It takes 50,000 tier points under the Caesars Total Rewards system to "earn" a $500 gift card.

I just checked my account and I am 196 tier points away from another $500 Total Rewards Gift Card. I am less than one-half of one percent of the way there in casino play. Should I go for it?

Playing video poker, it means I would have to play through $1,960 to get the $500 gift card. That's not a deal.

If I wanted to use only free play to do it, I could only use the free play that I get in Vegas since free play in Vegas does earn tier points. At Rincon, free play does not earn tier points.

The other option is to run my free play through at Rincon, hoping to get real cash and use that real cash to earn the points for the gift card -- but that would be counter-productive, wouldn't it?

Unless I want to use real money -- or wait for an offer in Vegas -- I will remain 196 points away from the $500 gift card. It does not "pay" to play to get it.

Any suggestions?