Off-Strip: Home Plate Pizza Update

The Home Plate Bar and Grill at Blue Diamond & Decatur has updated their hours for their Industry Night Pizza Buffet: It's now from 4 a.m to 7 a.m., and is free with $10 of play. 

Meanwhile, Back at the Rancho

Dropped by the Fiesta Rancho for what turned out to be the last of the Senior Tuesday slot tournaments and learned of the following changes. Starting next week, the free 50+ slot tournament will move to Wednesdays and merge with the rest of the Station Casinos' Senior Wednesday events. At Fiesta Rancho, you'll still find it at the entrance to the Ice Arena. Meanwhile, Mondays will be video poker tournament day, next to the Sports Book. Both events are free to Boarding Pass card members, and both run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Freerollin' at Harrah's

Harrah's recently offered me two free nights along with $50 in free play, so off I went. Sure, "free" meant I still had to pay $18 a night in resort fees, but since I cashed in $53.75 on my slot play, as the Underwear Gnomes would say: "PROFIT!" I had a very nice room with a flat-screen TV, ethernet-cable internet, and a TV in the bathroom! Although I still haven't figured out how that one turns on. At hotel registration they also handed me a coupon book with buffet and restaurant discounts, two-for-one show tickets, free play and match play at sister casinos, and a free Million Dollar slot pull. On the latter, you could win a $20 dining credit or up to $100 in free play; I'm always happy to collect the Harrah's shot glass you win no matter what. Dining options include Kerry Simon's KGB (Kerry's Gourmet Burgers) and a Ruth's Chris Steak House (mmm...broiled in butter). Entertainment options include the Million Dollar Quartet, Mac King's afternoon comedy magic show (which this attendee heartily enjoyed), and The Improv at Harrah's, where Charles Fleischer, the voice of Roger Rabbit, just finished a stand. Harrah's is a bit of a labyrinthine maze to navigate until you get used to it, but the low-ceilinged casino is always buzzing, as is the Carnaval Courtyard outside. 

Spinnin' at the Riviera

I dropped by the Riviera Saturday for my weekly try at their free slot tournament, and out front what did I spy but this lovely wheel available for a spin to anyone who happened by. You have a chance to win free Comedy Club tickets, two-for-one show tickets, free drinks, $5 in free slot play, or a drawing entry for a Riviera getaway. And just for waiting in line, you get a nice batch of coupons, including a free drink, two-for-one entrees at the Wicked Vicky Tavern, $10 match play, two-for-one Comedy Club tickets or $10 off on show tickets. The coupons are good all the way through Labor Day, too. Well worth your time, I'd say.

Oh, and the Saturday free tournament? I rang up 19,500 points, which for the second time was enough for me to slide into 10th place and win $75 in free slot play. This time I was able to run that up to $60.25 in cold, hard cash, about $10 better than last time. Even though I played the video poker machine at the opposite end of the row from last time, the ticket printer still jammed on me a couple of times. The tech who came to fix it told me the machines are a little old. That's all right, as long as I still get my sixty bucks out of them. For my faithful readers who are keeping score, that means I've won a total of over $300 from entering free slot tournaments in just the past few weeks, so playing these might just have turned out to be one of my better recommendations. Ya think?

Getting Dotty

If I ever need a light, it's comforting to know that I'm never very far from a Dotty's, where I can dash in and grab a handful of matchbooks at the bar while nobody's looking. I could also order a bite from the kitchen or grab a snack from one of the jars of snack crackers and nuts they put out for players. Dotty's has won over locals with its slot promotions, cheap cigarettes, and bar service, to the extent that even without counting the Hacienda takeover, the Valley has almost 70 of these little slot parlors...or taverns, as they'd no doubt prefer to call them. This is a bone of contention with the big casinos in town, which argue that Dotty's gets far too much of its revenue from gaming to be regulated as a tavern rather than a casino. Clark County commissioners recently held a hearing in light of rules changes they're considering that could drastically affect Dotty's business model...not to mention the scores of  video poker bars you find on nearly any corner throughout greater Vegas.

Getting Lucky at Lucky's

Lucky's is  another one of those video poker bars (and package stores) with multiple locations across town, but their sign-up bonus is better than some: When you pick up your Lucky's player's card, playing your first $10 through earns you another $10 in free play. They have other promotions as well, including a raffle on Sundays for $200 in free play; each 20 points earns you 1 ticket. An "early bird" special is 4X points between 8 a.m. and noon. Playing $10 gets you a free drink (or a tasty non-alchoholic beverage for playing $5).

Tipapalooza! (Afterbirthday Edition)

Off-Strip: I popped into the BJ's Cocktail Lounge on Decatur (just a bit north of Blue Diamond) after their sign told me they had a 20,000-point sign-up bonus for new members. Turns out that's worth $20.00 of free play on your next visit! (Or when the boss drops by to log your points, whichever comes first.) I played 10-cent video poker and cashed out nearly double that amount! If the bartender in the little referee outfit isn't enough to tempt you into coming  back, they also advertise $20 free play on Tuesdays; lose that much through the machine and they'll put another $20 back onto it.

Freebie Alert! Whip out your CVS Extra Care card (and if you don't have one, go down to your local CVS and sign up for one), take it to a CVS, scan it at their coupon kiosk, and get a coupon for a free roll of Just The Basics paper towels, a 79-cent value. Scanning your card gets you different coupons each week. CVS is pretty good with the deals and freebies, sometimes with their Rewards for cash off on your next purchase, you can get stuff essentially for free, like those jelly beans I picked up for the office the other week.

Free Eats Update! Remember that coupon for the free buffet or $10 off at the cafe at the Silver Sevens? The one that was in last week's edition of Vegas2Go? Well, the new edition is out (the one with the black cover) and the same coupon is in there again, so if you couldn't find any copies of the last issue, go scarf up an armload or several of this one. As you will note from the sign, you can get a half-rack of ribs and a dozen wings for $7.77 at the cafe, 24/7. Did I mention the coupon is good for a $10 food credit at the cafe?


Keep Watching The Ground: As a reminder that we should always keep our eyes peeled, I put in a lot of legwork this weekend finding out which casinos on or near the strip give away something for your birthday. It will save me a lot of time next year, as only a few do. I'm glad I visited them all, though, because outside of one, I found a $100 bill lying on the sidewalk. Not a bad way to wrap up a birthday.

Money for Nothin'

If you want to experience the thrill of competitive gambling and you're on a budget...or, let's face it, you're flat broke...you can always take advantage of the free slot and video poker tournaments around town. In fact, if you're 50 or older, you've hit the jackpot! Well, only figuratively, but hey, it could happen. Here are some of the opportunities around town:

Saturdays: From 1-5 p.m. The Riviera has its weekly free slot tournament with free slot play for the top 20 finishers.

Tuesdays: Fiesta Station has a free $1,000 slot tournament for members 50 and older. Silverton has a free $10,000 slot tournament and with your Rewards card the first entry is free; as with most of these, you can earn additional entries by getting points on your player's card.

Wednesdays: Station Casinos have a free $3,000 slot tournament for players 50 and older.

Thursdays: South Point has a free $1,500 slot tournament for players 50 and older.

Keep your eyes peeled for other free tournaments too. Silver Sevens winds up its $35,000 Lucky Leprechaun slot tournament on March 22; gold and platinum A-Play cardholders get one free entry. The Stratosphere can often be counted on to have three-day free slot tournaments during holidays and special events, too. And you coupon clippers: THE SUNDAY has had coupons for free entries into the Gold Coast and Sam's Town free video poker tournaments in every one of its weekly issues so far.

Off-Strip: Way Down East at Doc Holliday's

You get off 215 at Eastern, head south for a few more blocks, enter the Target shopping center, and find yourself at the Doc Holliday's at 9821 S. Eastern, sharing a building with La Cocina de Maribel. They're one of a chain of video poker bars, and I was there to use the $25 match play coupon in The Sunday. The charming hostess and her trainee (a fellow transplant from Colorado) explained how it works: You play $25 in the machine, and they give you another $25 to play with. I played $25 worth of hands, and right on cue, our hostess came up with $25 in cash, and fed it into the bill slot of my machine! You could have knocked me over with a feather. I felt obliged to play the $25 out and must sheepishly admit I left only $2.50 ahead, but it's still a heck of a deal.

Off-Strip: Time-Out Sports Bar & Grill

Another coupon from The Sunday, this one for $10 in free play, sent me to check out the Time-Out Sports Bar & Grill at 6138 W. Charleston. Here signing up for their Players Advantage is high-tech simplicity itself: After they enter the information from your driver's license, you place your finger on a fingerprint scanner, and you're set. No need to lug a card around, on your next visit just give the machine the finger and you're ready to play! This is too cool. It's just like I'm clocking in at work. And I suppose I am. Put a dollar in the video poker slot, place one bet, and they'll transfer the $10 in free play over to your machine. Wednesday nights they have a live poker tournament at 6 p.m., and after that: Karaoke!

Off-Strip: Mulligan's

The Sunday has a $25 match play to use,here at Mulligan's Bar & Grill, at the East Craig location across the street from The Cannery. Here, our bartender explained that when I'd run $25 through the machine and lost it, he'd replace it with another $25 in play. I did my darnedest to lose my money playing Deuces Wild, which had seemed easy enough at my last stop, but I kept getting lots of little wins, then I hit a five-of-a-kind and was ahead $20 and figured I might as well leave while I was ahead. Still, getting your loss of up to $25 replaced? That's so risk-free it's hard to call it gambling.

NASCAR Events Update: The Stratosphere hosts a free autograph session with Kevin Harvick tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Stratosphere theater. Be one of the first 200 in line to get a wristband for entry.