I went to V/P with my siblings last weekend and I explained to my brother the ins-and-outs of Grazie...well, what I know of it. I told him, they won't look at you if you're not gambling at least $100 a hand on BJ and they only rate slots and video poker. Long story short, he spends about 10-15 hours over the course of two nights (with a Grazie card, the other nights he didn't sign-up), and wins $8,000 gambling $300 a hand. I kid you not, the next day (the day after check-out) he's got an email from a host asking to call him. Two days later the host calls him...twice! He finally got back to the host for our next Vegas trip in September and his offer is pretty impressive (he's still not even Gold!). 4 night stay weekend stay, no resort fees, and priority check-in. The icing on the cake: the host is willing to comp 2 nights if he decides to come in in July. Im guessing they saw the strong play and think he's worth investing in. Not sure how it all works out but I left VP with many more points than him and I earned 0 in comps (beyond my points). I'm boycotting slots / VP hahaha!
He never went to the desk to checkout lol. It was that kind of Vegas trip. According to my brother, the host is still waiting "on the offers to come in" to see if he can comp any F&B. I think that's weird as I thought hosts can get whatever they want. Either way, assuming what my brother said makes no sense, I still saw the email for the free stay, priority check-in, etc. so he must've done something right. I guess I need to up my game
I always get decent comps at vp. Last couple times I've been comped 3 nights, play $75 per on craps for maybe an hour a day, and always get 3 more nights. I always assume I'm burning a bridge, but it's still there.
10-15 hours of play at $300 avg. should absolutely get you a room comp and a few bucks of FB..... I understand that VP has a history of being tight with offers, but we shouldn't be shocked if they offer up a few (not especially strong) offers now and then. Nick
September offers are out as I got mail for them. I get great offers from V/P. I asked for 6 nights during G2E convention the end of September and host said no problem. I get $500 FP and $300 dining credit but my hosts always clear all room charges off my bill at checkout on the back end. I think they are very generous especially with nice rooms. I usually get a Fortuna Suite which is basic but large.
Congrats to your brother on the nice win streak. VP gets a bad wrap IMHO re comps. We always get 6 nights comped anytime we want it (normally offered 5 and get the 6th backend). Plus a decent amount of free play and FB. We are far from high rollers, but still get great offers. My wife plays mostly slots, and I play tables, and nowhere near your friend's amount. I'll play 100-150/hand at craps. Our intro to our host was much as his, got a call day after leaving checking out. The only thing I was going to say is that your brother is probably correct in what the host said regarding FB. It has been my experience at VP that the lower-level hosts (which your brother has) are restricted in what they can offer outside of rooms until about 3 months out. I think they have to work pretty strictly from the numbers and then can comp more back-end. My wife and I are very pleased with what we get from Grazie. True, we could "better" comps elsewhere based on our play, but the price we would pay indirectly by not staying at as nice of a property is worth it to us.
Oh, one other thing, status as Gold/Platinum, etc will not impact your offers. It is completely based on play. Think about it like this. The guy that comes once a year for 2 nights and play 5,000/hand baccarat isn't going to be gold. The guy who lives an hour away and drive twice a week to run $50 through a penny slot could very possibly hit gold just by residual play off small wins. But the second example is worth very little to the casino. I remember when we first hit gold back in the day, we thought "Sweet, now we'll get even better offers." Other than the gold-specific perks (faster point accrual, complimentary upgrade, etc), the comps themselves have not changed except as our play dictates. .
All I did was sign-up for the Grazie card online a few weeks back and I got a marketing email for $159.99 a night and $150.00 resort credit. Not bad for not spending a cent in their casino.
I don't think there have been a lot of complaints about V/P since they came to their senses. But there are a lot of people who went elsewhere after the comp debacle of a few years ago and never came back. If anything, they have the most transparent system on the strip because you can calculate your theo from your Status Points.