This blog is a tremendous fan of free.

Now, the Flamingo is offering free slot tournaments on weekends, with prizes of even more free! Specifically, free slot play. One of our favorite forms of free, ever.

These slot machines won’t accept your money. Enjoy that feeling while it lasts!

Here’s the skinny. Or the low-down. Or the 411. Or whatever people call it.

Any new or existing Total Rewards loyalty club member can enter the slot tournaments. (It’s free to join Total Rewards, of course.) They’re held in the Margaritaville Casino at the Flamingo, Saturdays and Sundays, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

When you enter, you play a three minute session to determine your score. Yes, three minutes. Sort of like this blog’s love life.

There were easily 40 lost shakers of salt when we stopped by.

Tournament results are posted at 3:30 p.m. The top prize is $500 in Reel Rewards (free slot play), with a total of five players winning ($400 in Reel Rewards for second place, $300 for third, and so on).

Good luck, and remind us again why people travel to anywhere other than Las Vegas? We’ll wait.

This blog does not love commercials. We use our Tivo remote to blow by commercials on TV, and have clicked “Skip Ad” links since the very invention of the “Skip Ad” link.

But the ads in this blog post are different. They’re for Horseshoe casinos around the country, which is cool and all, but somewhat beside the point, because these videos actually transcend geography or a specific casino, even one with as sweet a history as Horseshoe. What are we talking about? Why, here’s one of the ads now.

Anyone who loves casino games recognizes this moment. It’s the moment of anticipation of a result, the outcome of your bet, whether it happens at a blackjack table, or craps table or slot machine.

Yes, that moment.

Funny you should mention slot machines (well, somebody mentioned slot machines), because there’s also an ad featuring (wait for it) slot machines.

Who hasn’t had those moments? And if they haven’t had them, what sad planet are they from?

And just when all the craps players were starting to grumble about how they feel left out of the fun (not that a craps player would ever grumble about anything, of course), another video appears, as if by magic.

People sometimes say to us, “Pulse of Vegas, you’re an award-winning blog, right?” “Yes,” we reply, humbly. They continue, “Why do you seem to love casinos so much?” We sit them down, and try to describe that feeling when the decision is about to happen, when fate is in charge. That moment of anticipation, when anything is possible.

At which point, they tend to look at us like our hammock doesn’t reach both trees.

But, now, we can show them these videos. And they’ll get it. And hopefully, they’ll join us at the craps table.

A lucky player at Rio Las Vegas was just dealt four aces with a three on a $25 Super Double Double Bonus 5 play video poker machine.

Honestly, we have no idea what most of that means, but we do know it resulted in the following.

Mwah.

Thanks to the team in the Rio’s high limit salon for passing along the photo.

Note: Actually kissing a video poker machine is not recommended. At least not on the first date.

We’ve decided we don’t visit Harrah’s Las Vegas enough. Why? Because there’s so much to love! Here are 15 things this blog is loving about Harrah’s right this very minute.

1. This Shirt

Who wouldn’t want to stroll down The Strip with a little Hugh Hefner vibe going on? Get this long-sleeve tee in the gift shop at Harrah’s.

Waxing not included.

2. Pool Season

It can never arrive too soon, or stay too long.

Insider tip: Go up the stairs on this end of the pool for some sweet rooftop tanning action.

3. Poolside Mimosas

Speaking of the pool, don’t miss the eye-opening mimosas at the pool’s bar. There’s a deal going on at the moment, but we can’t remember what it is, for obvious reasons.

Champagne glasses are for babies.

4. Cheap Keno

Looking for a great value in the casino? Check out the keno “Stimulus” deal below. You get to play 100 keno games for a nickel each, for a total of $5. “Catch-all” means you have to hit 100% of the numbers you select. Tough, but not impossible. And did we mention your total investment is $5?

Insider tip: You can buy-in for 1,000 keno games at once at Harrah’s. Do it as you’re heading back home, and check to see if you’ve won online at KenoUSA.com. Yay, technology.

See all the stimulus jokes we're not making? Maturity is this blog's calling card.

5. Brandi

What we meant to say is we’re loving Numb, where Brandi works as a bartender. Unlike many of its slushy drink bar competitors, Numb is a full bar, with a number of delicious signature cocktails.

Thanks for playing along, Brandi.

6. 500-Degree Plates

After trying Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, it’s going to be weird going back to a regular steakhouse. That’s because Ruth’s Chris serves its amazing meat on plates baked to 500 degrees. That means your steak is sizzling when it arrives, and that makes a great steak incredible.

"Would you like a side of aloe with that?"

7. The Purple Strap-On

Hey, that’s not our name for it! The Purple Strap-On is sold at everyone’s favorite place to party mid-Strip, Carnaval Court. You get the equivalent of 8-10 cocktails (see below for scale), which would normally cost $100 or more, for $40.

Bonus: You get to hang out with a Vegas legend, Brian Thomas. He formerly did a stint as Lucky the leprechaun at the now-closed O’Sheas casino, and was recently featured on “Counting Cars,” the reality show on the History channel.

Two of our favorite things in Las Vegas.

8. French Kiss Oysters

Oyster Bar at Harrah’s has some die-hard fans! Here’s a little tip: Before you visit, download the Oysterpedia app. You’ll need it to keep up with all the varieties of oysters at this popular Harrah’s hot spot. We used the free app to learn French Kiss oysters come from Neguac, New Brunswick, Canada and have a flavor profile that’s “high in salinity, with a sweet finish.”

French Kiss oysters, like many Las Vegas performers, have "deep cups." Hey, it says so in the app!

9. Jerry Lee Lewis

So, in an ensemble show like Million Dollar Quartet, you’re not supposed to play favorites. Everyone is equally awesome and contributes to the overall blah, blah, blah. Seriously, though, Martin Kaye, who plays Jerry Lee Lewis in the hotel’s new musical, steals the show and will blow you away with his unbelievable talent, musical and otherwise. We promise.

Martin Kaye, one of the many talented performers in "Million Dollar Quartet." Happy now?

10. The Dessert Station at Flavors Buffet

Flavors Buffet doesn’t get a lot of glory, but it’s dependably good, especially the desserts. When you think you’re done tasting everything, there’s another dozen or so offerings beyond that, and the temptations never seem to end. Our tip: Start your Flavors Buffet visit with dessert. Rules, schmules. It’s Vegas.

Tell the tarts at Harrah's we sent you.

11. This Bank of Slots

We love to play slots, but the machines below hold a special place in this blog’s heart.

Can you tell what makes them special?

Why do we love them, despite the fact we’ve never played them? Because they’re aspirational! See, on these machines, you have a choice to make your “coins” worth $100 or $500. And it’s two coins a spin. That means if you see someone playing them, they could be betting $1,000 per spin. Hey, in Vegas, it’s go big or go home!

They don't call them "high limit" slots for nothing.

12. Craps With Fresh Air and Sunlight

Hey, we love a casino with a little smoke for atmosphere as much as the next blog, but at Harrah’s Las Vegas, the craps table is close to a wide open door (facing Carnaval Court and The Quad), so you get fresh air and real sunlight.

The ideal mix of inside and out.

13. IcePan

This one’s never leaving our list of things we love at Harrah’s, ever. Made from scratch, this low-cal, no-additives ice cream can alter your state of being and magically transport you to your happy place.

The Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream is made from both actual strawberries and actual cheesecake.

14. KGB Burgers

It seems like KGB: Kerry’s Gourmet Burgers adds new menu items almost hourly, which makes it worthy of frequent visits. Below, some kind of heavenly concoction of sauteed mushrooms and Swiss cheese and a fabulous set of buns.

Watch for monthly specials that pair burgers and KGB's signature shakes.

15. This

Stop by the Higuchi Gallery shop at Harrah’s for this monster. Hey, we did say “go big or go home,” right?

That oughta hold you.

We feel like we’re just getting started! Now, stop daydreaming and get back to work. Or, alternatively, “Come to Las Vegas. The official opposite of work.^{” TM}

Can lightning strike twice? In Las Vegas, hell, yeah, it can.

Two lucky players became instant millionaires playing video slots at Paris Las Vegas in recent days.

One player hit it big on a Wheel of Fortune machine, to the tune of $1.7 million (on March 26, 2013). A second player snagged a $1.4 million jackpot on a Grease slot machine (on March 27).

Chills = multiplying.

Paris Las Vegas is part of the Caesars Entertainment family of casinos, and now the company’s keeping a running tally of its millionaires. The latest winners bring the total to 705 millionaires made in Caesars Entertainment casinos since 1987.

Find out more on the official Millionaire Maker site.

Oh, all right, we made up the heel-clicking part, but the other part is completely true.

Gordon, a lucky player at the Margaritaville Casino inside Flamingo Las Vegas, won a whopping $1,452,799.89 playing a “Wizard of Oz” progressive slot on March 9, 2013.

We forced the folks at the casino to send us a photo of the winning machine so we can spoon with it every night.

Not much is known about the winning video slot machine player, although it doesn’t take a CSI sleuth to conclude he was, as it’s known in casino parlance, “pretty flipping happy.”

We also know Gordon was playing on the “Oz” machine for about 15 minutes before the wizard granted his wish.

Trivia: $1.5 million will purchase 44,024 of those Margaritaville margaritas in the keepsake blender cup (see below). Not that anyone other than this blog would spend their slot jackpot this way, but we’re just saying.

Not your everyday brain freeze.

Get lucky at Flamingo Las Vegas. (You know what we mean.)

If you’ve seen these words in a Las Vegas casino, you know what we mean.

This just happened in the casino at Caesars Palace.

This makes us want to lick a slot machine. (Not recommended.)

“Hand pay,” of course, refers to slot jackpots in a range where printing the amount on one of those ticket in-ticket out deals just won’t cut it. A “hand pay” jackpot requires a slot attendant to pay it by hand. In massive mounds of cold, hard cash.

Which this blog then, typically, spends on two other happy words: Frosty cocktails.

Video poker fans are going to love the new My Poker Multi-Game Poker machines at Caesars Palace and Harrah’s Las Vegas. Why? Because they’re the only video poker machines we know of that remember you and what you’re into, or at least seem to.

This blog strives to be memorable.

My Poker video poker machines straddle the world of real and virtual casinos, making it seamless to play for fun at home, even customizing your game’s settings, while automatically transferring those settings to the machine at your favorite casino. Here’s what we mean.

First, find a My Poker Multi-Game Poker machine in the casino. The slot attendants can help. We decided to test drive one at Caesars Palace. Insert your Total Rewards loyalty card (free to join, of course), and on these special machines, you’ll be asked if you’d like to create an account. It’s an account just for My Poker, and it’s definitely worth the 12 seconds it takes to set up.

On a video poker machine, this blog can type an astonishing four words a minute.

You select a username, and a password. Then the fun begins.

As you play, you can personalize a variety of things about the game like the design of your cards, background colors, how quickly the cards are dealt and more.

We are the master of our video poker domain.

It’s fun to play around with the “card art.”

This card face can be seen from the surface of the Moon.

One of the features we enjoyed most was being able to choose how we want to celebrate our winning hands, with chips or jewels flying through the air. We like celebrating. Typically, we do that by dancing nude around our video poker machine. But chips are nice, too.

They sort of cascade. If that's a thing chips can do.

The video poker machine will even spit out a voucher to make it easier to log in if you move to another machine.

The My Poker machine remembers all your custom settings, so the next time you log in, all your settings are there. But here’s the cool part. Say you leave the casino. (Why you would want to do that, we have no idea, but this is a hypothetical situation, so just play along.) Now, you’re at home on your computer and want to work on your video poker strategy. You visit the My Poker site (called Player’s Life), log in with the same username and password you set up in the casino, and the personalized settings are reflected in your virtual, play-for-fun (translation: no actual money is involved) machine online.

Well, hello, ladies.

Any changes you make to your settings online will be reflected on the in-casino machine the next time you visit, and vice versa.

The visuals are just the beginning of the benefits of playing on a My Poker video poker machine. You can also track your total hands played, royal flush and straight flush pays, overall wins, and compare your results to other players on a leader board.

Not that you have a competitive streak or anything.

“Trophies” are also awarded for various accomplishments. No mantle or dusting required.

We love the idea of getting a trophy for just showing up.

My Poker, made by WMS Gaming, provides the ultimate control of your video poker experience, online and off. From what we understand, these machines are the first of their kind in the casino industry. This blog happens to be a huge fan of both “new” and “first.” Oh, and “casino.” Find out more.

So, give them a try let us know what percentage of your winnings you’ll be sending this blog as a thank-you. Because you’re appreciative like that.

The progressive jackpots seem to be coming fast and furious on The Strip these days.

A lucky Wheel of Fortune player, from Texas, won $1.2 million at Flamingo Las Vegas on Jan. 3, 2013. Well, that’s not entirely true. They actually won $1,264,172.64.

There are few things we love more than hearing those three magic words, "Wheel! Of! Fortune!"

In case you’re not familiar with the term, “progressive” slot machines are typically those that at some point earned a Liberal Arts degree.

We kid. “Progressive” slots are actually a network of slot machines, where a portion of wagers made in the interconnected machines are pooled so players have a shot at jackpots that can be in the millions. These progressive jackpots are actually paid by third party companies, not the casinos themselves. In the case of Wheel of Fortune, game maker IGT operates the game and writes the check when the big prize hits. IGT also makes MegaBucks, another popular game responsible for many life-altering jackpots.

Windfall trivia: The winner of the $1.2 million became the 702nd person to become a millionaire at a casino in the Caesars Entertainment family of casinos. Learn more, and let us know if you get lucky. If you know what we’re saying.

Just another day in Sin City! A Las Vegas visitor from Texas won a sweet $2.8 million jackpot on a Bombs Away progressive slot machine at Caesars Palace on Dec. 28, 2012.

Actually, the exact jackpot on the penny machine paid $2,832,042.49. But when you’re a millionaire, what’s a few tens of thousands, so why not round off, right?

We couldn’t resist paying a personal visit to the winning machine, just to give it a loving embrace and caress it a little, in a completely appropriate manner. Probably.

This particular video slot has deep, deep pockets.

If you’re looking to try the winning machine, it’s number is 017010, and it’s near the casino’s cashier cage (convenient!), just around the corner from Beijing Noodle No. 9 and the Bacchanal Buffet.

Sometimes, we truly love you, Random Number Generator thingy.

More jackpot trivia: The freshly-minted millionaire, Monica, pressed her lucky button on the 1940s-themed machine at 11:24 p.m.

Don't try to figure it out. Just push the buttons and let it do its thing.

Here’s a little more about the Bombs Away video slot machine, courtesy of its maker, IGT.

Congrats to Monica on her big win at Caesars.

Unrelated: This blog is available for a celebratory cocktail, and we also have plenty of room in our garage for a new leaf blower and/or Lamborghini.

There are few things that spark as much excitement in the hearts of Las Vegas casino chip collectors as new chips to collect. Well, The Quad (formerly the Imperial Palace) just rolled out its new chips, and we couldn’t wait to get our hands, and lens, on some.

When cashing in your chips, remember, that's not always a metaphor for something bad.

The shiny new chips at The Quad are just waiting to be broken in, so what are you waiting for?

We love when chips are new and crispy.

We are especially fond of the green, $25 chip, because this is the color we want our blue and red chips to turn into as we play.

Extra crispy.

The Quad name and logo are everywhere now, including on the table games.

Excited? That's how we felt. (See what we did there?)

The Quad has also made its way to the slot machine tickets. We thought this $1 ticket was a clever way to tip our bartender, but then again, we think everything we do is clever.

Cha-ching! Well, maybe more "cha" than "ching," but you know what we mean.

The hotel has a fancy new registration desk, and very recently got some fancy new “Hotel Registration” signs that kind of made us feel like we should register, even though we didn’t entirely have a reservation.

We want one of these for our den. We would also like a den.

The casino has already changed pretty dramatically, and the new porte-cochère is looking pretty spectacular.

Thank you, Sun, for adding some additional flair and/or flare.

So, it’s time to check out The Quad.

That character in the Bond movies should totally charge a royalty.

One last item. If you still have Imperial Palace chips you’d like to cash in, the casino at The Quad will take them until April 21, 2013. After that, you have some great IP collectibles!

One more thing: The first 100 people who play with the new chips are guaranteed to win big.

Related: Do you really believe everything you read in blogs?

There are lots of ways to become a millionaire in Las Vegas, but you knew there had to be an asterisk or two involved!

“Easy” is a pretty subjective term, but if you compare winning a million bucks in Las Vegas to “attending college and working at a job for 20 years,” yeah, it’s relatively* easy*! Buzzkill asterisks aside, there actually are a number of ways to become a millionaire in Sin City, and here are our top six ways.

1. Win the World Series of Poker

For a mere $10,000 entry fee (big asterisk!), you could snag not just one million bucks, but multiples of said million bucks. This year’s World Series of Poker winner, 24-year-old Greg Merson won $8.5 million, as well as a very fancy bracelet. Check it out.

Not the actual World Series of Poker winner. We just think this photo we took is cute.

2. Try the Million Dollar Slot Pull at Harrah’s

This new promotion outside Harrah’s Las Vegas was just unveiled, and gives guests a shot at a million dollars and other prizes. The Million Dollar Slot Pull is free for new Total Rewards members. (Total Rewards is the player loyalty club of Caesars Entertainment. It’s free to join, of course.)

Get those buckets ready. A million in nickels* is heavy!

Existing Total Rewards members get to try for the million-dollar prize, too, but* need to earn 10 Tier Credits at Harrah’s to earn a spin voucher. Learn more about Tier Credits and Total Rewards.

So, what are the odds of snagging the million-dollar prize? Precisely 1-in-49,948,672*. Hey, one person’s asterisk is another person’s “Bring it on!” The good news is that every pull results in a win of some kind, with a variety of prizes up for grabs (see below) like restaurant credits, free slot play and cocktails.

This blog loves it some free* stuff.

3. Learn Three-Card Poker

This popular game’s 6-card bonus side bet has already resulted in six instant millionaires, and the bet, available only at Caesars Entertainment casinos, has only been around for a year or so. Find out more.

A winning hand. Which this blog did not* completely stage.

The odds here? About 1-in-20.4 million. Hint: Ask the six freshly-minted millionaires how much they cared about the odds! We’re just saying.

4. Play Megabucks (or Other Progressives)

A “progressive” jackpot is one where the value of a jackpot increases with every game played, typically with a number of machines “linked” together, so the numbers can really skyrocket. The biggest Megabucks jackpot to-date was won in 2003, a mind-blowing $39.7 million, won by a software engineer from L.A. More big jackpots here.

We took this photo Dec. 13, 2012. Come get you some.

Update: Just 24 hours after we took the above photo, on Dec. 14, 2012, Megabucks hit for a payout of $17,329,817. Pulse of Vegas Blog mojo, baby.

5. Enter a Slot Tournament

The Millionaire Maker Slot Tournament has qualifying events around the country throughout the year. At a culminating event in Las Vegas, one lucky player takes home a million* dollars. (Thanks for that asterisk, Internal Revenue Service.)

It's good to be a millionaire.

And our sixth, and easiest*, way to become a millionaire in Las Vegas…

6. Start as a Billionaire

We kid, of course. But, hey, it’s a good idea to keep one’s expectations realistic. It’s no secret the house always has the edge when it comes to casino games of chance. Some of these odds are pretty hefty, so pace yourself, don’t spend more than your allowance allows, and know when to stop.

Learn more about the ways you can become a Las Vegas millionaire, and if you end up becoming one, this blog would be more than happy to accept a free cocktail, or Porsche, as an expression of your appreciation.

*Don’t look here for answers. We are just a blog.

Vegas casinos pay out so many hefty jackpots, on such a regular basis, it’s not even really considered big news. Except to this Las Vegas blog, which dreams of someday getting its first royal flush in video poker and buying a Las Vegas hotel. Or perhaps a scale model of a hotel, made out of cocktails.

Anyway, we’re still dazzled by big casino wins, so we’re sharing a couple.

First up, a $100,000 jackpot hit on a slot machine at Caesars Palace, just the other day. We went into the high limit slot area to snap a photo of the machine, and to give it a long, warm hug.

Seriously. We made moves on this slot machine.

The sizeable amount of cash was won on a Top Dollar slot, machine #7031. We mention the number in case you’d like to give it an embrace, too.

Take note, however, this slot is a $100 machine, meaning each “coin” is $100. “Max coin,” or the most you can wager on a spin on a given machine, is $200. Yes, that’s $200 a spin. Hey, sometimes, you have to bet big to win big. The top prize on this Top Dollar machine is $250,000.

In this game, if your third reel turns up a Top Dollar symbol, the machine randomly displays a max coin bonus, ranging from $500 to $100,000. You can try again, or grab your bonus, but you only get four chances to try again for a higher amount. It’s kind of like “Let’s Make a Deal,” but with free cocktail service.

Choose wisely, Grasshopper. Wouldn't it be weird if your name were really Grasshopper? They're good luck in some cultures, you know. Fertility symbols. What does that say about you, Grasshopper?

We will take $100,000 any day of the week, thanks.

But, wait, there’s more.

Somebody else got some extra spending money recently. Specifically, Diane Dietz-Abusedo of New Jersey (pictured below), who pocketed a cool million as part of the 18th Annual Millionaire Maker Slot Tournament, hosted by Total Rewards, the player loyalty program of Caesars Entertainment.

We’re not sure who was happier, Diane or her boyfriend.

Is there any possible way this blog can party with Diane's boyfriend? Please get back to us on that, thanks.

The Millionaire Maker Slot Tournament Finale was held at Paris Las Vegas, and was the culmination of a year of qualifying events at Caesars Entertainment (whose blog this is) casinos across the country.

If this blog ever wins a million dollars, can you guess how we’re going to react?

Exactly. Did we mention it's a million dollars?

Upon winning the million dollars, Diane made an excited phone call. To her casino host back east at Harrah’s Philadelphia. Hey, they don’t call it a “loyalty club” for nothing.

So, good luck, and we’d love to hear about your biggest jackpot in the Comments section.

It’s about time! This blog loves it some “Pawn Stars,” and now the quirky crew of the famed Gold & Silver Pawn Shop are getting their own slot machine.

Bally Technologies (no relation to Bally’s Las Vegas, the hotel) has announced it will unveil the new “Pawn Stars” slot at the Global Gaming Expo, held Oct. 1-4, 2012 in Las Vegas.

The new game, inspired by the surprise reality hit on the History Channel, is sure to feature some serious wheeling-and-dealing by the “Pawn Stars” team: Rick Harrison, Richard “The Old Man” Harrison, Corey Harrison and Austin “Chumlee” Russell (pictured below).

You'll never guess our favorite guy on "Pawn Stars."

We met up with Chumlee at an autograph signing way back when, so here’s some exclusive video of the show’s lovable, self-proclaimed goofball.

Check out the “Pawn Stars” guided tour that leaves from Bally’s Vegas (the hotel this time), or visit the official Pawn Stars site.

Read more about the new slot machine at the Las Vegas Review Journal.

We can’t wait to play this one! Just keep an eye on your quarters. These guys are good.

The Fourth of July is, as history books used to tell us, back when people read books, Independence Day.

It’s a day when Americans celebrate declaring independence from Great Britain back in 1776. America has long since made up with Great Britain, mainly because of the sweet tourism dollars and a hunger for its chief export, adorable accents.

Las Vegas is celebrating Independence Day as America’s forefathers would have wanted it to: With drink specials, pool parties and scantily-clad women dressing up in red, white and blue, soliciting tips for photos.

Take that, oppressive former British overlords.

Everyone in Vegas will, of course, find their own way of celebrating the Fourth of July.

Some will seek out fireworks. Some will don American Revolution garb and have a lap dance. Still others, who know a bit more about history, will wait until August 2 to celebrate Independence Day because that’s when the Declaration of Independence was actually signed, probably due to someone forgetting to update their appointment calendar.

As for this Las Vegas blog, we’re taking the day off, celebrating the Fourth of July reverently, which means dropping a few bucks in the most reverent, Fourth of July-inspired slot machine we can find.

How could this machine not pay out big on Independence Day?

Have a great, safe Fourth of July, and don’t overdo it.

Or just ignore the “don’t overdo it” part. Hey, what do you think we gained our independence for in the first place?