But for those that got mLife plat directly, I have done the cruise twice as a plat if there are any questions.

Apparently the offer varies, but I got a 3-night Canaveral-Bahamas cruise both times. My choice of a broad range of dates, but the offer was for just one ship and itinerary. If I were just booking and paying I'd absolutely choose a longer cruise and nicer ship, but this was perfectly fine for a quick weekend and "free" is free (you have to pay taxes/gratuities, but that's it). Cruise books through cruise line casino host, so you get some onboard benefits, too.

Im in the same situation as you .....Hyatt Diamond to Mlife Platinum match.

I called the Mlife help #s.... with no history of play currently... the hotel deals are pretty limited to 20% off standard rates.

You wont at this time be able get a better rate then whats shown.... until you give them play of course....

I am going in January....and booked a Mirage Tower Suite... I am hopeful my play at the Mirage for those few of days may be able to further reduce what im paying in the end....

Can I ask how much you are planning on playing? If so, I can tell you what you should expect, and how to best go about getting it.

I mostly play Craps ...figure Ill give them about 4-5 hours daily.... spreadout throughout the day....

EDIT - FYI - Its a 2 bedroom Tower Suite

Nice! Mirage is a good place. You should have fun. If you are into nightclubs, I like 1OAK. It is a little smaller than a lot of other clubs... I find it more comfortable.

How much do you figure that you will be betting for that time (not including odds bets)? $100 at a time? More? Less?

Thanks for the recommendation...Ill check it out...

Not including any odds bet? So you are asking for the most part how much just on pass line basically..... and other 1-roll and hardway bets?

I'm asking what your rating will be. They don't count odds bets in the rating, because they have no house edge (a couple of casinos do count them, but Mirage is not one of them, nor is any MGM property AFAIK).

Not only 1-roll and hardway, but also place or buy bets. Eg, if you made a $25 pass line bet, and then the point was a 5, and you bought the 4 and 10 for $25 each and placed the 6 and 8 for $30 each your rating would be $135. If you also put odds behind the pass line bet, your rating would still be $135.

(Note: I am NOT recommending avoiding making odds bets! The odds bet is the best bet on the table -- it has no house edge. I'm just explaining how the rating system works. My advice is usually to gamble how you want to and let the comps fall where they may. Trying to gamble more (or make worse bets) to get more comps is generally a bad idea.)

[QUOTE=VegasGambler;23758636]I'm asking what your rating will be. They don't count odds bets in the rating, because they have no house edge (a couple of casinos do count them, but Mirage is not one of them, nor is any MGM property AFAIK).

Not only 1-roll and hardway, but also place or buy bets. Eg, if you made a $25 pass line bet, and then the point was a 5, and you bought the 4 and 10 for $25 each and placed the 6 and 8 for $30 each your rating would be $135. If you also put odds behind the pass line bet, your rating would still be $135.
QUOTE]

Thanks for clarifying..... my rating then would be around $100- $125 (varies depending on my mood of the table and come out roll)

Ok, at over $100 you should qualify for a host.

So, after you have been playing for a while (say 15-20 minutes) if the floor supervisor has not come to talk to you ("Are you staying with us? Do you have a host?") then you should just mention to the dealer that it's your first time there and you don't have a host. The dealer will alert the floor, who will make a phone call, and in a few minutes a host will show up and give you his/her card, and tell you to call when you check out. They don't know you so they will not offer you anything up-front -- it's all based on your play, which they will evaluate when you leave. So...

1. Whenever you play, give them your players card. Hand it to them along with your cash for your initial buy-in. If you play machines too, insert the card before you play. Make sure that the card reader turns green. If it goes red, remove and re-insert. Note that you are rated based on your average bet and time played, not your buy-in. Some people think that buying in huge helps their rating... it does not. Buying in for $20k and betting $100/hand just looks strange.

2. At craps, tippers generally get rated better than non-tippers. It's a scam, but that's how it works. There is a lot of leeway in how to rate you (because you always have different amounts on the table). If they like you, they will put you at the upper end of the range of possibilities. You don't need to go crazy with it but the occasional bet "for the boys" goes a long way. At your level, the occasional red chip will be appreciated. $6 place bet on the 6 or 8, $1 pass line with full odds, $5 hardway when the point is even, etc, etc. Putting out a tip on your very first bet will often get noticed more!

3. Charge EVERYTHING to your room. Meals, nightclubs, drinks, whatever. Not only at Mirage, but any other MGM properties as well.

4. If you buy anything at a retail store at any MGM property, show them your card for a 15% discount. This includes buying water / snacks / etc at the little stores by the elevators. Note that you will not get retail stuff comped, even if you can charge it to your room.

5. If someone else is staying in your suite (you mentioned it was 2br) and they are playing too, make sure that they get a players card and use it as well.

6. Use the players card for play at any MGM Property, but keep in mind that, although they will comp you for all your play, they will be more generous for play at their property. This is because the host only gets credit for your play at Mirage. If he thinks that you will give him a lot of play, he is more likely to be extra-generous in an attempt to entice you to come back. Hosts have a lot of leeway! I have heard people say that it's better if at least 70% of your play is at the property where you are staying. More is always better.

7. Find out when your host's hours are. If your host will be around when you check out, text/call them a little bit before (or go talk to them in person). If not, talk to them the night before or whatever. Ask them what they can comp off your bill. A $100 rating for 4hours/day is usually enough for a regular room + meals, but you are in a suite. If you were sharing the suite, let him know the players card # of the person you were staying with as well. If the comps don't take care of everything, make sure to ask to use the express comps as well.

8. If you lose a significant amount, expect to be comped much better. They will significantly over-comp losers (they want you to come back). So even if you lose a lot quickly and then quit, don't worry that you didn't put in the hours. They got your money, and they will take care of you. They will comp you based on a percentage of your actual loss, rather than a percentage of your theo.

9. If you lose $10k or more (I have no idea what your budget is) you should ask if you can get something for "airfare". 5% of your loss back in promotional chips is more or less standard (unless you are already way over-comped). You must ask for this -- they will never offer it to you if you don't. If you are going to ask for this, try to take care of everything a bit before you leave so you have time to play them off.

Hope this helps! Have a great time!

Thank you for the recap.....

The one part I wasn't sure of was the "Host strategy".....but will follow your advice..... thanks

And I follow that tipping level...but was never really sure if that helped my rating.... good to know...

Oh....And God help me if I drop $10k+

Great tips by VegasGambler. Also make sure to not give any of your friends/family member your player's card, especially if they're betting less than you are. People had their theos lowered due to this.

A few comments on VegasGambler's post:

• I would never tip believing that it will raise my rating. That's completely dependent on the pit boss. Also, keep in mind that just by tipping, you're raising your average bet, so you would have to take that into consideration when figuring out how much (if anything) extra that's actually getting you.
• If the people staying with you want to use their comps to help you pay for your suite, have them arrange that with their host. Do NOT volunteer their comps to your host to help pay for your room. I have witnessed the fallout from similar situations - it is not pretty. Best situation is not to mix comps at all - take turns paying for the room every time you visit Vegas.
• Casinos want gamblers to come back, win or lose. Either extreme is going to result in generous comps, as even if you're winning, they know you're going to lose eventually. I would actually say my best comps relative to ADT were when I went on a 9-month win streak at Cosmo.
• You're not getting airfare for losing $10k at a Vegas casino. Hosts are generally willing to overcomp if you take a big hit, but that's just coming out of your future balance - it's nothing more than an advance. Regularly getting disc comps based on losses only happens when your losses are big and consistent, and honestly anyone who ever falls into that category should stop gambling.

Just FYI, the free cruise offer can also be redeemed as a credit towards your own booking, so go for that if you'd rather have a longer cruise and nicer ship. The offer T+C's say either a $375 or $750 credit, but my buddy who barely made Plat still got a $600 credit (although he just opted for one of the "free" options). Even a $375 credit seems like a solid add-on perk (or maybe it just goes to show how overpriced/marked-up regular pricing on cruises is).

The theo won't be lowered, just the average bet. This only really matters for those who don't gamble a lot and don't have hosts who know them. Still, I don't see why anyone would give someone else his player's card.

One time I went with my mom to Biloxi. She had a comp'd stay at IP while I was at the Beau, and we split play/dining between both. I got an extra mLife Plat card so she could use the VIP parking at Beau when she was there.

So, there's that.

The amount that a tip would raise your average bet is tiny. I'm talking about betting $100 / hand and tipping about $5 once in a while (certainly nowhere near every hand).

While it is true that it is pit-boss / floor supervisor dependent, craps is a particularly good game for this because you have such different amounts of money out at different times that they are really guessing at your average bet, and often asking for help from the dealers. I've heard discussions between the floor and the dealers about this and they almost always treat tippers better than non-tippers. I'm not saying that they are going to rate you at $1000 per hand when you were betting $100, but if your amount on the table was somewhere between $100 and $150 the whole time, a tipper can expect to be rated closer to $150.

I'm not saying that you should tip just for this reason, just that it is something to keep in mind. If you are really against tipping dealers, then don't tip. This is purely a personal decision.

That is nonsense. I get it all the time. They key is that they won't give you cash. Freeplay for machine players, promo chips for table game players. (Actually, they WILL give you cash at m-life properties, but it screws up your account -- you will no longer be eligible to earn express comps. Just take the freeplay / promo chips). I have outright asked what the min was, I have been told by more than one host that it's $10k.

You won't get it if you don't ask; that's for sure. If you are over-comped already, you also won't get it (or you will get less).

Then you're just talking about comps coming out of your comp balance. Of course airfare can come out of your comp balance; anything can come out of your comp balance. As I clearly stated (in the portion you decided to snip out of your quote), I was referring to airfare as disc, which you aren't getting for losing $10k. I'm guessing what you actually meant was "A host won't even consider applying your earned comps for airfare unless you lost at least 10k".