Our Best-Kept Travel Hack: Free Play at Casinos
Going to a casino might not be your first thought when it comes to traveling, but what if I could totally change the way you think of them?
Playing free play is one of our favorite and most fun things to do as we move through the states and it’s already won us over $1,000 without spending any of our own money!
I’m always amazed by how many travelers have said they parked at casinos overnight but never actually went inside. This is a total missed opportunity!
In this post I’m going to tell you how to take advantage of a new member sign-up at any casino across the country for a chance to win completely FREE MONEY.
There are additional perks to casinos, too, so even if gambling isn’t your thing, I promise you, this travel hack is worth a shot.
UNDERSTANDING FREE PLAY
If you’re traveling across the country or to a new state or even a new country, chances are you’ve never been to a casino there (unless you’ve been to Vegas, of course!)
This works in your favor because most casinos offer a new member sign-up promotion that usually includes some kind of free play amount.
Free play is literally free money given on behalf of the casino for your signing up with them. Essentially, an incentive for choosing to play at their casino.
This is the fun part.
Most casinos offer a direct set amount such as $5 or $20. On a couple of occasions, Jonlee and I got $50 each! Don’t worry – I’ll share which ones down below.
Others may do a surprise offer where you “gamble” for your free play through your players card but are still guaranteed at least $5 no matter what.
Then there are casinos that don’t offer anything unless you play with your own money first.
For example, we’ve noticed a handful of casinos do a promotion where if you play and lose $20 they will match your loss and give you $20 in free play back.
The catch here, though, is that they don’t always give that money back the same day. Sometimes it’s the next day or even the next week. And it requires you to put in your own money.
Jonlee and I don’t participate in these promotions. We skip the casinos that don’t offer a guaranteed upfront free play amount, mostly because we are never in town long enough to use the promotion.
Before visiting any casino, we go on their website under ‘promotions’ and look to see what they’re offering for new members.
When they don’t explicitly say, we’ll call them and ask or just show up and ask at the counter if it’s within a close enough driving distance.
SIGNING UP
To get your free play and new player card, head over to the Players Club Services desk inside the casino. It may be labeled as Player Services or something of the like.
Anybody over the age of 21 can sign up for a new member player card at any casino.
A ‘player card’ is just simply the card that is associated with your name and account and the casino at which you’re playing. They are free to get and the card itself will be different at every casino.
Jonlee and I currently have over 35 different casino cards each and counting!
This card will keep track of all the points you earn while gambling (points earned per dollar played; the earn rate varies at each casino), as well as provide the platform for which your free play and promotions show up.
You’ll need to provide your driver’s license or alternative form of photo ID to sign up and sometimes a phone number and/or email.
The sign-up process only takes a few minutes and then you’re on your way to a chance at free money!
One exception, however, is that some casinos are part of a greater chain network. Meaning, depending on the owner, they will have the same player card platform (i.e. Penn Play, Boyd Gaming, Caesar’s Entertainment, etc.)
If you’ve already gotten a player card at a casino that’s part of a chain gaming network you will not qualify as a new member at another casino within that chain.
For example, back home Jonlee and I have player cards for Mount Airy casino which uses Penn Play. If we find a casino that also uses Penn Play (information usually found on their website) then we are not able to sign up as new members and therefore we will skip that particular casino.
If you’re unsure if you’ve been to a certain casino group before, a staff member at the players club counter can check for you.
TRYING YOUR LUCK
Once you provide the above information and receive your new card, it’s time to play!
The staff member that helped you with your card will explain specifically how to redeem the free play and get it from your card to the machine you choose to play.
This is relatively the same process at every casino so after the first one, you’ll know for the rest going forward.
Now this is where a bit of strategy comes in.
If you’ve never really gambled before, it can seem daunting to pick a machine to play.
Jonlee is of the belief that every machine is a winner. Which is kind of true but maybe just not as big of a winner as you might hope.
I, on the other hand, am a bit more skeptical and prefer to “feel it out” and see what looks promising based on the game stats.
We definitely do not always win and sometimes the free play is completely gone in a matter of minutes. But sometimes, it really pays off.
Like I mentioned earlier, we’ve won over $1,000 playing on free play.
Check out this short video to see what machines we like to play!
I’m honestly not much of a gambler and I don’t consider myself lucky. I get my free play and cash out whatever I get, even if it’s only a couple of dollars (laundry money!).
That being said, it’s been a lot of fun discovering all the different types of casinos and getting to gamble for free and make some extra cash – because why not?
As you play the machines and check out different casinos, you’ll get a feel for which games you like best.
Now let’s talk about the additional perks of heading to a casino for the night.
ADDITIONAL PERKS
If you’re still not convinced to check out the next casino you pass, let me tell you about some other bonuses that don’t include gambling.
👍 You’re able to park at any 24-hour casino for free overnight. Sometimes they even have water hook-ups and dump stations for campers.
👍 Casinos offer free drinks and some also offer free food. The free drinks include water, sodas, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and sometimes even alcohol. Free food is sometimes available through the new member promotions (these are my personal favorite) via discounts and vouchers. One time we also got free self-serve ice cream! That was pretty cool. Check out a short video about that here.
👍 Free access to clean restrooms and wifi.
👍 Makes for a fun night out when a band is playing! A lot of casinos have free live entertainment on weekends where you can hangout and dance for free. We’ve enjoyed a handful of these along our journey. A lot of the larger casinos also have concert venues that host bigger names in all genres of music. Check out the lineup online before you go!
👍 Some casinos give free gifts for signing up like the Hard Rock casino in Hollywood, Florida. We got free t-shirts!
Even if you don’t spend the night, casinos are a great place to walk around and stretch your legs after a long drive. Use the restroom and grab a drink before returning to your road trip.
RANDOM FUN FACTS
🎰 At the time of this writing, Jonlee and I have been to 30 states. Within those 30 states we have gone to a total of 40 different casinos.
🎲 The two casinos that have given us $50 each in free play are the Boot Hill Casino in Dodge City, Kansas and the Victory Land Casino in Short, Alabama.
🎰 The largest casino in the country is the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. It’s a cool one to check out. They have themed rooms based on famous cities around the world – Paris, New York City, Rome, etc. Check it out here.
🎲 There are four states where gambling is illegal and therefore do not have any casinos: Hawaii, Utah, South Carolina, and Georgia.
🎰 Most casinos are found on Native American reservations.
🎲 There are 1,011 casinos across the United States. That’s a lot of options!
🎰 Our biggest jackpot came from the Lucky Star Casino in Clinton, Oklahoma.
This is our best-kept travel hack. I hope you learned something new and will think twice the next time you’re passing a casino to take advantage of all the free perks.
It really is a great hidden gem to make some extra cash on the road at no cost to you.
It’s helped Jonlee and I fund our laundry budget, buy a special dinner here and there, and even get concert tickets to one of our favorite bands playing at the casino!
But mostly, it gives us a little money to put away in case of emergency.
Whether you gamble or not, I hope I’ve given you a new take on one of our favorite road trip hacks😊
What’s your best-kept travel hack? Have you taken advantage of free play at casinos before?
Let me know down in the comments!
Thank you for reading! See you guys in the next one!
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