Tips for Booking the Best Casino Trip
The whole point of going to a casino getaway is to have fun and enjoy every moment of it. That’s why creating a detailed plan for your trip is a must — you want to avoid spending all your money in one day or staying in some creepy hotel on the outskirts of town.
Planning a trip always entails a bit of research — you need to weigh in on how much money you can spend, how many days you will be gone, even where you’ll eat and what casino games you’ll play.
If this is the first casino trip you’re organizing, you might feel overwhelmed. However, with our tips, you’ll know exactly what to do. Keep reading the guide to learn how to plan a casino trip from start to finish.
Plan Your Budget
First things first — decide on how much money you can put aside for the trip. Planning a budget is a crucial step, even if you’re going on a one-day casino tour. It gets even trickier to manage your bankroll if you intend to go on a long weekend getaway.
What makes it so complicated is the fact that you’ll have additional expenses along with the money you plan to spend on gambling. If you don’t want to break the bank on your first day, your best option is to keep the funds separate.
So, before you start planning how to spend the money you’ll win at a casino, set up a budget for every aspect of your trip — the hotel, transportation, meals, and finally, gambling. Since you probably won’t pour all your life savings into the trip, the idea is to have a clear overview of all potential spendings.
For instance, if you’re staying at a resort, you might want to treat yourself to a spa day or go to a concert happening in the area. Like you’d normally do for any other trip or a vacation, put aside more money, just in case. You might not even use it, but it will give you peace of mind.
Choose the Location of Your Casino Trip
Once you’ve set up the budget, it will be easier to decide where you want to go. Whether you’re in the mood for someplace more exotic or local, knowing how much time and money you want to spend on travel is essential.
If there are some fantastic land-based casinos and resorts in your vicinity, driving down to the location is a good idea — you can even have a fun road trip and make a couple of stops along the way. However, if you intend to change the scenery entirely and go a bit further away from home, air travel is your best bet. You want to avoid spending hours (or even days) sitting behind the wheel — it can ruin the trip even before it begins.
If you opt for air travel, this is the point where you need to consider transportation from and to the airport, or from your hotel to the casino if you’re not staying at a resort. Car rental can be the best option, but it can also be an unnecessary luxury, depending on your trip’s location and itinerary. If you’re going to a bigger gambling destination, like Las Vegas or Atlantic City, you’ll have plenty of transportation options — buses, taxis, Ubers, and similar.
Decide Where You Want to Stay
Choosing a place to stay depends on several factors — the length of your vacation, your budget, the vicinity of the casino, to name a few. If you want an immersive casino experience, then a resort is the way to go. Casino resorts are equipped with all possible amenities that will make your stay perfect.
If a resort is out of your price range, then a nice and comfy hotel will do the job. Whether it’s a half or a full-board hotel, you should choose the one not far away from the casino you wish to visit. If you’re not a hotel-type person, an Airbnb apartment or a hostel is a good choice.
In any case, whatever accommodation you pick, be sure to check user photos and reviews. The last thing you want to do is end up in a messy room with no windows. You want your stay to be comfortable and pleasant, so to avoid any bumps in the road, read the reviews of people who have previously stayed there.
Pick a Proper Casino
As soon as you determine where you’re going for your little getaway, you can start researching the casinos in the area. There are certain criteria you want to pay attention to when choosing the right casino.
First up, it’s the casino’s location. You don’t want your hotel and the casino to be on the opposite ends of the city. Of course, if you’re going to a resort, the distance won’t pose a problem. Then, you need to consider the overall atmosphere of the casino. The choice depends on whether you want a casino with flashy slot machines and crowds of people around the roulette table or a relaxed casino setting with dim lights and not as many people.
The next important aspect is the game selection. Regardless of what type of casino games you prefer, you should plan ahead and know which tables to go to or slot machines to pick. This step is important, especially if your trip is short — you don’t want to lose precious time wandering around the casino and not knowing where to go.
If slot machines are in your wheelhouse, search for a casino that features various slot machine types. However, if you’re leaning more towards card games, then a casino with a broad selection of blackjack, poker, and baccarat variants should be the right choice.
Now that we’ve mentioned games, you should look into the casinos’ house edge. It will vary based on the game, but not all casinos have the same house edge. For example, blackjack is one of the card games with the lowest house edge (usually around 0,2%), but, depending on what casino you go to, that percentage will differ.
Finally, check the surrounding attractions of a casino — bar, lounge, VIP area, restaurant, or anything else you might want to see during your casino visit.
Keep an Eye Out for Casino Promotions
We all know that online casinos are famous for their fantastic bonuses. However, land-based casinos also have a couple of tricks up their sleeve. These promotions are also known as comps. Casinos and resorts often offer diverse incentives to their visitors. So, before choosing a casino for your trip, make sure you explore the types of comps you can get in different places.
To state the obvious — your casino extravaganza won’t come out cheap. That’s why these deals and additional rewards will allow you to save some money for meals, gambling, or other amenities you might come across.
Depending on what games you choose to play, how much money you’ll wager, or for how long you’ll play, the casino will determine what comps to give to you. Usually, casino comps are divided into different levels:
- The lowest level offers free drinks to players;
- The second level gives out free parking, free meals, or lounge access;
- The next level comes in the form of free valet parking, free rooms, or access to the VIP areas;
- High-rollers are entitled to travel reimbursement, private gaming areas, limo rides, tickets for various shows, private jets, and similar.
Bear in mind that certain casinos require players to sign up for the reward program before they begin to gamble. Fortunately, you can do it all online and go straight to the lounge as soon as you arrive at the casino.
Create a Detailed Itinerary
Depending on the location you choose, you will probably have many exciting things to do and see. Even if you’re staying in a resort, it’s highly unlikely you’ll manage to visit every single amenity offered to its visitors.
Therefore, once you book a place to stay, browse through the possible activities, and plan them out. You want to have fun and enjoy yourself, not run around the resort and be exhausted in the end. Just like planning what games to play, you should know what you want to do outside the casino lounge.
You can start by checking out the events happening in the area — there might be a fun concert you’d like to see. Given that the time you spend on the casino trip will be limited, you want to avoid being overwhelmed by the number of options. You can end up spending more time and money than you initially planned on numerous casino games and miss out on all the fun.
Final Thoughts
Even though casinos and resorts have been the main attraction in the past, they have become quite an underrated form of entertainment. However, if you’re looking for an exciting weekend getaway, we highly recommend looking up brick-and-mortar casinos in your proximity.
Go to a resort for a more indulging experience. Having everything you need in one place isn’t something you can come across often. However, before you book your stay, make sure you do proper research — planning your trip will be easier, and you’ll have nothing to worry about once you arrive at your destination. You can simply relax and enjoy everything a casino has to offer.
If you have never been to a casino before, a good way to get started might be to try your hand at online casinos – and even if you have, it could be a good appetizer to your amazing casino getaway. You should start with a low minimum deposit casino and there’s nothing better than one with absolutely no deposit. These are generally no deposit, keep what you win, which is definitely a great way to start.
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