I know this subject was posted on but I cant find it.
If I remember the general sense was put a $20 on the counter at checkin and you'll be plesantly surprized.
That sounds so easy ...and there must be more to it than that but Im coming to Vegas in December between Christmas and New Years so would like to plan ahead..lol
Any and all suggestions very much appreciated..thanks..

You can't be obvious about it. They say put the money between your credit card and ID . I've never tried it depends on who's checking you in I understand . Let us know if it works.

I found about hotel upgrades.But I have also heard of a $10 or $20 being slid to the front desk reservations usually with the ID or credit card.
Good luck to you hope this helps.

Years ago I worked the front desk at a major casino so here's some suggestions. (Just keep in mind a normal person is not going to be moved from a standard room to a suite without paying something a little extra in room charges... Just no authority for a front desk person to automatically upgrade somebody to a suite for free if you are staying at a big name place. Not sure about the shit holes. However, we know where the best rooms in the joint are with the best views. Some of the corner rooms were better then the smaller suites and were prized for their stunning views.)

1) Walk up with a smile no matter how tired and maybe annoyed you are when you finally get there. Nothing was more annoying then the tourists coming in from New York with attitudes taking all of their frustrations out on you. (I mean really.... I had nothing to do with your delayed flights, lost luggage, long taxi cab line wait, etc, etc.)

When walking up... read that name badge and ask "Joe" or whatever their name is how they are doing like you've seen them before ... checking in hundreds of people a day we couldn't remember everybody that came through so when the people walked up acting like I had checked them in before without being too Eddie Haskell like, they were automatically on the right track.

(By the way... we were also checking out guests coming up to see if they were worth the time to try to upsell for a suite for a 10% cut so don't dress like a bum walking up dragging a cooler with a case of Keystone Light strapped to the top of it. You don't have to get all dressed up... just don't dress like a bum.)

2) When walking up be reaching in your pocket with some $10's clipped to the credit card / drivers license you plan on using for check in so it's seen while your name / reservation number is being asked for. You don't need a stack and you don't need to make it all obvious waving around...  you are just pulling out the CC you plan on using for check in and just showing that you have some tipping money available.

3) Just ask for what you want. By then all of the right messages have been showed and if there's anything available for what you want.... you should have no problem... IF IT'S AVAILABLE to begin with.

If it's really busy, we could only do so much but at least we would try. Don't forget to ask for any "specials" on the suites. You still have to pay a little more for them but often times they are a lot cheaper then any other way for a normal guest if there's a bunch of them not booked up for the night.

All of the above still works for me whenever I check in somewhere...  9 times out of 10 I'm pretty happy after checking in.

General feeling on this varies wildly on who you ask.  You already heard the basics.  

1. Be nice.  Always be nice.  Ask how the evening is going.  Be cordial..
2. Hand over your ID and CC and have a tip placed in between.
3. Consider it a tip ahead of time -you have started gambling early.  
4. Ask politely if upgrades are available.

YMMV.  I havr had associates score suites for free, others have gotten the stink eye, you might or might not get handed the tip back if nothing can be done.

Can depend on rooma available, if you are noticable by the casino, who you get working the desk, yadda yadda.   Point is just try and be nice all the way through, even if it fails.  There is no definite surefire trick.  

(There was even a website that tracked hotels by whether the 20 dollar trick worked.   Google it, but it might not be that fresh a site...)


Good luck!  

I'm staying at the Golden Nugget (always wanted to as Im really not a big fan of The Strip..) so I'll post how/if it works out.