As the new year kicks into gear, our Phoenix area casinos are seeing a big increase in visitors as folks from all over the country come to the Valley for the great wintertime weather. An example: Even last week’s major rainstorm didn’t deter players from visiting Fort McDowell for the casino’s popular free Thursday night “VIP” buffet for platinum level club members. The line to get a table started forming before the 4 p.m. opening and continued all night long!
We just received our newest mailers from Fort McDowell Casino and noticed that this new **expanded** mailer includes our club member offers and news of upcoming special events for not only February but also for the month of March. (Former mailers contained only one month’s info at a time.) The colorful piece includes coupons for dinners and buffets plus lots of special bingo coupons for the casino’s well-attended Bingo Hall as well as news on upcoming giveaways and other events.
This same six-panel mailer included info on our free slotplay offers for February and March under the “Crown Credits” heading. According to the promo piece, the weekly Crown Credits “go in every Monday morning at 12:01 a.m. and expire on Thursday nights at 11:59 p.m. These credits automatically are on your card and you don’t need a coupon.”
To get great offers in the mail from Fort McDowell Casino and other area casinos, be sure to ALWAYS get a players club card and ALWAYS use the card while playing your favorite games.
Tags: Arizona casino, Arizona casinos, casino gaming Arizona, March players club promotions, Phoenix casinos, slot club promos Arizona
Poker pros and celebrities alike will be heading out to Fort McDowell Casino later this week for the fifth annual TASER Foundation’s “Hold ‘Em for Heroes™” charity poker tournament which benefits the families of fallen officers.
Hosted by colorful pro, Phil “The Poker Brat” Hellmuth, the popular event brings to Arizona an exciting group of poker stars including such well-known players as Pam Brunson, Todd Brunson, Phil Laak, Clonie Gowen and others for this stellar three-day tourney.
Scheduled events for this “Official Satellite Tournament of the World Series of Poker” begin at noon on Thursday and continue through to Saturday’s big game happening at 8 p.m. when the top two players from both Thursday’s and Friday’s Main Events and Saturday’s High Roller Tournament vie for the Grand Prize – one $10,000 seat to the 2010 World Series of Poker. Buy-ins start at $115 and go up to $1,000 for Saturday’s “High Roller” game.
In addition to the card games, golfers also get a chance to play for this good cause during Friday’s “Celebrity Golf Tournament” at WeKoPa Golf Club at the
Radisson Fort McDowell Resort-Casino. Registration begins at 11:00 a.m. for players who want to join country music recording artist Mark Wills, World Series of Poker Champ Hellmuth, “Home Improvement’s” Richard Karn and many more celebrities from the worlds of poker, television, music and professional sports in an 18-hole “Best Ball” Scramble golf tournament.
All the event details including a list of scheduled pros and celebrities plus rules and regulations can be found at the Taser Foundation site or visit the Fort McDowell Casino website.
Tags: celebrity poker tournament, charity golf tournament, charity poker tournament, charityy poker game, fort mcdowell casino, hold 'em tournament, hold em for heroes, hold em for heros, Phil Hellmuth
Players looking for some of the hottest and newest casino slot games can now find them right here in our very own Phoenix-area casinos. Popular favorites such as the Wizard of Oz® and Star Trek® from WMS Gaming and Star Wars® from IGT plus lots of brand-new games are showing up on casino floors all around town. Here are just some of the games we’ve seen during our recent Phoenix casino visits:
Casino Arizona at Indian Bend and the 101 has been bringing in tons of hot new games in preparation for stocking the floor of the expanded casino scheduled to open in April of 2010. New games include a four-level Wizard of Oz® progressive featuring games “Wicked Riches™” and “Glinda the Good Witch™;” a colorful new video version of the popular Goldfish® game; a variety of “Quick Hit Platinum Progressive®” machines from Bally Technologies and a new multi-player community gaming bank called “Reel ‘Em In – Compete to Win™” featuring player competitions and bonus prizes.
At Fort McDowell Casino near Fountain Hills in addition to playing fave Wizard of Oz® games, you can try your luck on the newest Star Wars® and Star Trek® machines along with Playboy® Platinum slots and Joker’s Wild slots from IGT. Check out the video below for a look at a winning bonus round on a Star Wars® machine.
Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino in Maricopa brings JAWS™ — complete with sound effects including clanging buoys and — you guessed it — “The shark is coming, the shark is coming!” music — to the local gaming scene. Check out this cool video preview of the JAWS slot machine from maker Aristocrat® gaming.
Coming up — We’ll do a big run-down on all the hottest slot games at Gila River’s newly-opened Wild Horse Pass Casino later this week.
A glimpse of the gaming floor at the new Wild Horse Pass Casino in Arizona.
More than 1,000 slot and video poker machines, 46 table games and 25 poker tables will greet guests as the Gila River Indian Community unveils its striking new Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino to the public on Friday, October 30 at 9 p.m. Called an “overall entertainment package” by CEO Harold Baugus, the new casino resort offers much more than just gaming with its wide assortment of dining venues, five bars and lounges, a Vegas-style nightclub (opening in November) plus the new Ovations LIVE! 1400-seat entertainment venue.
Amid the bustle of last-minute construction touches, casino staffers and management were on hand this week to give members of the media a first-hand look at the stunning new property. Punctuated by soaring ceilings in the main gaming area, the casino design features the use of gorgeous natural materials plus striking design elements such as sparkling hand-blown glass lighting sculptures.
Players will no doubt enjoy the wide array of gaming machines including 600 of the newest slots such as the smokin’ hot “Wizard of Oz” and interactive “Star Trek” (both from WMS Gaming) plus 400 popular games brought over from the former location. Card players will be pleased as well with the new poker room’s spacious design and posh décor. High-limit gaming is available in a separate section of the casino with $5-and-up slot machines plus table games currently offering $25 – $500 limits. (Look for possible higher limits in the future.)
Shula's American Steakhouse at Wild Horse Pass features photos of the '74 Super Bowl champs.
Guests hungering for more than gaming will have their needs satisfied in style with the resort’s new restaurants including the first Arizona outlet of “Shula’s American Steak House.” With its dark wood floors and tables elegantly outfitted in white linens, this tribute to the famous coach’s ’74 Super Bowl champs features a high-end menu of corn-fed beef, seafood entrees and traditional sides such as creamed spinach and a variety of spud preparations. For a more casual meal, the downstairs “Ling & Louie’s Asian Bar & Grill” will offer the chain’s menu of oriental specialties with a contemporary bent. (We’ve been to the restaurant’s Shea Boulevard location and are big fans of the Asian Pear Martini, the Lemon Chicken and the Buddha’s Feast with Chicken!) Other dining spots include a food court with a Fatburger, a Boar’s Head Deli and more plus the casino’s own Café 24/7 with its delectable selection of baked goods.
Adjoining the casino is the resort’s 242-room hotel which features 39 suites along with a spa and pool. The hotel also offers 12,000 square-feet of meeting space.
We’ll be posting more info here in coming days so check back for updates. Also, visit the Wild Horse Pass Casino website for opening details.
Tags: Arizona casino resorts, gila river indian, Phoenix casinos, Scottsdale casinos, wild horse pass, wild horse pass casino
If you’ve never played at Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino in Maricopa, the casino is giving you a big incentive to do just that with their newest players club promotion. From now through December 31, 2009 players who sign up for a new Total Rewards® players club card will immediately earn 500 Bonus Reward Credits® PLUS be eligible for up to $200 extra in Free Slot Play™ to cover any losses racked up during the first 60 minutes of play on the day of sign-up. That’s right — get the card, play your favorite slots and if you lose, the casino will give you up to 200 bucks in slot play coupons. This promo also extends to current Total Rewards® members who have never played at Ak-Chin. This is a cool promotion for some of my “winter visitors” who haven’t yet been out to this casino. Be sure to check with the promotions desk for all the details.
Also at Harrah’s Ak-Chin now through the end of October, guests have a chance to win cash and more during the casino’s weekend promotions featuring games from “The Price is Right.” Players club members must swipe their cards on Saturday and Sunday from 11 am – 5 pm to be eligible for a guaranteed prize. Lucky players can qualify for Free Slot Play™; a special “The Price Is Right” gift; Reward Credits®; or a chance to play The Big Wheel or Plinko. I was out this past Saturday and won a chance to play Plinko during which I received three “pucks” to drop down the money board. I ended up winning a nice $125 in slot play coupons after hitting the top $100 prize slot.
For more info on these and other promotions, visit the Harrah’s Ak-Chin website.
Tags: Ah chin, ak chin, Arizona casinos, Harrah's Ak Chin, Harrah's Arizona, Harrahs, play slots Arizona, play slots Phoenix, slot club promotions, Total Rewards promotions
Four days of special events will mark Fort McDowell's 25th birthday bash.
You’ve been hearing about it all year and the big birthday bash is finally here! I’m talking about Fort McDowell Casino’s big 25th anniversary celebration happening this weekend. Four days of special events begins this Friday with everything from free show-stopping entertainment to free birthday cake and commemorative T-shirts (while supplies last) plus plenty of chances to win lots of cash, free slotplay and prizes including the big give on Monday — a fully-loaded 2010 Chevy Camaro 2SS Coupe.
In addition to daily food and drink specials, “hot seat” promotions, and blackjack bonuses, the schedule of events for the birthday celebration at Fort McDowell Casino includes these highlights:
Friday, October 9 – The casino encourages guests to bring the whole family for a free outdoor concert featuring R&B group, “The Spinners.” Best-known for hit songs like “Rubberband Man,” “One of a Kind (Love Affair),” “I’ll Be Around” and — a personal fav of mine — “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love,” the popular recording artists have 12 gold records to their name. Guest will want to stick around after the show when The Fort follows up the concert by lighting up the sky with a free fireworks display. Gates open at 6:30 pm for the 7:30 show with the sparklers immediately following.
Saturday, October 10 – More than $125,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded during Saturday’s big “Bingo Bash” birthday event plus guests will enjoy free entertainment in the casino’s Lucky 7 Lounge throughout the day.
Sunday, October 11 – Lots more cash and prizes will be given away all day with hot seat promotions so be sure to have your slot club card going while playing your favorite games. Casino-goers can also enjoy a free performance by popular local entertainer, Todd Luxton , as he and his band pay tribute to Elvis.
Monday, October 12 – It’s Columbus Day and the chance to win the big prize of the long weekend – a sleek new “25th anniversary silver” Chevy Camaro sports coupe. With its V8 engine, dual exhaust system, sunroof and other great options, this is one very cool car. There will also be cash and prize giveaways every hour on the 25 minute mark from 10:25 am to 10:25 pm plus free appetizers from noon until 8 pm.
Happy Birthday, Fort McDowell!
Tags: 25, anniversary event, car giveaway, casino, Fort McDowell, Fort McDowell 25th, free concert, Ft McDowell, The Spinners, win cash, win Chevy Camaro
The original "Ocean's 11" plus the Clooney/Pitt flicks are all available in this cool DVD collection from Amazon.
Hitting four aces or watching the reels stop on three fiery sevens aren’t the only ways to rack up some big cash at a casino. There are always other, shall we say, more creative ways to try and score as a recent news item showed: A former employee of the Desert Diamond Casino in Tucson was sentenced Thursday to 37 months in prison plus must pay restitution to the casino for printing and cashing more than HALF A MILLION bucks in bogus jackpot tickets. The “instant winner,” 31-year-old Adam Thomas Vega, must pay $644,422 in restitution to the Tohono O’odham Nation, owners of the casino where he worked as a slot floor person from 2001 until July 2007. Vega generated 585 phony slot tickets — all below the magic W-2-generating $1,200 amount — using passwords belonging to casino supervisors. Read more about the case here.
Casino heists and cheats make for great movies — think “Ocean’s 11″ and “21″ — but in real life the criminals such as the Desert Diamond employee rarely get away with the cash. Here are some examples of heists and cheats “gone bad” in the real world of casino crimes:
Luck ran out for these two Georgia men who tried to rip off both the Showboat Casino and Caesars in Atlantic City: Atlantic City casino heist
The Tucson man mentioned above merits a listing in this interesting article detailing the mistaken adventures of would-be casino “winners” in this post on this eclectic U.K. site, Destroy the Odds: 18 Casino Heists: The Strange, The Surgical, and The Stupid.
Tags: Arizona casinos, casino heists, casino robbery attempts, Desert Diamond Casino, Tucson casino crime
Pick up your new players club card this month at Casino Arizona.
The new Players Rewards Club is up and running at Casino Arizona. The new club replaces the CASHBACK Players Club complete with new club cards in Classic, Silver, Gold and, for the top level, Platinum club cards. (I kind of liked the Arizona-themed Opal, Turquoise and Coral levels of the old club.)
To inaugurate the new club, the casino is holding a series of weekly drawings throughout September when lucky winners will receive $5o in “Power PERCS,” Casino Arizona’s new downloadable cash program. Using a PIN plus their Player Rewards Club card, Power PERCS allows players to put promo or cashback dollars right into their favorite machines.
The drawings will be held at 9 AM, 3 PM and 9 PM on Mondays and Wednesdays at the McKellips casino and on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Indian Bend casino location. Ten winners will be announced during each drawing time for a total of THIRTY winners each day. Players earn entries into the drawings by playing their favorite slot and keno machines (200 points equals 10 entries) plus they can earn an additional 10 entries by stopping by the new club desk and updating or confirming their personal information.
Also, just in time for football season, this month’s players club giveaway is a Casino Arizona fold-up stadium blanket.
Tags: Arizona casinos, Casino AZ, drawings, Phoneix, player promotions, promotion, Scottsdale, Scottsdale casinos, slot club promos Arizona
The new 4GB iPod Shuffle from Apple FREE to select Total Rewards Club members.
This is a big prize week for Diamond and above members of Harrah’s popular Total Rewards players club. While lots of casinos — especially in Las Vegas — are cutting benefits and player rewards, Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino here in Arizona seems to be upping their marketing efforts and giving players lots of reasons to head to Maricopa.
The “Wild Wired Week VIP Gift Giveaway” kicks off Monday, August 17, when players club members who received the special mailer can head to the Total Rewards Center and claim their FREE Apple iPod® Shuffle. This is the new super-slim Apple iPod shuffle (3rd Generation)
The “Wild Week” continues with more great gifts on the horizon for players who earn additional base reward credits for playing their favorite games. From Monday, August 17 , to Friday, August 21, members can rack up Base Reward Credits and then redeem them at week’s end for items like TVs of all sizes or a Playstation® 3 from Sony. Earn 1,250 points for a 19″ Vizio® LCD TV or keep playing and get all the way up to 13,750 points this week to earn a 73″ Mitsubishi® DLP TV.
Check with the Total Rewards Club desk for all the details and any “fine print.” Players are limited to one free gift and one earned gift during the promotion.
We think the marketing group at Harrah’s Ak-Chin has really come up with some cool promos this year and we’ll definitely be playing there this week. And, after all, isn’t that the point of any promotion?
Tags: ak chin, Ak-Chin casino, apple ipod, Arizona, Arizona casinos, Diamond club, free ipod, giveaway, giveaways, harrah, Phoenix casinos, player rewards, promotion, rewards club, Total Rewards Club
The Mirage Las Vegas heats up the Strip with its new volcano show and hot room deals this summer.
Looking for an affordable last-minute vacation before summer ends? One of the most popular road trips is for Arizonans to head for the bright lights of Las Vegas. In this summer of 2009, the question isn’t whether you can save money on your Las Vegas trip but how much money you can save!
With travel — and particularly convention travel — way down in Las Vegas, hotel deals are everywhere. Yes, it is hot in Sin City in August but then those of us who live in the Arizona desert are used to the heat and Las Vegas offers lots of interesting and fun things to do inside to beat the sweltering summer temps.
We just got back from a great trip to Las Vegas where we spent eight days divided among Green Valley Ranch, The Bellagio and Planet Hollywood resorts. Great restaurants, lots of video poker including some of the latest games like Ultimate X Poker™, pool-time in beautiful settings, a high-energy show plus sight-seeing all added up to a wonderful trip. You can read about the trip at our sister site, RoyallyFlushed.com, where we start our round-up with a review of “Peepshow” starring Holly Madison at Planet Hollywood.
Some of the best hotel deals on the Las Vegas Strip right now are available at MGM Mirage properties, at Planet Hollywood, and at some of Harrah’s casino resorts. Check out these super deals and be sure to use the links provided to get the best rates:
Luxor from just $60 per night plus lots of great resort credits! Luxor “Luxury Getaway” Rates from $60/nt (2nt min). *Plus, one $30 dining credit at Tender Steak and Seafood Restaurant, One $20 Spa Credit for Spa Services, One 2 for 1 admission to The Spa at Luxor, $10 in Free Slot Play for New Player Club Members (*See site for additional details and restrictions). Jul 8, 2009 – Feb 28, 2010. Promo Code: PLUX (Exp 2/26/10)
Wow! The Mirage is celebrating 20 years on the Strip with great rates and lots of add-ins from just $81 per night. Mirage “20th Anniversary” Rates from $81/nt. *Join us at The Mirage and enjoy a $50 Cravings Buffet Credit during your stay and 4 Secret Garden passes.(*See site for additional details and restrictions). Jul 15, 2009 – May 31, 2010. Promo Code: WEBPROMO (Exp 5/31/10)
Planet Hollywood — cool rates for a hot center-Strip location: Planet Hollywood from $69 per night!
Hit up this site and check out the rates for Bally’s, Harrah’s and the Flamingo with its fabulous pool area: Great Vegas Hotels from $20
Tip: If you do drive, be aware that construction around the Hoover Dam area is intense and can easily add an hour or more to the trip. Consider using 95 as an alternate route.
Tags: discount hotel las vegas, hot room, hotel promo codes, las vegas hotel deals, last minute vacation, luxury getaway, mgm mirage, mirage las vegas, planet hollywood, trip to las vegas, volcano show
