As many of you know, I pay for much of my travel using airline miles and hotel points. I have a post coming up that will detail how I “earn and burn” those rewards currencies, but in this post, I’d like to share an easy way to score free hotel rooms, show tickets and more in Las Vegas through the myVEGAS Slots Free Casino Facebook game.
I admit, it sounds too good to be true, but I promise you – it isn’t. By playing the game on Facebook, or though the smartphone app, you can earn discounts and rewards at Las Vegas hotels, restaurants and attractions.
I will be traveling to Las Vegas at the end of the month, and decided to use the points I earned playing the game in the myVEGAS rewards store. My points stash was small, but I was still able to score some great perks – a free night at the New York-New York casino/resort hotel (in a guaranteed accessible room with roll-in shower), a bottomless drink pass at Aria’s popular dinner buffet, and an unlimited ride pass on the monorail. Let me show you how to earn these freebies for yourself, and reduce the cost of a trip to Sin City!
Getting Started – The Basics
I should start by saying that you must have a Facebook account to play the game, whether you play on your computer (through the Facebook website), or using the iOS or Android smartphone app.
Before digging deeper, I’ll explain a few terms that will come up repeatedly:
- Game Chips – This is what you wager in the game.
- Experience Points – You earn 1 XP for each game chip that you wager. As your “coin in” total increases, you’ll earn bonuses, open access to new slot games, and activate new features.
- Loyalty Points – This is the rewards currency – what you use to buy free awards like hotel nights, meals and show tickets. This currency is awarded as you cross experience point (and level) thresholds, and through special bonuses or challenges.
The web and mobile platforms are largely separate, but connected in terms of tracking your loyalty point earnings and balance. If you are able to play the game on both platforms, you should, because it opens up a world of bonuses and you can potentially earn double the loyalty points, which are used to buy hotel nights and more.
You can earn the loyalty points currency by playing both slot and table games, wagering “game chips” that are given to you for free through a daily spin, bonuses every 2-4 hours, and free chip offers sent to you by e-mail. You can purchase chips when you run out, but doing so defeats the purpose of playing the game (and earning rewards) for free. I have never purchased chips, but was still able to earn some great perks.
If you’re worried about the game being a time commitment, you don’t have to. Players are able to set automatic bets on the slot games, for up to 500 consecutive bets/spins. I set my bet, set it to spin 500 times, and minimize the browser window to focus on other things. The Excalibur slot game is spinning away in the background as I write this article.
Redemption
Redeeming your myVEGAS loyalty points is easy, and it can be done through the Facebook and mobile apps. I’ve listed some of the most popular types of awards and their associated points cost below:
- Complimentary room nights at:
- Excalibur – 15,000 points
- Luxor – 18,000 points
- Monte Carlo – 30,000 points
- New York-New York – 32,000 points
- MGM Grand – 47,500 points
- The Mirage – 52,500 points
- Mandalay Bay – 67,500 points
- 25% discount on room rate at Las Vegas casino hotels – 1,000 to 10,000 points
- Free companion tickets to Vegas shows/attractions (basically BOGO):
- 2,500 points – Roller Coaster at New York-New York
- 4,000 points – Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art; Fantasy; Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay; and Zumanity
- 5,000 points – Ka by Cirque du Soleil; and LOVE by Cirque du Soleil
- 7,500 points – Madame Tussauds Wax Museum
- Las Vegas Monorail Unlimited Ride Passes
- 1 Day – 6,000 points; 2 days – 11k points; 3 days – 14k points; 7 days – 28k points
- Plus buffet passes, drink passes, nightlife, travel offers and more.
I redeemed my small points collection for three different awards, with a total retail value of $152.39. Not bad for a few minutes a day!
Tips & Recommendations
The key to “winning big” in the myVEGAS game is to play daily. You earn increased bonuses when you play on consecutive days, and you also earn a daily spin bonus.
In the screenshot above, I’ve spun the bonus wheel and landed on 1,300 game chips. Having played the game for 7 days straight, I earn a x3 multiplier, in addition to my 10% level bonus, for a total of 4,030 game chips. If you play the game on your smartphone AND desktop computer, you are able to collect a bonus like this on each platform.
Just like in the real world, don’t bet it all at once. Wager smaller amounts to extend your play, using the auto spin feature, and watch your loyalty points balance increase.
If you’re dedicated to using the app for a few minutes every day, you’ll open the door to great savings and comps for your trip to Las Vegas.
