Since pretty much the launch of this site I have spoken about my affinity for the American Casino Guide, which features information about casinos across the country.
One of its selling points was the array of coupons found inside, covering areas like food, attractions, shows, and most critically for readers of this site, gambling.
The first time I ever went downtown, I took $20 in free play, $10 of which I got from signing up for a card and $10 from the American Casino Guide, and transformed it into over $1000. It was a great example of the potential of the coupons, and also gave me an initial positive moment downtown that has extended through years of visits since.
The pandemic has taken its toll on the guide, as with so many other things. The 2021 edition of the book was not printed due to the pandemic, with many of the coupons being extended another year and the 2020 book continuing to be on sale throughout this year.
Now, with another year winding down, it was announced that the book will no longer be printed. The information from the book will shift online and to their free app, a helpful scenario for those who found it valuable.
More up in the air will be what happens to the coupons. To be sure, many things like buffets and shows, which were main features in the coupon section, have not come back in the same numbers as before. Many casino companies are using this unusual time to reduce or eliminate them altogether.
But those gambling coupons are also now missing. The letter announcing the end of the book indicated some thought being put into printable coupons, but it certainly marks the end of an era.
For now, we can still count on the Las Vegas Advisor, which did succeed in producing a slimmed down, but still quite valuable, coupon book as part of its annual member benefits. But the days of using both books to do a coupon run will come to and end at the conclusion of the year.
