In the beginning, gambling was the sun, moon and stars of casino revenue. Everything else a casino offered was designed to attract and keep gamblers, often at a loss. Hotel rooms, meals, entertainment -- all were meant to be either handed out as free comps to high rollers or heavily discounted to lure in new blood. But through meticulous market research and inventory control, the big casinos are learning how to get comparatively higher prices for their products than ever before.

That doesn’t mean there still aren’t plenty of ways to find money-saving deals on every part of your casino vacation. You just have to be a little more flexible, do a little research and determine where your priorities lie.

The best times for cheap airfare and hotel rates at casino destinations are the off-seasons, generally December except the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve), January, and the hotter months of late summer. Whenever you travel, be careful to avoid big convention dates, which can pack planes and hotels and drive up prices unexpectedly for Las Vegas convention dates, check http://www.lasvegas24hours.com; for Atlantic City, check http://www.atlanticcitynj.com.

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Should you go with a casino vacation package (i.e. airfare, hotel, and/or rental car rolled into one deal)? It’s worth looking into, but the short answer is: rarely. Package deals are typically best for groups for whom the convenience of making arrangements en masse outweighs their desire for the best deal possible. Quite often these days, package deals offer little or no savings off buying their components individually.

Now that casinos track gaming activity through players’ clubs and their vast databases, it’s almost impossible to just talk your way into comped freebies if they don’t already have you on file. Make sure to sign up for every possible players’ club or discount program, as every dollar you spend lends weight to your claim on deals in future. Good places to look for deals via third-party packagers and special promotions include Bestfares.com and the Las Vegas Advisor. Otherwise, when planning your trip, keep the following advice in mind about each kind of purchase.

Airfare -- Fortunately, airfares to casino destinations are heavily promoted and often discounted. You’ll always get a better fare if you stay over a weekend, and you’ll get better rates flying early in the morning or late at night. Especially on the return trip, flying late can be a blessing; I recently took the red-eye home from Las Vegas on the last night of a long weekend, and by the time my friends back in Vegas were dragging out of the hotel the next morning, I was already home and in bed. Even more than with hotels, it’s critical to avoid rush times like holidays and convention weekends, which can double or triple an otherwise reasonable fare.

Hotel -- Time and occupancy are the twin rulers of hotel rates. Weekend nights will always cost more, and holidays and conventions can make rates go through the roof. Ideally, you want to stay as many off-season weeknights as possible. The best times to arrive are Monday afternoon through Thursday morning, when weekend traffic is at low ebb and related services (ground transportation, dining reservations, etc.) are at their most plentiful. Big casinos have gotten much savvier about keeping their rates up, and many now sell only through their own Web site or toll-free number (rather than farming out blocks of rooms to discounters). Surprisingly, one of the least-used ways to get a good deal is to simply call the reservation line and ask if they have any promotional prices or discounts in effect during or near your visit. Often, there are in fact better prices available, but they’ll only be mentioned if you ask directly. Promotions and room-show combos are often advertised on a hotel or hotel chain’s home Web site, as are Internet-only discounts.

Dining -- The two pillars of casino dining deals are buffets and the loss-leader dinner. Many buffets are trending upscale, offering delicacies like lobster, cook-to-order stations, or foreign cuisine. Cost, though, can reflect the increase in quality (the Spice Market Buffet at Las Vegas’s Aladdin ranges up to $25, plus drinks). The best all-around buffet meal is lunch, when you’ll have the most variety (rather than just breakfast options), but the price is not as dear as the evening version. Brunch can also be an excellent compromise. The loss-leader dinner is still a mainstay of mid-level casino-hotels, and it usually features a substantial entrée for an absurdly low price (the San Remo in Vegas still offers their long-running $5.95 prime rib dinner). The hope is that you’ll stick around and spend a little in the casino after gorging on the cheap feed. These inexpensive meals are recommended for serious penny-pinching, but as you might expect, the food, though edible, is far from top-shelf.

Entertainment -- Except for comps given to recreational gamblers, discounts on big-time marquee entertainment are few and far between. But if you’re open to shows that are a little (or a lot) more modest, there are a number of productions with admission prices around $30, $20, or even $10, especially in the afternoon. These shows come and go frequently, so pick up flyers at your hotel or consult local-interest magazines for schedules, prices, and coupons (What’s On in Las Vegas, South Jersey Insider for Atlantic City).

Chris Mohney is a contributor to "The Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas."

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