The Bargain Bin
Perks and Picks
by H. Scot Krause

Poker and football “kick-off” together this month. Many card rooms combine Sunday and Monday football promotions and specials so that players won’t miss out on any of their favorite games-whether it be poker at the tables or football on the big screen.

At Sonoma Joe's Casino and Sports Bar, located in historic Petaluma, California, during Monday night football games, a prize board is featured. Players qualify during the preceding week by making aces-full or better and then receiving squares on the board, indicating scores that pay the winners $50 a quarter.

The annual “Monday Knight Madness” exact score contest is on again this year at Excalibur’s Poker Room in Las Vegas. Players are given the opportunity to enter one contest ticket each week picking the exact score of the game at the end of each quarter.

The prize jackpot for each quarter starts out at $250 and if someone does not win that quarter, the $250 prize money will be added to the $250 prize money for the same quarter the following week. In case of ties, the money is split evenly among all winners. This promotion applies to Monday night games only throughout the entire season and card room players must be present and actively playing to win. Also, if you’re planning to be a hotel guest at the Excalibur, be sure to ask for a Funbook when you check-in. There are some nice extras and deals in the books.

Also in Las Vegas, poker players at the Palms have a chance to win cash each time an NFL team scores on the late Sunday night ESPN game and the Monday night game. Poker players can enter the weekly drawings for free with the use of a Palms Club (slot club) player tracking card. A winner is drawn each time a team scores a touchdown or field goal. Players must be seated and playing at a table to win. Winners will take home minimum $50 and a maximum of $500.

The promotion is currently only scheduled to run through the month of September. If you play slots or video poker too, the Palms is also awarding double points every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday in September.

The Oasis in Mesquite is running a similar Monday Night Football promotion. Seated poker players receive a number, and every time the score changes the player with the matching winning number receives $15. Up to $300 may be given away every Monday.

Food comps at Oasis are relatively easy to come by too. Play four hours and receive a $6 food comp voucher good for any food outlet in the hotel.

Those good Las Vegas Station Casino buffet discounts we’ve mentioned over the past couple months appear to be coming to an end. The summer discount is still in effect only at Boulder Station which offers the Feast lunch buffet daily for $4.99 and dinner buffets for $6.99. Get’em while they last. September looks like the end, but they always come up with something new again, so stay tuned.

That’s it for this week!

H. Scot Krause is a freelance writer, gaming industry analyst and researcher, originally from Cleveland, Ohio. He and his wife, Donna (and year old son, Zachary) are seven-year residents of Las Vegas where Scot reports, researches, and writes about casino games, events, attractions and promotions. Questions or comments for Scot may be addressed to: krauseinvegas@att.net

This story was first published in the Sep 22nd 2003 edition of Poker Player.

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