infy9001

Anyone with success with Ballys? Either at the airport checkin or the hotel?

aceman

I was with someone as the checked into the MC and told him to try with a $100, the guy tried but couldnt find anything, but they said since it was his first stay that he was getting a slightly better room anyway.

Basically they certainly seem open to it.

sam123

Another success report (well in my book at least, you may or may not agree).

I just got back from Bellagio this morning. According to website and clerk the hotel was sold out both nights. We had booked 2 Deluxe Rooms (their standard room), 2 nights, prepaid Expedia flight+hotel package deal. Emboldened by this great thread I went to check in last Saturday with a $100 sticking out from under the CC and asked if he could upgrade us to Salone Suites or Bellagio Suites instead.

He worked on the computer for a couple of minutes, and said he can't do a Bellagio Suite but he could do a Salone Suite on the 'Mountain' side, no partial lakeviews etc. were available. He asked if we'd like to do that or have Lakeside Deluxe Rooms in a high floor instead.

I opted for the Lakeside Deluxes as I rank the view higher than the little extra space. I still gave him the full $100; had I reserved two Lakeside Deluxes at booking time it would have been $220 more than I paid, so I still came out ahead in my book. Perhaps I could have given him less, but I got what I wanted.

And what counts most is that both my wife and the other couple were very happy with the rooms and extremely impressed with the view (we were on floors 23 and 24, perfect for the fountain shows).

Sami

United_Flyer3

Checked into THEhotel last week for 3 nights.
$20 was clearly showing ... asked for a strip view. Was told no rooms available.
Perhaps a $50 would have done it??

kaukau

That's a question for the check-in clerk. After a "no" with a $20, if you want to, that's when you pull out the $50. There'll be lots more occasions to experiment with your technique!

VagueArse

I have tried this with varying sucess. But I always try and will continue to do so.

However some people think very differently about this, this thread on another forum was quite an eye-opener to others opinions. Regarding it as theft and a fireable offence

http://www.britflyer.com/forum/topic...99&whichpage=1

UNITED959

That'll get you somewhere. I'm really shocked at the decent amount of success stories with a $20.

USA_flyer

Damn sanctimonious Brits

vegasflyer

From a former Four Seasons front desk mgr (Vegas), when I started with them I was insulted by "bribes" for upgrades. Shortly thereafter the magic of having my soul sucked wore off and I would occassionally do what I could. Mostly however, I loved upgrading nice people who didn't ask for it and were just happy to be there. Encounters with people like this was why I joined a 5-Diamond property, but unfortunately were far and few in between. A couple of times later in the evening I upgraded couples to The Presidential (nearly 3500sf) just because it was available and they were only staying for one night. It pays to have $$$, but a decent and sincere character does wonders.

FlyerTalker7654

Ok here is the deal. Im going to be checking into the Monte Carlo for 4 nights. Now on this trip Im going big and going to play with $5000!!!! For the 4 days. Should I just be honest and show them the cash upfront when Im checking in and tell them that this money is for their casino....or shall I just try and get the upgrade with $100?

jwhite4

No expert here, but my guess would be if you do end up playing that much, at the end of your stay they may comp you your room. Without any previous playing history, I doubt they'd upgrade you up front just on the promise that you'll play.

I'd say pay the $100 for the upgrade, if you do get comp'ed, you'll end up saving more than that by your free room.

Jeff

kaukau

First off, Good Luck in Vegas! Your play will be rated at the end, though, not at the beginning. Get a Slot Club Card immediately, and give it to the dealer with your buy-in at the tables, and check often to make sure it is reading properly as you play the slots. Nothing worse than to play a slot session and remove the card, only to see the "Please re-insert card." light flashing! You might grind that $5000 through the slots or tables a couple of times before you stop gambling for that trip, rating you at 12,500 coin-in, for instance. That's when a Suit will rate your play for your stay, just before checkout, and perhaps comp some charges!
As far as the upgrade, in my opinion, for 4 night U/G on the Strip, put that $100 right up there in your hand when you check-in, and say "Sgt.Ryan checking in. I have $100 for you if you can upgrade me to a VIP suite." Chances are, they will say "Sorry, sir, no can do." But if you get lucky, consider it your first wager and make your bankroll now $4900!

BradnerBoy

I would call ahead and ask to speak with a host. Tell them who you are (so they can cross-reference your res.).

Tell them you're excited about coming to their property and you wanted to know about their comp levels based on your expected expenditure of $5,000 over the period of your stay. See what they have to say.

I'll be honest though, to us, $5,000 to gamble is a lot of money...but to the casinos, over a 4 or 5 day period, frankly, it's not a lot, so don't expect much from them.

Do like kaukau suggests and get a player's card and make sure you use it whenever you're at the slots (ugh!) or the tables.

They will monitor and rate your play, but remember; it's not if you win or lose, it's how much your average bet is and how long you play, that determines the comp level, if any.

One tip: when the pit boss is watching you play, add a couple more chips onto your stack to make it seem like your average bet is larger than what it really is

Good luck and please post again (or PM me) after your trip and let us know how you made out.

aceman

Call ahead and speak to a host, and ask for wiring instructions to the casino, don't take all cash with you because unless you're going to play it all in one go (ie sit at a blackjack table wack 5k down and shout chips) no one really is going to notice.

By sending the money up front to be held for you, you are alerting them to the fact that you're serious about playing. If you can, send more (10k is preferable! -you dont have to use it all!!) and the host may ensure that your room is upgraded on check in.

At check in you should be able to ask if they have received your money, at this point i'd probably attempt the $50 under the card for an upgrade.

Then go to the players club and get your players card and when you play a table you can tell them to advance you money from the money that they are holding for you.

2 things are important here, how much you buy in for and your average bet. The way that most pit bosses do that is by looking at your first bet, so make sure the guy is looking and load up the first one a little. I can't remember how 'electronic' the thing is at the MC but every time they come round they look at the bet you have out, and that stays as your average bet for the time period until they next come round. Get friendly with the pit boss chat to them etc, put on a james bond english accent and they'll love chatting to you -especially the women! Once you're good with them get them to increase your bet on the system, $10 usually helps with this. -I've been playing $25 a hand before and been rated at $80 a hand doing this.

Make sure that you never play anything below a green ($25) and if you're just killing time at any point and are going to bet small DONT use your card as it will kill your average bet!

And finally, make sure that every single little thing you charge to your room, you have to give the hosts something to take off!!

Good luck!

FlyerTalker7654

That is a good call to wire the money to them. That way I don't have to worry about taking money with me and they then know how much Im playing with!!!

With the english accent, you know its funny how that really works at times. Ive had a couple of times in restaurants etc where Ive played it real well and it�s worked!

Well, we shall see how we go.....I'll either be flying home business class or I'll spend the 4 days crying in my room.......either way, got to love Vegas!!!