Visconti

Ah, to this day, I still don't really have a good guess on how they granted these Noir matches, only that, to state the obvious here, based on a perceived futures (in terms of theo & bottom lines, the only thing that matters to them when it's all said and done) value to Hyatt & MGM. Initially, I had assumed it was similar to the AA EXP that had been granted by concierges or something along those lines. I wouldn't rule it out and maybe if you intimate to your Hyatt Concierge that you'd like one, he/she may trigger it?

It's definitely nicer to have. Staying and traversing the various MGM properties is just much easier with a Noir, whatever verson one has, with a list of benefits, some probably that aren't even listed or published. During most cases, any kind of Noir card should get reasonable requests granted. The guaranteed restaurant reservation is an underappreciated aspect of Noir; even at the Bellagio buffet, when the ladies (the ones who recognize me over the years) up front see me in "elite" line, they'll just come fetch up and escort me to the cash register, and then get me a table immediately. Just little things that makes one stay a little easier & smoother.

The Cosmo offers a slightly different vibe than most MGM properties, like the Bellagio/Aria, and we'll have to see if it'll retain this "vibe" after it's been fully integrated into the MGM portfolio. It'll be interesting during this transition if Noirs will receive some of those "courtesy" perks that I suspect many have come to take for granted at, say, the Bellagio.

Zorak

I would interpret theo more broadly to include things like hotel revenue and especially the clubs. I forget which property but one of my (casino) hosts was telling me that in some cases the big club hosts have more pull than they do. Which makes sense, if you're paying for bottle service etc. you're worth a lot of revenue too.

platbrownguy

So, I just finished a 3-night Fri-Mon stay in a 2 bedroom penthouse at Bellagio, with all the details along the way arranged by my "luxury experience manager" Aaron. (As mentioned above, it was a self-comped base room with a paid upgrade.)

Some highlights as a Noir:

• I ended up with a total of 4 guests in the suite (2 arriving together and the other 2 arriving together later); roundtrip airport limo was provided for everyone, so 4 limos total for airport runs. An additional limo was comped upon request when some of my crew wanted to visit a few shops on West Sahara. Probably had the car 90 min, tipped the driver $100, it was amazing. (For airport runs, I tip the standard $20-25.) All 5 limos were the stretch kind, very comfortable, and awesome drivers who recommended shops for the supplies people wanted, etc.
• When my limo pulled up to the Bellagio, Aaron himself opened the door, walked me and my friend into the VIP lounge, confirmed all our plans (including booking the extra limo), and then walked us up to the suite. This was 5 star service that I really have only had at the best Asian 5 star properties. I was blown away.
• Aaron said he was essentially like a host but for spend-oriented customers; he offered to connect me with a host at Bellagio but I truthfully said I wasn't planning on gaming there much (mostly gambled at Caesars, Cosmo, Cromwell, and MB, but not more than 10 hours total; this was a five-figure all-out fun weekend with a crew).
• I was able to text Aaron requests and he responded immediately to all of them. Anything from extra pillows to booking short-notice spa treatments. He got us a pool cabana in our preferred location. He later came by the pool just to check in on us. I gave him a $100 tip, which seemed appropriate for his top-notch service.
• Aaron's touch on the reservations got us the best table (in our opinion) for lunch at Spago, dinner at Yellowtail, and drinks at the Skyfall Lounge at the Delano. When we got to Skyfall, we were initially seated at a good table, but then 3 minutes later the manager came over, greeted me by name, thanked me for my Noir status, and asked if we would prefer the best table in the house, which was just being cleaned. Again, I was blown away by the awesome service. To my friends, of course, I was Zeus.
• Last night, I wanted to chill out with caviar and champagne at the Petrossian, sort of impromptu, and it was pretty busy. I walked up, showed by Noir card and asked if I might be able to get a particular table as soon as it opened (to the pianist's right), and the reply came, "of course!"
• Handwritten notes (2 from Aaron) came in the room with little extras (boxes of chocolates one night, a nice face mask kit another night).
• VIP lounge access is available 7a-11p with light snacks and beverages based on time of day. There is booze, you have to ask for it. The lounge butler went back to make someone a 20 ounce plastic-cup old fashioned (looked like iced tea, LOL), so I think pretty much anything is fair game.
• On the way out, everyone from the lounge to the bell staff addressed me by name. Top to bottom, a flawless stay.

Perhaps most germane to this thread, I decided to ask Aaron how many "Hyatt Noirs" there were, using that language because he had used it in his email to me. He offered up that it was a contract arrangement whereby Hyatt simply sends a list of customers to MGM. He estimated that there were perhaps 500 Hyatt Noirs who had visited the Bellagio over the course of the program. This could all be bunk, but he had been there for a while and seemed both to know what he was talking about and to want to answer literally any question I had.

Now back to reality (I just wrote this from the basement B gates at JFK T4 waiting for my delayed connecting flight back to PWM). But I cannot wait for the next Vegas trip, and I sincerely hope I get to keep the Noir status past January 2023.

Visconti

Interesting! What you've listed is basically the "Noir" experience. In my view, the thing that really sets Vegas apart is once "they" know you, the doors just open up, as you've experienced where the manager will proactively reach out to find you the best table, or seat in the house, etc. MGM Strip properties are generally pretty good at tagging "VIPs" and acting accordingly. Also, something that is rarely spoken of, not sure if Aaron clued you in, is that once you're "in the club," the rules for you are just different. Sounds you had a great trip! After all these years, I still look forward to Vegas and, as you've said, guests, especially the first time ones, are always kind of wowed by it all.

LOL...I know that reality well and have spent more than my share of time there with my laptop and phone.

platbrownguy

I've had the Noir for a few years now but this was hands down the best experience I've had with it. I haven't had a non-host point of contact like this in the past. I enjoy having the host for solo gaming trips (particularly for National Harbor), but for a weekend like this it was wayyyy better to have Aaron who was singularly focused on making me happy without any apparent care for how much I gambled.

Yup, I've gathered that over the years -- line cutting to the max, leave a car on the front drive, etc. Great stuff.

Fabulous trip. We had two twenty-something first-timers with us who were more than wowed at every turn. One of them now wants to move there... I said it might not be the same experience, LOL

Visconti

I think this is something new that's been formed post pandemic, and not something I'm aware of, until now. I think earlier Zorbak touched on this? If I'm entertaining people there, I'd much rather have an Aaron than run up the theo tab with my host, which *has* to be paid in the future. And, you know, as much as I absolutely love gambling, a 48 hour marathon to meet a prior theo obligation ain't fun.

Yeah, it's always fun and joy to see! Most people who go there the first time, you can just see the sparkle in their eyes when they take it all in that first time. I think LV is still one of the most visited places in the world? By the way, the Petrossian is one of my favorite places to relax on the Strip, especially on those rare occasions when they aren't to busy.

GundamWing01

thank you so much for sharing your hyatt noir DP with us. excellent detail as usual. however, i am absolutely confused, shocked, and in total disbelief. as Visconti noted, you just had witnessed the actual casino noir host supported experience. maybe even rivals the ultra coveted chairman noir status. its highly unusual to hear about this level of service from a hyatt noir perspective. altho you are not a lightweight gamer urself. and it doesnt sound like many things were comped? just extra care service? but this level of high-touch service is really unprecedented. im super curious how Aaron selected you for further casino biz dev opportunities. good for you. whatever you did, keep doing. loving your DPs.

as you had already noted earlier, this level of service has not been seen at other properties. so not really sure whats going on TBH. but good for you. and you mentioned something interesting: "Aaron said he was essentially like a host but for spend-oriented customers". did he mean non-gaming spend? because this would further prove the noir DPs from earlier comments above based on huge hotel spend.

also, FYI. properties like the bellagio and aria have various executives who can be "hosts" at any time. this happens often with various athletes, celebrities, influencers, high class biz/CEOs. Aaron was just one example of a non-gaming host but i suspect still part of casino marketing biz dev team.

and you had mentioned another important DP. its super interesting to hear that hyatt had pre-selected ~500 names for MGM noir. i wonder what criteria was used and what other data was shared. i guess its nice to know many hyatt members were "worthy". but i doubt MGM just took whatever hyatt had provided. there must have been additional conditions. i doubt Aaron will treat all 500+ hyatt noirs the same way.

platbrownguy

Hah, well now I wish I had kept the welcome note from the room, it was on some sort of Chairman's-something-or-other stationery. I hadn't heard of it, so I didn't pay it any mind, will Google later but I think my flight is maybe finally actually about to leave.

And you are correct that I didn't ask anything to be comped. I was already getting the base room comped with a steal on the penthouse upgrade... I didn't have any reason to expect them to comp $7k of food, beverage, and spa spend, LOL, and that wasn't the point of this trip. My gaming behavior was fairly erratic, too -- I had a single blackjack session at Bellagio (usual $250/hand average, maybe 2 hours, house won but not terribly so). Played craps 20 minutes at Bellagio but the dealers were not friendly so we left. My only other MGM-affiliated gaming was at Mandalay, and that was mostly craps, except for some splashy purple-chip roulette just for funsies and a shoe of high limit BJ to introduce the HL room to the newbies. End of the day, even if I could have bothered to find a host and ask for things to be comped, that conversation didn't have a place in my weekend. I was happy to pay for everything that my guests and I consumed. And with the level of service I received, I will happily continue to try to replicate this weekend in the future.

GundamWing01

yes. despite the wonderful experience as seen by platbrownguy, theo is the real business. aaron is the honeymoon period. aka no way sustainable without consistent future gaming. casinos are not in the business of giving out free hard or soft products (eg service). unless MGM is secretly planning something special for hyatt noirs.

appreciate this DP. yes, non-gaming noirs do exist w/ very high spend. technically, theo means gambling only. however, MGM is not stupid. they will ID certain people. not sure what algo they use. but they are in the business of extracting max dollars from human revenue batteries. aka tourists.

this is the key question everybody wants to know. what criteria is being used for this selection process? all the DPs ive seen are all over the map. i dont get it. its more complicated than IHG RA AMB requalification. sorry, nobody can answer your question. we just dont know. but dont get your hopes up for cosmo / MGM / hyatt. that would make no sense. hyatt matches to MGM for a reason. when cosmo adopts MGM, it will only be marriott and MGM. nothing hyatt related. just like current MGM properties.

please clarify. you mean the actual casino plat VIP room for cosmo? next to the marriott Auto VIP lounge? because the auto VIP lounge does not have a full bar. its very basic. nobody makes drinks for you.

GundamWing01

FYI. Chairman Noir.
M Life's Double Secret Probation Level : VegasTripping.com

have a nice flight. hopefully u were upgraded to J. unless u already booked J/F. very happy to hear about your experience with your friends. please keep us posted if such treatment continues. and i totally agree. with that level of service, i wouldnt be concerned about comps. i would be very happy with spending huge money at MGM if life became very relaxing during my stay.

Visconti

RE: Hosts

From time to time, even I, as a proud degenerate gambler, would rather my host not be aware that I'm there, even when in her casino. Most people find it surprising and often ask why I wouldn't want comps. It's because there's a gentlemen's agreement that whatever is granted is paid back by theo, and, sometimes, especially when there with friends/family/clients, it's just easier to have a good time and pay for it.

The moment I stick in my card in the machine, my host will ultimately make her way there to say hello. In other casinos, some other host will eventually make his/her way there to make introductions and ask if there's anything I need. When I'm doing the degenerate gambling thing, that's fine and I'm more than happy to engage in this song & dance. Other times, I'd rather dispense with all of this and just have a good time and enjoy the people I'm there with.

Matt4200

I’m a degenerate gambler and would much rather connect with my host via text or email.

Non-Noir so I do generally reach out for limo/transportation. MGM and Cosmo

Visconti

Oh, sh*t, Matt! I'm not often taken aback by a FT post, but from reading your posts over the years, I had just always assumed that you, like I'd imagine the overwhelming majority of FT'dom, would've detested and loathed gambling!

Matt4200

I hold Elite(ish) (meaning usually Gold/Platinum MLife equivalent) at at least 6 different Casino Chains (2 in Vegas, 4 in my local area).

Not really into slots, mainly play tables I really enjoy Pai Gow, still hoping to get a 7 Card Straight Flush someday.

Visconti

Dude! Had no idea! I'm genuinely shocked since reading your posts (admittedly, unless I'm being paid, my reading comprehension & focus isn't where it should be), but, still, had no inkling.

When it comes to slots, I only play full-pay VPs, then BJ & craps. I played lots of Pai Gow in HK & Macau, and during my younger more adventurous days, I played a game using Pow Gow tiles called "Teen Gow," or as the Cantonese would say, to "chow teen gow." It's with 4 players, kind of like mahjong, but for men. That was my favorite gambling game, ever. I mean, the stakes were high, the tension palpable, and it was just such a thrill to play. Oh man, fun times...

My hope is to hit a natural RF on a 100-hand VP machine, which has yet, and likely never will, happen. While I've hit almost 20 RFs, I've yet to get the natural one. If I recall, the odds are appx 1 in 600,000+ for a natural RF? Can't imagine for 7!