How to Get FREE Booze Drinks in Las Vegas Casinos
Want to Get Your Booze on for FREE in Las Vegas? Here's How.
by Paul Diamond Blow
For years I've been hearing how awesome Las Vegas is, and one of the key points I'd always hear was that you get free drinks in Las Vegas casinos as long as you are gambling. Of course, this makes perfect sense -- the casinos prefer people to gamble while their brain cells are boozed up and the thinking process is impaired. However, considering that most casinos outside of Las Vegas do NOT offer the free booze (most only offer free coffee or soda drinks) getting alcoholic drinks for free does sound good if you are a drinking man or woman, especially when you consider that many of the Las Vegas casinos charge top dollar for their drinks if you order them at the bar.
In more recent times, though, I'd been hearing that many Las Vegas casinos now only offer free drinks to those who are gambling larger amounts, but I am happy to report -- after my most recent trip to Las Vegas in December of 2016 -- that you really CAN still get free alcoholic drinks at most Las Vegas casinos and you don't have to be a high roller to get 'em. You can even be a tightwad gambler like me and get the free booze. But enough of my rambling... here's how you get free drinks in Las Vegas casinos.
1) Play the games
I don't like playing any of the casino table games at all, but I found that if I sat down at a slot machine long enough (and in most places 15 minutes was long enough) eventually a cocktail waitress would approach asking if I'd like something to drink. You don't even have to be betting very much on the slots to get the free booze. You could just be playing minimum bets per spin on a slot machine and still get the free drinks.
My first night in Las Vegas (back in 2010) I actually turned down a free drink from the cocktail waitress at the Hard Rock casino not knowing they were complimentary drinks. A Vegas local sitting next to me at a game quickly clued me in, though, but not until after I had already paid five bucks for a Bud Light at the bar. And that's how it is in Vegas -- if you order drinks from the bar you will pay top dollar (such as nine dollars for a whiskey and coke at the Stratesphere bar, or six bucks for a bottle of Bud Light), so why pay for drinks at the bar when you can get them for free?
2) Tip the cocktail waitresses
This shouldn't even have to be said, but I'm sure there are some tightwads out there who think a free drink should be totally free and tips aren't necessary. But, if you want your cocktail waitress in Las Vegas to keep you supplied in free drinks while you're playing the slots or table games, tip 'em! I tipped a buck a drink and got good service and free drinks, not just for myself, but for my girl friend who was just watching me play. I also watched the waitress give free drinks to several others in the casino, and sadly most of them gave her no tip. I bet she didn't return to them often after that!
3) the best places in Vegas for free drinks
I got the best service for free drinks at the Stratosphere Hotel where I have stayed a few times. The casino never was too packed and the cocktail waitresses come around very frequently. One night late in the wee hours at the Strat, when the casino was pretty much empty, I had seven whiskey sours in the course of a few hours and I even won money on my games. I also got good free drink service at the Luxor casino... very nice cocktail waitresses there and I did not have to wait long for service even when I was playing slots in secluded areas. In recent Vegas trips I also got free drinks at the Hard Rock casino, Mermaids (in the Fremont district, sadly now closed), the D in the Fremont District, and most recently at the Wynn and the Encore on the strip.
4) Last free drink tips
During busy hours when the casinos are crowded, it may take a little while to get service from the waitresses, so keep an eye out for them and call them over if they don't see you. After that, as long as you tip them and keep playing the games, they will keep returning to give you more free drinks. Also, I never play any table games at any Las Vegas casinos, but if I did play table games such as Blackjack where you actually NEED your brain cells intact to play well, I would definitely not want to indulge too much with the free booze. Slot games, on the other hand, do not require much thinking at all... just push the buttons and hope for a good spin. So bear that in mind if you are a casino table game player.
There you go... now you too can get free drinks in Las Vegas. Booze it up, but be careful!
More Las Vegas tips:
Top ten things to do in Las Vegas on a budget
The Las Vegas FREMONT STREET Experience: a must see!
How to get free slot play in Las Vegas
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