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Is it worth it to get a Las Vegas Entertainment book?

Discussion in 'Las Vegas for the Frugal (not Cheap)' started by lithium78, Mar 6, 2014.

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  1. lithium78

    lithium78 VIP Whale

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    I have used an Atlantic City Entertainment book in the past to get deals for buffets and other restaurants at the casinos. Anybody have an experience with the Las Vegas Entertainment book? Is it worth it to get one?

    I'll be staying on the Strip so I'm primarily looking for deals in that area.
     
  2. dalej42

    dalej42 Low-Roller

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    I have no knowledge of the actual Las Vegas entertainment book, so you can take this with that very little grain of salt.

    I'd be very surprised to see if any Entertainment book was worthwhile to someone traveling to a busy tourist area, such as the Las Vegas Strip. I've seen the various ones for Chicago, and none of them would really be worthwhile for a tourist visiting Chicago for a few days. The bulk of the deals are in the suburbs, the few city deals are pretty much the same as you can find at the tourist pamphlet area at any hotel, $5.00 of a museum admission or a percentage off the gift shop.

    I'd assume, unless proven otherwise, that your hotel coupon book, the tourist coupon books, and Myvegas would beat any savings out of an Entertainment book for Las Vegas if you're visiting there as a tourist.
     
  3. Buddha

    Buddha VIP Whale

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  4. TomTWI

    TomTWI Custom Title

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    My wife sells Entertainment books so she got one for Vegas a couple years ago. We did not get enough value to pay for it. She has again ordered one for our upcoming trip. I know it's a waste of money even though we will be there a month and have a car to get around.

    Sometimes it's just easier to let her do what she wants and not argue!

    I did get the American Casino Guide coupon book this year and so far saved enough to pay for it. Upcoming trip should put me in the black.

    TomTWI
     
  5. insin

    insin Speed Spender

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    Not many useful LV Strip or DT non-fast food coupons

    :thumbsdown:IMO if you are not a local.....then totally NOT worth it.
    Better deals to be found in the free guides (what's on, 24/7, Las Vegas Sun) than can be used through purchase of a $30 coupon booklet

    RE: Entertainment Book
    If I was a local..... there are some decent deals off-strip. Even then, most of those same deals can be found through Groupon or travelzoo or other similar sites.

    The American Casino Guide is a good value and Las Vegas Advisor's Member Rewards Book is also a fair deal.

    That said, the thing about using coupons is that it can be more of a hassle to "save" the money than your limited vacation time is worth!
     
    Last edited: Mar 11, 2014
  6. Vegas Insight

    Vegas Insight MIA

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    For what it’s worth, I never read about anyone on this forum trading Entertainment coupons or using the book on their vacation. I’ve never considered purchasing one, so I can’t give a firsthand opinion, but when I don’t hear others talking up the value of the book as a Vegas visitor, it suggests to me it’s not worth it. And as my friend – a flight attendant – pointed out years ago, the Entertainment books are geared toward couples, with few offers for solo patrons.

    I am of a different mindset than many, I think: I don’t need to save $100 in order to make the purchase of a book worthwhile. If I save/earn what I spent on the book without going out of my way, it’s worth my trouble. If you place a value on match plays, ACG makes it quite easy to cover your cost.

    But I have been converted. After disregarding the LVA book for years, I bought a book second hand last year for half its regular rate. The book was basically complete, and I was impressed with how much more valuable it was to me than the ACG, and I didn’t use the high value Palms coupon everyone loves. The book was of value to me because it contained deals for places I already visit. I will definitely be buying one for my future trip.
     
  7. insin

    insin Speed Spender

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    worth of coupons

    I've never seen anyone trade for ENT book Q's either.
    I received an extra book for free with an order of my local book. So I figured, why not try a LV edition? I ended up using 2 coupons. Madame Tussauds and Haagen Daaz. Was it worth it for me? Sure because I didn't really pay anything for the book. I do think it's a huge hassle to lug around these giant books and usually rip out only the coupons I know I will use.

    I've found more value in using Groupons and Restaurant.com vouchers.
    I've never seen anyone trade for those either although I did give one away for a hard to get certificate on a coupon trade. Trading Restaurant.com certs is nice because then you can use more than 1 cert within 30 days. (only allowed 1 cert. use for a restaurant per account per 30 days)

    "Entertainment books are geared toward couples, with few offers for solo patrons." I would totally agree with that! I would also add that if you have a rental car and are going to be in town for at least 5 days there are a few other coupons off strip or in Henderson that are a good value.

    :peace:
     
  8. lithium78

    lithium78 VIP Whale

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    Does the American Casino Guide have coupons for the Strip? If it also has coupons for the CET casinos in Atlantic City that would be a bonus.
     
  9. tringlomane

    tringlomane STP Addicted Beer Snob

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  10. lithium78

    lithium78 VIP Whale

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  11. worldtraveler661

    worldtraveler661 VIP Whale

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    Maybe im new school here but I've seen those things and they dont really seem like the best deals and best places to go.

    First you're limiting yourself to go to those places to make the most out of what you possibly paid for it. Second, Vegas is full of deals without coupons and all that.

    And these days, if you are subscribed to Groupon or that type of email service that sends discounts and deals to places in those specific areas, you can find deals that way too. And it doesnt cost you money to get those deals.

    Even Yelp or Facebook check-ins get you free stuff or discounts as well.
     
  12. Vegas Insight

    Vegas Insight MIA

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    I'd disagree somewhat. You're not limiting yourself to only places that are in the book, unless you choose to. Yes, the tendency is to use the book as much as possible, and you may end up finding yourself driving all over to take advantage of the coupons, but you're not obligated to use the book at any given time.

    As I said before, there's no rule that says if you pay $17 for the book (which is the rate they were selling for today, I believe) you have to save more than $17 to make it worth your while. If I paid $17 and saved $17 with the book, (without going out of my way,) that's all that matters. If I save another $100, all the better. Sometimes I think I'm in the minority in this thinking.

    I do agree with you that many of the businesses and offers in the books aren't that appealing, at least based upon my local experience. (If you have a great restaurant with a great business, why do you need to pay for advertisements offering discounts on your product?)

    As noted, it's not a tourist-friendly book, and having had those books for my local market in years past, it seemed like every year there was a favorite business that no longer used the book, and not enough new favorites that joined. I know that one of the local businesses that use to use the book quit doing so because coupon trading via our local free classified ad site was rampant, and a business manager claimed that some people traded for so many of the coupons that traders would come in every single week to use his pizza discount coupon.

    By the way, I'm guilty of that, to a small degree. (I traded for a handful of favorites every year, but never needed 52 of the same coupon.) The internet made it easy to trade coupons with others across town who buy the book but never venture to the other side of the river, but it also increased the redemption rate of the coupons, and that undoubtedly turned off some businesses, which as I understood it had to pay in order to offer a discount, much like any other advertising vehicle. I can understand why paying to increase the number of coupon clippers wearing your carpet thin has little appeal to some businesses.

    Before I finish taking this far afield, I will note that I wonder how much the coupon trading in ACG has affected the offers in the book. I certainly double up on a couple of coupons every year, as do others.

    All this Entertainment coupon talk has me wondering: What is one of the best deals in that book that would appeal to a tourist? There has to be something, right?
     
  13. Happily

    Happily High-Roller

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    Nope. We have one and haven't used a thing out of it.
     
  14. worldtraveler661

    worldtraveler661 VIP Whale

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    I agree that you're not obligated to. My point was that when you have it, you tend to base some decisions from it vs being more independent and searching for actual deals out there on your own.

    For someone that isnt a veteran of Vegas, a book give some guidance on where to go. In a way thats good, but lets say you use it 3-4 times for savings of $20-40. You get what you paid for out of it which is great, but the book dictated you to go to places that may not really be the best places to go. But out of ignorance?(if thats the right word) of the area, you're kinda drawn to what you see in the book.

    I feel that research in these forums actually give a better experience and deals for a trip from actual people who know and experienced the place. Thats why I feel those books are outdated in todays times.
     
  15. Vegas Insight

    Vegas Insight MIA

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    yeah, i'd agree, like phone books, the concept is outdated.

    in a world of groopon, mobile coupons and other advertising vehicles, it's a tough sell. the unfortunate part is that those books were, up until 8-10 years ago, almost exclusively the domain of fundraising groups and organizations. that ceased to be the case, at least here in God's country, and that had a lot to do with its downward spiral. add in all the other factors and it's no wonder the parent company filed for bankruptcy protection, or something along that line, not so long ago.
     
  16. tatterdema

    tatterdema VIP Whale

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    I bought one, and have made the money back using the movie coupons here in Seattle. $2 off per person per movie doesnt take long to make back the small cost of the book.

    Just to add, because I don't think a lot of people are aware of it, but you can use the coupons in the Entertainment book most anywhere, not just in Vegas. Example is most of the chain restaurants and such, car rental codes, etc.
     
    Last edited: Mar 19, 2014
  17. Cinwhim

    Cinwhim Low-Roller

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    We bought an entertainment book for $5 about 5 years ago. We got our money back and a little but more. However we drive all over the city to combine business with our vacation so have access to more places in the book. We left the book along with a nice tip for the housekeeper since it didn't expire for a few months.

    We have been back twice since and have not gotten one. -shrug-
     
  18. ajonate

    ajonate Low-Roller

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    The American Casino Guide (ACG) coupons are pretty good if you have a car and frequent locals casinos, such as the various station casinos & Arizona Charlies. For the Strip, ACG isn't of much use to speak of.

    One of the fall-outs of this recession is that meal deals have dried up pretty badly. Before about 2007 I could find enough food deals where I didn't need premium coupons. Casino had the revenue to run promotions back then. But for the past 6 or 7 years it's all about premium coupons.

    For locals the ACG is pretty good. But you might want to get the Las Vegas Adviser (LVA) if you'll be using a lot of coupons. There are also a few LVA coupon opportunities for the Strip that you won't find in ACG. But either way, you have to make it worth your while. You can find ACG in the $15 to $18 range, but LVA is $35.

    For myself, I get both ACG and LVA every year. I save a bundle.
     
  19. oudi14

    oudi14 Newbie

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    About 25 years ago, I bought an Entertainment book in Toronto from 2 Rotarians. [I'm one also] I'd never heard of it before; seems I paid about $20 for it, wasn't much, or I wouldn't of bought it. I got 50% off from several nice hotels around Ontario, including a $65 savings at the Sheraton in Niagara Falls. It was well worth the money. Somehow, I've never bought another one. Like other posters said, I seriously doubt it would be much use in Vegas, so many good deals there, anyway. I have my LVA coupon book; I never go to Vegas without it. April 25th!
     
  20. ajonate

    ajonate Low-Roller

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    I estimate the value of the ACG & LVA on the basis of buffet 2for1 coupons alone. If I can't justify it with the first few buffets then it's not worth it. It takes about 2 lunch buffets to pay for the ACG and about 4 lunch buffets to pay for the LVA. I can do that easy, and the coupons are good all year.
     
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