It’s no secret that I love presenting at ZorkFest. Why? Many reasons. Yes, I do love Las Vegas, so that helps! But the conference itself is SO unique and that is what I really love.
It’s a blend of casino loyalty strategy with just enough miles and points plus a smaller and more intimate crowd than some of the larger conferences which can be hard to navigate.
It’s also got a bit of an upscale bent in that there’s generally a super fancy dinner one of the nights (the ticket for that is additional). Last year, that was a super intimate and lavish dinner at Sinatra at the Encore.
Back to the 2025 show:
This year it will be hosted at M Resort which is part of Penn Play. I am excited for this in that it’s a chance to actually NOT be right in the center of the strip for once and spend more time hanging out with everyone at the conference. The M Resort also looks quite nice!
The 3 day long event runs from Friday December 5th to Sunday December 7th (again, at the M Resort).
The conference is organized by Michael Trager and the speaker list this year is as follows:
–Anthony Curtis (“the legend” from Las Vegas Advisor)
–Dia Adams (The Dia Adams)
–John & Kristina Mehaffey (Vegas Advantage – Table Game and Video Poker Surveys)
–Dave Grossman (Founder of MilesTalk)
–Julia Menez (Geobreeze Travel)
–Carissa Rawson (nerdwallet, Business Insider, Award Wallet)
–Justin Vacula (Host of Hurdy Gurdy Travel Podcast)
–Ronnie Dunston (Living the High Life: Secrets to Jet-setting Around the Globe for Free)
–Maria Fung (Maria Points the Way)
–Angie Sparks (Award Travel 101)
–Josh Duffy (Crap Vegas Podcast)
A few things are new for 2025 that make the conference even more beginner friendly.
Miles & Points Labs
- A new concept developed for ZorkFest 2025. You’ll be able to speak to experts in small groups to discuss/plan your award travel dreams? Do you desire to use credit card points to fly First or Business Class internationally with your family? Are you looking for an amazing beach resort? Use the lab time to get more ‘scoop’ about the points uses and redemptions that mean the most to you.
Pre-Sessions
- First time at ZorkFest? New to Miles&Points or Casino Loyalty? These sessions prior to the cocktail reception on Friday night allow you to review terminology, “catch up,” and “get in the learning zone” for an epic ZorkFest Educational Weekend.
When you would want to arrive and depart probably depends on exactly what you sign up for. While the “complete” schedule isn’t yet live, you can see the outline of sessions and everything at this ZorkFest 2025 schedule link.
And you might be thinking you’ll head out of town on Sunday, but if you did you would probably miss quite a bit. Sunday will be when you’ll find the (optional) MasterClasses, Foodie Experience, Craps/Coffee Dice, and Private Baccarat table. (The latter two are for real gamblers…) All of those require an “add on” ticket beyond the standard ZorkFest ticket, however, I can at least help you knock $50 off a MasterClass.
If you use code MILESTALK when you buy your ticket, a $50 code for a discount on Master Classes is sent to you AFTER you buy your ZorkFest Ticket with the promo code. This discount will “unlock” (“ticket access code”) a discounted Master Class Bundle, reducing the price from $199 to $149. Bundle must be purchased by October 31, 2025. Discount Expires on 10/31/2025. $50 discount is ONLY applicable to a bundle of two Master Classes, and includes lunch.
The official ZorkFest website also goes into details about the hotel and has a link for discounted room rates. If you are a true gambler and can back that up with offers that include FreePlay (this is how one knows it is based on real gambling and not just a card match), you may be eligible for comped rooms – also described on the website.
To read absolutely everything about ZorkFest or to buy your tickets now, head to https://travelzork.travel/zorkfest/ and don’t forget to use code MILESTALK if you are buying the MasterClass add-on (or even if you might since you need to be registered with the code to access the discount, but you can’t get it retroactively and do not need to buy the MasterClass if you decide against it).
As of now, there are just 12 remaining SUPER EARLY BIRD tickets left, so if you know you are going, lock it in soon! The tickets then bump up $25 for regular early bird and then another $100 after that.
If you have any questions, just let me know!
PS: I’m not sure what I’ll be speaking about yet. We’ll see the status of the Status Match Merry Go Round® closer to the event. If that doesn’t make sense, I’ll cover something else awesome 🙂
Thoughts?
Let me know below in the comments, on Twitter, or in the private MilesTalk Facebook group. And don't forget to follow me on Instagram for all sorts of tips on miles, points, credit cards, and travel.
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New to all of this? My “introduction to miles and points” book, MilesTalk: Live Your Wildest Travel Dreams Using Miles and Points is available on Amazon and at major booksellers.
