Is anything really free? Turns out the answer s yes

My favourite four-letter word starts with the letter "F."

No, not "that word" but the one that brings a wide grin to my face: Free.

Everybody loves getting something for free, but what is actually free and what has an ancillary cost to it? Very little in the world is truly free because there's usually an obligation attached to it.

For example, each time the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League score six goals in a home game, everybody receives a coupon for a free appetizer at White Spot.

But don't think you can just show up at your neighbourhood 'Spot and order some calamari and a glass of water. Right at the top of the coupon is a note that you have to order an entr

So your free appetizer is going to cost you at least $10, but hey, an appy and a main for that price isn't too bad.

The same principle applies for anything advertised as buy one, get one free. Do the math and you're not really getting the second item free, you're getting two items at 50 per cent off.

I once heard someone ask a clerk if he could just have the second item, "the free one," the next time someone came up to the till with just one of that item.

Needless to say, he was turned away.

I got around to thinking what I've received free, with no obligation, in the past, and the list is very short.

Here are a couple of my favourites.

- Customer appreciation night at the River's Reach:

Each spring, near the end of May or in early June, the River's Reach Pub at 320 Sixth St. in New Westminster hosts a customer appreciation night. For two hours, all the appetizers are free. And, more importantly, manager Peter Saran has his staff refill the empty plates.

Add in the fact that there are many free beer, wine and spirit samples, and you do truly have a free meal.

Most people do pull out the wallet to order a beverage or two, but at the end of the night, you can get away with a free meal, save for the generous tip you should be leaving the wait staff who served you that night.

- Free money at the casino: Since there are now six destination casinos in the Lower Mainland -- the Starlight in Queensbor-ough and the Gateway Villa in Burnaby are the two most recent additions - the competition for the bettor's bucks has never been more fierce.

I don't know exactly when casinos run this promotion, but throughout most of early 2008, many casinos, both in B.C. and just south of the border in Washington State, ran some derivative of the "Buy $10 get $20 in slot credit" or "Buy $20 and get $30 in slot credit" promotions.

Best of all, the "extra money" you received didn't all have to be used up before you cashed out.

Since I'm not a huge slot player - blackjack and poker are more my style - I could pull out a $20, take a couple shots at the one-armed bandit and, if I was smart and fiscally responsible, walk away with a bit more than $20 that I could go lose at a table game.

The Skagit Casino, just off Exit 236 of the I-5, is currently offering a US$10 day trip package featuring a buffet lunch, bus trip, $5 match play credit and $5 slot ticket credit. It may not necessarily be "free" in the true sense of the word, but it's a pretty good bargain.