vgacolor

I am a very low stakes gambler. I have gone to Vegas 4 times in the last 10 years and have stayed in relatively unexpensive hotels {the Hacienda which no longer exists, Luxor, and the HiltonX2}. My bankroll for my 4 to 6 day stays is usually around $1,000 in cash, and every time that I go I have managed to come back with anywhere from $100 to $600 still in my pocket.

I also never gamble in one casino only. I like to spend time in different casinos in the strip mostly and sometimes downtown, but never gamble more than a couple of hundred in one casino {usually the one that I am staying at gets the most just out of convenience}. In conclusion, I am not a very profitable customer.

So it kind of surprised me that I got a snail mail offer for three complimentary nights at the Luxor. Funny thing is that I had already booked my fifth Vegas vacation at the Harrah’s in May. Although I think the Harrah’s is a slightly better property due to location and overall quality, it is hard to pass completely free nights and some token freeplay that they threw in.

goalie

try me.....

i've been out of work for 2 1/2 years and have been to vegas once during this period*. i dropped form harrah's diamond to a nobody (and have been a "nobody" for the last 2 full years) and i'm still getting offers of 3 free nights plus "free gambling money" for new year's eve, july 4th and march madness events (and not to mention free room certs to give away to my friends)


*i had no choice.....group of childhood friends 50th birthday celebration

kingalien

Have played once at Aria and M Resort. Now receiving quite a few offers as well.

FTraveler

I agree. They are hurting, and hurting real bad. Some, perhaps most, of the hotels have closed off several floors due to low occupancy and reduced restaurant operating hours. They are betting that these offers will entice a certain percentage of occasional gamblers who will lose control and their bankroll.

My offers have been exceptionally great as well. Much more significant than in the past, despite the fact that my level of play has dropped off considerably.

Showbizguru

Yes, isn't it wonderful ?
After years of some of them shafting punters in every way they can by providing poor service at extortionate prices they're getting bitten on the backside in a big way.
I hope it stays like that for a long time.

OverThereTooMuch

My experience has been pretty similar up until my last trip about a month ago.

I was getting a lot of good offers for comp rooms, some free play and some F&B discounts.

I gambled more at the same casino in this visit than I'd gambled in any of my 4-5 previous visits in the last year. Since returning, my offers have gotten worse. I assumed it was because late spring/summer was a busy time and people didn't need as much encouragement to come.

AquaDyne

I hope not. Nor do the millions of other people who live and work here.

Dr_wanderlust

vgacolor

Well in your case it makes more sense. You went from somebody that had status at one time to no status. Harrah's might think you are staying somewhere else and want to lure you back.

I checked my players club, and I got less than 400 points from playing at one of their strip casinos last year. I think you need like 10,000+ points to get $25 of freeplay. So they know I am a very low stakes gambler. I am so low stakes that I never give my card to the BlackJack dealer because I sit at the $10 table.

HawaiiTrvlr

I go to Vegas at least yearly and I am not much of a gambler either. I signed up for The Orleans player card. i started receiving free room offers too. I am going at the end of the month. I am not expecting much room wise but I can use the money other ways.

lrickets

you guys are getting comped at lower end hotels. try the palazzo/venetian. i've gone 4 times since thanksgiving last year and those were all comped weekends (fri-sun). and i always got rooms at the palazzo where it is much better than venetian or venezia.

and talking about hi roller, i put out only $300 per weekend to gamble and with a couple of weekends, i walked away with over $1K of winning.

i still have comps coming thru the end of june so i'll be going again soon.

siestaguy

I went to Vegas for last New Year's Eve, stayed at Mandalay and played poker at MGM, Aria, Ceasar's , Bellagio, and Venetian. While waiting for a seat in the poker room at Wynn (the 1st time I had set foot in there), I played rapid roulette and did quite well considering that the attendant had to explain how the betting worked. I played for 10 hours, turning $400 into $750 + buffet comp. I estimate that I averaged $25 to $50 per spin (about 20 spins / hour). Around 2 AM, the Wynn Red Card system for tracking play was down for hours and I asked to speak to a manager about it. He offered me the free buffet, which seemed reasonable. Later while I was playing, a hostess asked me how much I just wagered, she wrote that down and my guess is that they rated me based on that amount. When I stopped playing around 7 AM, I had breakfast at the buffet, which is easily the best buffet I've ever seen or tasted (it seems to be 100 yards long w/ a huge variety).

A few weeks ago, I was pleasantly surprised to get an email offer from Wynn for 3 complimentary nights (including weekends). That was tempting and then yesterday Wynn sent me another email offering 2 free Garth Books tickets. My sister and her boyfriend are huge fans, so I jumped on that offer before it was too late. I called, was assigned a casino host and was surprised that I was able to use both offers for the same stay. It seemed to have helped that 3 nights offer was from the Resort Marketing department and the concert tickets were offered by the Casino Host team (they seem to be independent, the host's assistant had me call the Resort Marketing myself to get the room). Because the offer was specifically for me, I couldn't give the 2 tickets to my sister and her boyfriend without me attending too. Those tickets seem to sell out fast, but the casino host's assistant was able to sell us a third ticket at face value. It's hard to believe that just churning my $400 over and over for 10 hours before walking away with $750 earned me about $1,000 in complimentary tickets, room nights and a buffet. If they made a mistake, my play there on my next visit probably isn't going to meet their expectations.

My MGM Mirage Player Club account now has offers for 3 free nights at most of their properties, including Aria and Bellagio plus $150 in slot credit and $150 in Food and Beverage credit. They are only good through the end of June, but since I'm not planning to go before then, I'm hoping that they'll be replaced by similar offers after these expire. I did lose about $500 to the Lion's Share slot machine at MGM, so being offered the comps for MGM Mirage properties wasn't as much of a surprise as the Wynn offers were. Still, 3 comped nights at Bellagio or Aria + 300 in credits is worth more than the $500 I lost to MGM.

What do you think? Are my Wynn offers a fluke that I'll probably never see again because I'm a low-roller?

baccarat_king

Encountering the luck to hold you own @ rapid roulette for 10 hours on only a $400 bankroll, averaging $25 to $50 per spin is the answer. Roulette has a hugh house edge. Casinos LOVE roulette players. Roulette players tend to bust out quick quickly (and have to buy in for more $$$), at the average bet you mention. It's the fact that you were able to play for 10 hours that got their attention.

Though, even considering the above, seems like you were probably rated on the high side, perhaps $50+ per spin. Also, your spins per hour were very low. So, if you got rated the full number of spins, that probably made the difference. At regular roulette, on average with 4 players you would have approximately 55 spins per hour (source : Wizard of Odds). At Rapid Roulette, you would have even more spins per hour (on average). So, if you were sitting out a lot of spins (or just didn't realize how many you were actually playing) that could make a hugh difference.

For example an average of $50/spin would probably be rated using 50 spins per hour. So, for 10 hours that would be $50 x 50 spin/hour x 10 hours = $25,000 in action for that play. (now, look at the house edge for roulette and directly relate that to $25,000 in action --- and you start to understand why the comp'ing for roulette players is so generous. )

PDILLM

Quick question on comps....

I'm arriving at Vegas on a Sunday but have to stay off strip at a company paid for hotel through Thursday. Thursday night staying at a casino and flying out Friday afternoon. I will be gambling at that casino Sunday through Thursday....just not staying there until that night.

Do they consider all my gambling the previous days or only what occurs when I am checked in?

FFMilesJunkie

If you are staying at a Harrah's property, then you will be able to use your Reward Credits (RC) you earned all week to pay your bill for Thursday night. You get 1 penny per point and the points can add up pretty quickly if you play slots; much slower if you play tables. Your additional "comps" will be based on your average daily theoretical loss (ADT).