More than three years ago, in my very first wave of content for the site, I wrote about how regular Vegas visitors should really take a close look at the American Casino Guide book and the Las Vegas Advisor membership.
Today, I want to take a closer look at why regular Vegas visitors should maintain the very affordable and valuable membership to the Las Vegas Advisor, and what you can get out of it.
First, the price: One year of membership to Las Vegas Advisor is $50 for US residents, which includes a printed newsletter mailed every month and a Member Rewards Book. Or, you can opt for the online edition for $37 a year, which includes a full year of online access, including the newsletter in an electronic format. (This version is what I’ve preferred, as I am fine reading it on my computer.)
The Member Rewards Book
The small in size but mighty in value Member Rewards Book alone more than pays for the membership to the Las Vegas Advisor, because it comes with so many values. The values generally come in a few key categories.
Most of the values will be useful downtown or off strip, which has been a consistency for awhile, as the strip casinos tend to be less generous with their offers. But there’s still quite a bit to take advantage of within the book.
Gambling
The bread and butter of the opportunities in my mind is the various gambling coupons. You can find free plays, match plays, and other valuable deals that can be used once during a calendar year.
This means each year you can get the book and visit the same casinos (presuming the same coupons are available, which tend to be the case more often than not) and take advantage of these opportunities, which all are a positive expected value for the player, which can get you off and running nicely.
Dining & Drinks
There are plenty of food discount opportunities, 2 for 1s and even a few free drinks offers within the book, many of them at the same locations as the gambling offers, meaning you can pick up some gambling and food opportunities within the same location.
Some of the 2 for 1s offer 50% off for one person, a nice touch since not everyone’s traveling in pairs (I’m usually in that bucket).
Accommodations
Many gamblers get comped rooms, but not everyone does or gambles at a level where the free rooms flow, so having some additional discounted accommodations options is certainly helpful.
Online Membership Rewards
For years Las Vegas Advisor has also offered an online membership rewards component, featuring offers that didn’t make the book, have a shorter duration or just are added bonuses.
Those values have been increasingly recently, as Las Vegas Advisor signs on more show discount opportunities, which can help drive down the cost of seeing a show. A few dining and drinks options can also be found there.
Members of both the physical and online newsletter options can access the full complement of these.
The Las Vegas Advisor Newsletter
Even as someone who regularly visits and reads about Vegas, I learn a little something regularly from the Las Vegas Advisor newsletter. The contents are very predictable and helpful, covering some key areas about Las Vegas.
Openings and Closings
They’re great at reporting about what’s happening in the area, including new casinos, restaurants, show and so on, as well as key venues that have closed. This can be helpful for planning as you may want to check out something new, or make alternative plans if one of your dining or show options will be going away.
Reviews
Each month they include reviews of a handful of things they’ve checked out recently, whether a casino, restaurant, show, etc. The reviews are focused and very useful in identifying whether it’s a good value and who it’s best for. This can shortcut some of the planning for many by helping them figure out what would be best for them.
Best Value Options
Anchored by a monthly Top 10 Values that are revised regularly, a lot of emphasis is placed on good values. I learned about a number of really good options that I’ve tried and enjoyed over the years thanks to them (including the Ellis Island steak dinner deal they regularly recommend).
More For All
They also offer a free gold-level membership, which provides access to additional things on the website such as their forums, which paying members also get to access. The website has a lot of great information publicly available, including columns from many notable casino writers such as Jean Scott and Bob Dancer.
Some core content that I find myself checking periodically include their Question of the Day, the various Parking Fees and Resort Fees by property, and their detailed Vegas FAQ.
Their line-up of books also features a strong array of topics and authors, from gambling content to Vegas history.
The Las Vegas Advisor website is a valuable resource, and their membership ups the ante with values and information that are well worth the annual spend of a few dollars a month.
