[delgadobb]

For those thinking about heading to the buffet at any of the following properties: Planet Hollywood, Paris, Rio, Harrahs, Flamingo

Caesars is running a great promotion thru March 31st (according to signage I saw a couple places including Flamingo). Earn 50 tier points in a day, keep your points & get a free buffet. They previously ran a similar promotion at Rio & Planet Hollywood - the catch was it was specific to each property. You had to earn points at the same location as the buffet; earn points at Rio for their buffet & the same at Planet Hollywood. Now you can earn the points at any property & redeem at any of their buffets EXCEPT Caesars or the Seafood Buffet @ Rio (regular buffet at Rio is fine, you can pay a $25 upgrade charge for the seafood buffet). My buddy & I just went to the Paris buffet tonight with comps earned through poker. I earned another one today & we will go to Planet Hollywood in the next couple days (you get a voucher the same day you earn the 50 tier points & they are good for 48 hours). You can earn one comp per day, so theoretically you could do this on a daily basis - the problem being what would happen to your waistline

A basic breakdown of how to earn 50 tier points is as follows:
3 hours of live poker (you earn 17 tier points per hour, so roughly 3 hours)
$250 played through most slot machines ($5 per tier point)
$500 played through most video poker machines ($10 per tier point)

While I'm not big on buffets, this is a pretty phenomenal deal. Planet Hollywood, Paris & Rio have all been positive experiences for me. I'm 'triple-dipping' in the sense I can get a buffet while qualifying for poker freeroll tournaments & working towards Diamond status for this year. I'm also not playing against the house, since the casino takes a cut in the poker rooms & you are actually playing against other people. Win $$, get a free buffet, perhaps win more $$ in a freeroll tournament & earn towards Diamond status. Good all around.

For those more inclined towards slots, this is still a great deal. Would I go normally to play slots there? No. However, for example ... if I find a 99%+ Video Poker machine, my expected loss is less than $5, I may gain rating/status pts depending on machine & I get a free buffet dinner instead of spending $30 ... that's not so bad. I would NOT advocate blindly doing this just for the buffet, but if you occasionally make your way there perhaps this will provide the extra value that will make it worthwhile.

If any of you are the least bit competent in poker, a lot of the smaller rooms have games that aren't that tough to beat & this simply adds value. Whatever you decide to do, good luck & I hope a lot of people on this forum are able to take advantage of this fantastic deal ...

[fvansan]

Better yet, buy your meal and not lose your money gambling for 3 hours or betting $300-500. Seems like a very foolish way to get a meal that isn't really free.

[LuisSuarez]

Ate at M Resort buffet on friday and Flamingo buffet on saturday. No comparison, Flamingo was the worst buffet I have had in a long time. The only plus was the free wine.

[OmegaSupreme]

got excited (only a little) when I read the title... but of course Caesars Palace isn't included, since it's actually a decent buffet, there is such a thing!

i wonder if Paris buffet is any good.... I used to walk through there a lot at different times, and the buffet line was always packed

[OmegaSupreme]

Originally Posted by LuisSuarez

Ate at M Resort buffet on friday and Flamingo buffet on saturday. No comparison, Flamingo was the worst buffet I have had in a long time. The only plus was the free wine.

Studio B at the M is one of the best buffets I've ever eaten at. Leaps and bounds better than most, but that isn't a difficult feat considering how poor most of them are

[Raiderman]

Originally Posted by OmegaSupreme

got excited (only a little) when I read the title... but of course Caesars Palace isn't included, since it's actually a decent buffet, there is such a thing!

i wonder if Paris buffet is any good.... I used to walk through there a lot at different times, and the buffet line was always packed

One of our least favorite on the strip. Our absolute favorite is the Wynn. The worst I've been to in town are definitely the Palms and Paris (of the major casinos, not including places like Fiesta, etc).

[EA]

When people think spending 250 to get a "free" meal is a good deal it's no wonder our economy is failing.


Also, the M buffet is awesome. Wynn buffet is way too much for what you get.

[RecentlyRetired]

Originally Posted by EA

When people think spending 250 to get a "free" meal is a good deal it's no wonder our economy is failing.

I think what the OP was trying to say is if you are into gambling, why not do it a a place where you can earn a free meal.

Spending 250 isn't necessarily $250 out of pocket. One could put in $5, win a little, use those winnings to play some more, and continue on doing that until the goal is reached. It's possible.

[EA]

Billion dollar casinos are not built by paying out as much as they take in.


That being said, I like not having state taxes, so please, carry on feeding the machine.

[delgadobb]

Originally Posted by RecentlyRetired

I think what the OP was trying to say is if you are into gambling, why not do it a a place where you can earn a free meal.

Spending 250 isn't necessarily $250 out of pocket. One could put in $5, win a little, use those winnings to play some more, and continue on doing that until the goal is reached. It's possible.

This.

A direct quote from my post was "I would NOT advocate blindly doing this just for the buffet, but if you occasionally make your way there perhaps this will provide the extra value that will make it worthwhile." I'm not trying to convince anyone to go play if it's not your thing or you don't understand EV. For those that do, this is one of the best deals you're going to find.

I may have come out $150 ahead in 3 hours of live poker while qualifying for a poker freeroll tournament & earning a free buffet in addition to earning points towards Diamond status ... what's not to like about that? There is a cement convention in town right now & you can play live poker vs conventioneers who want to gamble, NOT the Casino (they just take their cut). Anyone with some acumen & basic poker skills can win in these games. That is up to the individual.

In general, the Casinos will eventually get your $$, but there are intelligent ways to get good value for your gambling dollar. This is one of them. Running $500 through a video poker machine does NOT mean putting $500 into the machine ... more likely somewhere around $20-50 with an expected loss of less than $5 & sometimes you win! (You're churning a smaller amount of $$ through the machine until you've wagered a total of $500 ... same with slots but the number is $250.) Put another way, if you value a buffet dinner at more than $4-5 (most do), this is a great deal ... but only if you're inclined to go to the casino in the first place.

Of the buffets listed, I'd put them in the following order: Planet Hollywood, Rio, Paris, Harrahs, Flamingo. I doubt I'd go to Flamingo as the one time I went there it was blah. Any of the first 3 are decent, I can't comment on Harrahs as I haven't been there.