Forget the Series: Here’s where action is

As they say in baseball, “You can’t tell who the players are without a program.” So let’s go once around the horn to see what promotions are playing at area casinos during October:

First stop is Buffalo Thunder, just as you enter Pojoaque Pueblo on the Taos Highway. Every Saturday evening at 10, Buffalo’s handing over the pink slip to a new Chevrolet Camaro to one lucky patron. Players get in on the action playing slots throughout the month, earning entries; every 30 points earned is a ballot.

Then on Saturdays from noon-9 p.m., hourly drawings are held and each name drawn receives $100 cash and free slot play. The drawing for the Camaro is at 10 p.m.

This promotion is mirrored at Buffalo’s sister casino, Cities of Gold. Official rules are at either casino’s player’s club.

CASINO HOLLYWOOD: San Felipe’s Casino Hollywood is in a romp with a pair of promotions that rank high on the player’s fun list.

One is its “$1,000,000 Pro Football Challenge.” To get the mill you just had to pick all the winners of all the games, against the spread, buena suerte.

But the real draw is the weekly prize payoffs of $1,500. Hollywood players simply pick the winners of the Sunday and Monday night games, and the patron selecting the most winners receives $500 cash, and so on down to 10th place, good for $75 each. Regular Hollywood invaders can play seven times, once a day, an offer one can’t refuse.

The other fun is Hollywood’s “$70,000 Slot Point Challenge.” This is like a slot tournament, but different. Slot fans come in any time, play their favorite slots, and the points get added up because the player’s club card was in the machine. The house computer keeps tab on how many points are adding up,

On Oct. 30, points will be tabulated, and the one with the most points gets $7,500 cash, second place $4,000, third $3,000; payoffs will go 100 deep. What’s cool is there are weekly payoffs — $1,875 in free play divided among the top 10 point earners.

Another point, if you’ve not entered as yet, tell the ladies at the Welcome Center you want in and they’ll tabulate your points from Sept. 4, when the “Challenge” kicked off. Official rules are at the Welcome Center.

SANDIA RESORT & CASINO: This month Sandia continues to give away cash, cars and free play.

Mondays through Thursdays, noon-9 p.m., there are three hot-seat calls every 30 minutes with the winners each receiving $200 in free play. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from noon-9 p.m., three hot-seat calls are made every 30 minutes, with the winners each receiving $200 in cash.

Each Friday evening between 7 and 8 a hot-seat call is announced and winner takes home a new Camaro or Mustang. So far four new car winners have been anointed, all from Albuquerque: D. Umamoto, a white Roush Mustang; R. Hendricks, an ash-gray Camaro; M. Roose, a silver Camaro; and J. Jaramillo, a yellow Camaro.

Sandia had two slot wins of note last week: G. Holmes from Cedar Crest knocked over a $1 Hot at the Top Slot for $28,451, while Duke City resident W. Qualler snatched $20,000 from a $1 King Kong machine.

HARD ROCK HOTEL-CASINO: Hard Rock has three promotions running as we speak. The “Rock-tober” attraction is a call for hourly cash and free play drawings, 10 a.m.-10 p.m., every day through Oct. 30.

The popular “Football, Free-Play & Cash” promotion is proving a winner. Each Saturday and Sunday from noon to 10 p.m., an hourly hot-seat call is made. The winner selects a toy football. Inside the ball is a prize of $100 in cash or free play or $1,000 in cash.

The Mondays for the gals and Tuesdays for the guys prize promotion has proven a winner. Simply earn 50 slot points and receive a gift.

ROUTE 66 HOTEL-CASINO: Laguna’s Route 66 pit stop chugs along with the state’s longest-running casino promotions: The “$25,000 and $50,000 Progressive Giveaways.” Earn 1,250 points in a month, and your name is in and you get a snail-mail invite to the every-other-Monday evening draw. Earn 625 points in 30 days and your name’s in and you receive a post card to the next Tuesday evening draw.

Twenty names are pulled and 20 capsules pulled. Match the name and capsule and win cash — it could be the jackpot, big money. Five-figure paydays are a regular happening with this promotion.

Receive complete rules at the Player’s Club.