It is no secret that casinos become crowded during the Christmas and New Year’s holiday season. Those holidays are times of cheer, and for many, that means Las Vegas (or other casino venues).
There are throngs of people who love to experience the joy of Christmas and the excitement of the new year unfolding at midnight. They enjoy the crowds. They enjoy the drinking and the merriment.
Most serious video poker players, however, are not fans of crowds. Instead of joy and merriment, they see and feel:
- Sky high plane fares, rental car and room rates and lines at every restaurant.
- Streets are crowded with traffic (even more than normal), and parking ramps are full.
- Machines (especially their favorite game) filled with people, many of whom are not even playing. This makes finding a playable game extremely difficult.
- Drunks who are definitely enjoying themselves, but who make concentrating on video poker difficult at best and impossible at other times.
- Smokers everywhere blowing smoke at everyone around them. The air is so thick with smoke it is difficult at times to see the other side of the casino.
- Crowds, crowds, and more crowds. They make moving from one place (or one machine) to another nearly impossible.
Many video poker players avoid casinos during the winter holidays. Others, however, join family or friends who enjoy the festivities. It is for these players that this article is written. What can video poker players do to minimize the impact of crowds during the holidays?
Read on to find out more.
Contents
- Getting there
- Where to stay
- When to play
- Summary
Getting There
If traveling by personal automobile, the cost of travel may not be all that different from other times of the year. It is true that gas prices peak during holidays, but this is not a great inconvenience compared to other transportation costs.
Airfares are a different animal, though. They can vary greatly. Part of the issue is all airfares are higher during peak travel times. Exacerbating the problem is the fact that the lowest of these higher fares sell out quickly. In addition, there are a limited number of lower fares. When they are gone, the price goes up further.
If the schedule allows for some flexibility, find the days and times with the lowest fares and book them as far in advance as possible. The best fare you find will probably still cost more than at other times of the year.
Once you have arrived at the destination airport, rental cars are expensive. If you are there for several days and plan on staying in the same area, getting a shuttle or taxi for the trip from and back to the airport may be a more frugal course of action.
Where to Stay
If you have some say as to where your party wants to stay, it will save some money staying away from the Strip.
Even staying downtown can be very expensive, so avoiding it could also be prudent. Try to find a good price at a locals casino – if that is agreeable to the entire travel party.
When to Play
Deciding where to play is not really an option. You either play where the best casino games are, in which case you might need a car, or you play where your group is staying (or a casino nearby).
There is a choice of when to play, however. The obvious answer is to play when there are the least people around. That tends to be from about 2 or 3 a.m. until around 9 or 10 a.m.
I preach keeping the same schedule as when at home. Obviously, for most of this country, that advice cannot be followed during crowded times. Early morning is the best time for finding open games with a minimum of smoke and drunks to distract your play. Of course, there could always be a very late straggler from the previous night’s revelry that will “rain on your parade.”
The times could be different at different casinos, but this tends to be the least busy time in the casino.
Summary
Serious video poker players enjoy playing when the crowds are at a minimum. During the winter holidays, casinos are quite crowded. This makes it difficult to find good video poker games. Not only are open games scarce, the cost of everything from travel to car rental to room rates are at a premium.
By being judicious in planning travel, destination, and when to play, the negative effects of the crowds can be mitigated to some extent. While not ideal, it is better to do some planning than to be totally shut out of playing video poker.
