MLIFE... am I betting enough for comps

I was recently stayed at Delano Hotel aka Mandalay Bay The Hotel" on Dec 26 - 30 , 2014 " Friday - Tuesday

I have not really been a Mlife player until this trip and decided that I would give them a try. I played a total of about 5 hours and Mandalay Bay and 18 at Bellagio. At Mandalay Bay my betting range was 200 per hand playing Pai Gow poker. At the Bellagio I played 18 hours of Pai Gow tiles ranging from 200 to 1000 per hand. I would say 60% of hands were at 200, 10% at 1000, 30% at about 500. When I left every night I would ask the floor what was my average. The first night they had me at about 300 per hand , 2nd night 500 and 3rd night he told me about 700. The first night I played about 5 hours, 2nd night 6th but the 3rd night I did about 7 hours. When checking out I called down to VIP and asked if they could comp some of my rooms, since I was paying a player rate. My bill was 850 and they comped it down to 190. I took the 660 discount and thought it was semi fare, but I had 150.00 in express comps and they used all of it.

I then decided to head out back to Las Vegas 1/11 - 1/15. I called and asked Aria what the rate would be. First they told me it was 185 a night and I asked even at my play level. After a brief hold a on call host came on and said they would comp me 2 nights and I would have the pay for the other 2. At this point in time, I thought I was really getting screwed because I felt I have given a fair amount of action and would think they would give me at least 4 nights free because they were weekdays. I figured I was going to gamble on this trip and would more than likely get it comped since it was during the weekdays and a slow week for LV. Long story short at the end of the trip I went to the host office and asked him what he could do for me on my bill. He told me the best he could do is comp my 3 buffets that I had with my wife and son for about 120. I asked him what was my play and he told me he had me at close to 12 hours and at 225 a hand. I felt astonished that he would only comp my buffets and my 2 nights and I would still have to pay for the other 2 nights. When they comped my buffets they took my express comps of $85 so basically they paid $35.

On my first trip on the 26th of December I had 0 tier points and was a sapphire player. Today i have roughly close to 146000 points and 54000 points away from a platinum in 2 trips.
Does my play justify more comps then I have received. I know I could of thrown $100 hand for 3 hours at any Total Rewards property and they would comp my rooms at any hotel they have. Is Mlife just bad or am I getting a short end of the stick. I know the games I play have a large push factor but the house advantage at 1.5% seems pretty high. My theo play at min 200 per hand and 30 to 45 hands per hour should be at least $75 per hour and at 40% should be close to about $30 an hour. I figure I put in 12 hours this trip should be around 360 to 450 and last trip anywhere from 1000 to 1500.

 

I play tiles at similar bet levels and I get very mixed responses from hosts on the game. Some seem to think there is nothing to comp while others have no problem with it at all. I think it all comes down to Theo on what your host will be able to do for you. As a general rule take your express comps x 3 and that is what your host can comp. My present host has no problem taking care of my room and food.I have inquired about suites and been told I could get a suite but wouldn't have any comps left.

 

I think your numbers are in the ballpark, but look at a couple of things:

Since your first trip was your first under MLife, Aria probably wasn't too anxious to comp you upfront, although I think what may also have worked against you was your 2nd trip was so close after your first. Your play from the first trip hadn't had a chance to generate any formal offers. I would be surprised if your play on the first trip did not generate a pretty good offer, at least from Mandalay Bay. It could still happen.

Your ECs are a good way to compare your play on the first trip vs the last - $150 vs $85.

House advantage of 1.5% is not high, it's low.

If we assume your own calculation of theo at $75 an hour for 12 hours, that's $900 in theo over 4 nights, or $225/night. That's not high.

40% is too high a comp level to assume, it's more like 25%, plus Express Comps represent about another 3%.

So 25% of $225 is 56.25 a night, and because you stayed 4 nights, that works out to $225 in comps. Which pretty much pays for the room for 2 nights.

So I don't think you got screwed, although you may not like the comp level.

Keep an eye on your MLlfe account online and see if any offers start coming through in a month or so.

Editing to add:
Looking at the Express Comps you earned, they're pretty healthy numbers. $85.00 in Express Comps is equivalent to well over $20,000 in coin in on slots over 4 nights, which really should be about enough to get your room comped at Aria for the whole stay. They should be giving express comps for table games at the same ratio of theo as slots, maybe even a little less than slots. So I don't know where the disconnect might be.

 

Aria and Bellagio are rather tight on comps. If you were to call MB, you would do even better.

 

One thing to add is that if you play where you stay your host will be much more accommodating when dealing with mlife properties. Hosts don't get credit for your play off property. This is one of the major differences between Mlife and CET. CET hosts don't care where you play. Your off property play does nothing for your hosts numbers, bonus, etc.

 

You are playing at the "top end" mlife property. Just my opinion, but I could see better comps if you were playing at MGM or Mirage, but those seem reasonable for Aria.

"Any" Total Rewards property except for Caesar's would be a level below Aria.

 

It seems strange to me that CET can throw comps at rooms far easier than MGM properties. Are they using a diff type of system to calculate points or is that the reason they are filing for bankruptcy? I guess I will see what happens in the next month or so and if I do not get any offers I will have to take my action back to CET. I heard VEN/PAL has really loosened there comps in the last few months. I have buddies that play $50 a hand in Pai Gow Poker or Black Jack and get free room offers constantly from them.

 

CET vs MLIFE.

It seems CET is a bit easier on the lower end of theo. Mlife seems to do better on the higher end.

With similar play I can get suite, some food, show tickets, and some freeplay at Mlife. CET does rooms, and way less food, no show tickets and way less freeplay.

Just how they do things.

 

I agree with Chuck2009x said in #3.
I also have another point:
OP's all plays were on PGP and Tiles, both games are not big money maker for the house.
(in fact, casinos barely make any money on Tile tables despite it has a house edge of 1.7%)
In other words, you're not very valuable to the house.
If you play Let-It-Ride at $1000 per hand for 5 hours, the house will take care everything for you.

 

Very rarely have I posted here but I love reading. Someone posed "1-3 EC to Comp" ratio. Is this correct, or is there a better way to extremely rough estimate comp level? I'm Gold Mlife so I have a little multiplyer, but is there a better way to rough guess it to make sure I'm asking for what I should be?

Thanks!

 

I just looked up what info I could find on Express Comps and I have found the following:

EC used to accrue at 10% of Theo, but this has since been changed. EC now accrue at 5% of Theo. This is for table games play. Assuming a host will provide comps at around 30% then it would be about 6x express comps.

 

Awesome, thanks Scottndindy! That's a good way to help estimate.

 

If on your first trip you gave Mandalay Bay 5 hours and 18 hours worth of play to Bellagio... did you try contacting Bellagio to see what they could do for you in regards to comps/offers?

In the first year of the MLife program they looked at your play as a whole, what you were gambling at all their properties combined. But that really didn't work out for them because they wound up offering suites and even high end suites automatically through the system, but then people booked those rooms and then went back to their favorite hotel to gamble (IE: somebody whose play warrants free rooms at Bellagio has enough play to get a high end suite at Excalibur or Luxor, they book one of those rooms but then continue to go back to Bellagio to gamble and don't give any play to those hotels).

So now while its true that Total Rewards looks at your play as a whole throughout Las Vegas on a trip, MLife is now a "comp you where you play" system - if you are staying at NYNY but giving all your play to Aria then NYNY isn't going to give you any comps at the end of your stay and likely Aria will send you future offers to stay at their property comped.

 

I am in no way a High Roller. I am not even a mid-roller. I would consider myself to be a real low roller. I go to Vegas with a bankroll of between 5 and 7K and my trips average 3-6 days. I only go twice a year. All that being said, I do have a host at NYNY who is able to hook me up with rooms at a great rate, is able to comp meals, and helps with the little stuff that comes up. I get lots of offers for comped rooms and freeplay. So no matter what level you play at, it never hurts to speak to a host...

 

According to you, your avg is higher than they actually had you at. After every session make sure you ask your avg and time played. That is the only time they can change it. Also, if you would have had a relationship with ONE host at Aria and are loyal to Aria im sure all your nights would have been comped upfront. Food too. Just make sure you build that relationship and at your level of play whether it is at 700 avg one trip and 100 the next you will be comped. But remember, never play for comps! So, did you get screwed? No. Are you betting enough for comps? YES!