I do about $200 per hotel since I don't want to be conspicuous
For all the casino hunting I've done, I have never worried about being conspicuous because it doesn't matter what you do, they are watching. Also if you use one of those players cards and gamble as you search, they probably already know your strategy (if they can track that sort of thing).
My strategy varies since I usually gambled some as well.
My one local Indian casino had nickels and quarter coin machines until they recently went to almost exclusively tickets, haven't been back since the switchover.
When searching nickels, I would find a video poker machine that I liked (I always avoided slots unless I wasn't gambling). Here was my process:
1. Put in $20
2. Play 1 to 5 nickels at a time until I was up or down 5 nickels.
3. Cash out.
3a. When 3 failed, repeat starting at 2. (not often).
4. Play 1 nickel per handful of nickels searched and put the rest in a bucket to be cahsed in.
5. After playing a few hands, I would put in another $20 to cash out once I searched all that had been cashed out. Appears less suspicious to those around me.
6. Repeat 5 until I had approx. 1 to 2 buckets full (around $80 dollars) or had no more cash.
7. Cash in.
8. Repeat starting at 1.
In my local casino there was no way to avoid sitting by other people, so I usually went late at night (too crowded to search comfortably earlier in the evening). Show up after 11 pm and leave around 4-5 AM. Sometimes I would cash out and switch to the next machine over and put in a $20 and look through the coins I had just cashed out depending on how busy it was.
Searching Quarters:
1. I would put in a $20-$100 bill
2. Sometimes play one coin, sometimes not.
3. Press cash out.
4. Look for the silver edges or occasionally a couple of state quarters I still needed.
5. Repeat 1-4
At the end of the night when I was done searching, I would usually stop at the cashier and buy $100 in rolled nickels to bring home, or less if short on cash. Sometimes I would get quarters as well, but much less frequently. Everytime I did this, the cashiers would comment about one of the late night cashiers who was constantly searching through all the coins he was cashing in for customers (I also occasionally heard the customers complain about him. Since he was searching, he would do his job more slowly). Always wondered how many war nickels/buffalos/V nickels/silver quarters he has found as I never got the chance to talk to him.
I also would hear about someone who came in frequently in the mornings to search quarters. Apparently he was more blatant about what he was doing. From my understanding here was his process:
1. Buy $100 of rolled quarters from the cashier.
2. Sit in the cafeteria at a table and search the rolls.
3. Cash in.
4. Repeat steps 1-3.
I could never quite get myself to follow his process as I enjoyed the wee bit of gambling I was doing, and it is a pain to open the paper rolls. I would rather just get them loose from the machines. Usually ended up +/- about $2 in gambling for 5-6 hours. I also usually could search around $200 in nickels doing this. Quarters were much quicker to search but never tracked $/time for quarters.
The last time I was in vegas, I only played the quarter video blackjack machines since I couldn't find any nickel or half dollar machines at the casinos I was at (on the strip). Ended up +$60 for the week, though I didn't find a single silver quarter. Still waiting for my return trip, my wife and I would like to take one in the spring, but not sure if it will happen.
).
