreds of dollars of comps and gaming EV - they don't have to care if they ruin their comp rooms at the D, since they're never spending the night there anyway. They can use a lot of the food comps and gaming deals off strip at times that are convenient to them. If I lived in Vegas, I would buy the book.

__________________________________

If I wanted to change by Vegas EV by a couple hundred bucks, I wouldn't do it like this; I'd cut a day off of the trip or I'd low roll my gambling/food a bit more.

 

Not a surprise. The coupon runs are fairly polarizing among vegas regulars, as the play coupons more than pay for the books, but they do require a lot of hitting and running of various players club booths for a relatively small return. Many don't want to commit the time.

And that's just among the people who frequent vegas and boards enough to hear of the books, and don't tune the topic out the second someone says coupon.

 

The LVA is clearly good for locals but for us visitors, it does take a commitment to use the profitable coupons. When you factor in transportation costs, it's not as easy to come out ahead.

 

I lost interest when they stopped putting some of the better Buffet coupons in the books. We loved the Paris and Planet Hollywood buffet coupons. I used some of the match play coupons but only used 1/5 of them. This year I did not even see the golden Nugget buffet coupon which is another one we liked. It is bad enough the the ACG on Amazon this year went up on their price; it used to be around $12 now it was almost $20. I am not even sure we will use enough coupons to recover the $20 since we are only going to Laughlin and that was due to getting a super good deal which includes airfare. We are taking a 7 day cruise mid year and had to save our money for the casinos on the brand new ship.

 

FYI, Amazon dropped the price this week to $17.96, still more than prior years, but at least a step down from $20.

 

Which is why I have ACG and LVA and will make costs back just downtown! Have oodles of RFB already, but little extra NEVER hurts.

 

I bought an ACG last year for the first time. I did get my money's worth and then some out of it, with the match plays and slot plays, but I HATED the experience of pulling out the coupon, and figuring out the rules. The Buffet & 2F1 coupons didn't do me any good; I sent the bulk of my leftovers to a VMB member.

The ACG did introduce me to the Cal, which I really like for their craps and Hawaiian shirts and coin-in VP.

But I get why one could get excited about using the ACG and LVA books. I have geeked out about discounts and coupons at various times in my life, and I still don't hit "purchase" on an online transaction until I've searched the web for coupon codes.

It's just not what I want to do on my few days in Las Vegas.

 

Fifteen thousand people is actually MORE people than I would have expected. I would not have thought there were that many sophisticated value players, unless the vast majority of them are locals.

I was a big user of the LVA book for many years, mostly for the gaming coupons. Having that book and an ACG for casinos I might visit anyway for me was a fun thing to do though some players clubs made it a PITA to use them. For my long trips, spending a day visiting places I hadn't been in a while was also a way to take a break from heavy playing.

I had one as late as this year and enjoy reading the newsletter for additional information -- including the calendar in the back with upcoming concerts -- which I was getting in the mail each month.

I believe even if for a few MPs it is "worth it" but I probably will not get one this year. My issue is that I am an example of how the coupons work from a casino perspective as I often did NOT do a hit and run but would stay and play after playing a MP, sometimes successfully (leaving ahead) but usually leaving money there that I would have been "better off" spending at my "home" casino or at my secondary casinos, which for me are CET casinos, Palace Station and The D. Even with those casinos, I found for the first time during this past trip that I had done too much double and triple booking. Leaving my "home" base, especially as I wasn't feel well, to go check in and pick up a modest amount of free play was feeling not really worth it. It's probably the first time that ever happened, that I felt that way.

That being said, if for some reason I were to be in Vegas for a long solo trip, I might decide to get the book again for what would likely be for me a fun bankroll preservation exercise while also having the opportunity to make a few hundred if the MP and slot play runs were to go well.

 

I am surprised so many are using it.
I am a super low roller, and I go to Vegas 10+ times a year.
But I never ever used or tried to use any coupon from LVA or ACG.
Not worth the effort in my opinion.

 

Back in the '90's, I had subscriptions to LVA & Casino Player magazine. Combining the coupons from them along with the funbooks provided by the players clubs at the various casinos certainly made it worth the time put in on a coupon crawl.
Now, not so much.
JMHO.

 

For me, it kind of depends on how often you go,
like, for some offers (Boyd FP, GG/D Match play, etc), if you are going to the players club anyways, why not throw the coupon in...
Hit two $10 or one $25 MP and you're square.

but totally could see not wanting to mess with the time.. I generally hate coupons.
I need to start giving away all the food/ 2 for 1 comps, we usually only do FP/MP
I've been running well with trying to hit and run up with them all,
but I also agree, it seems to have resulted in some low, spread out too wide ADT days.
This year, we will focus our play more per trip.

Planning to do half ACG next few months, probably still do LVA for back half of the year.

YMMV,
don't want it?
don't buy it.

 

I'm surprised there are even that many subscribers.

Over the years the coupons have become very downtown and off strip centric, the big boys on the strip stopped caring about the frugal visitor years ago. The newsletter also has lost it's uniqueness, social media took care of that.

Consequently, the overall value to many potential subscribers has significantly declined.

 

Count me as surprised there are more than even 5k!

I just remember how amazed I am everytime I visit Vegas (or even the local casinos) and see people playing WITHOUT players cards. Recently a co-worker who returned from Vegas, and likes it as much as I do, confessed her and her significant other lost around $3k last trip, their biggest loss. She looked at me very confused when I asked if they took care of their room and food charges, she doesn't know what a players card is!! What!!

 

(sorry semi OT re: player cards)
I know a potential huge degen whale (well compared to me, maybe dolphin?), that is so degen I actually almost understand her (and my friend, her husband) not wanting a players card and those tempting invites.

 

First trip to LV I bought both and used them for some things, as we stayed on strip but had a car. Second trip, skipped both books. Third trip bought just LVA and easily recouped my money. 4th trip same thing.

I think how one vegases makes a difference in whether or not the book makes sense. We stay downtown for some or all of the trip and also eat nice meals so coupons at oscar's and binion's more than cover the book. Add in the FSP and the bogo buffets and the book is a steal.

@JeJas I would think as a super low roller this book would be right up your alley. Most of the FP has no cash in requirement plus you may get teaser offers. Also using that book is super easy. However, if your Vegas experience is strip centric and no method of travel, then yes the book is probably more of a pain then it's worth. That was our budget the first year and we loved being able to pick up some extra money and see new places

I agree 15k is higher than I was thinking too. However, I suppose between locals, snowbird types, and frequent travelers/ people who drive there, the book makes even more sense.