Clark Griswald Theory....

Sorry if this has already been asked

Alright ... im in vegas this sec and being here after a few long islands its made me think of Vegas Vacation....

from what the movie shows Clark pretty much stayed gambling at the mirage which is an MGM property now... and lost 22,600 (according to wikipedia).

Had he signed up for M life what would he have earned after losing 22 grand??????

 

Depends what his theo was.

 

I do not have an MLife card (one of the few I don't have) but upon reading everyones stories telling about how much MLife sucks, I guess 2 free lunch buffets. Not dinner, lunch.

 

There's not enough information to confirm or deny a hypothesis (you never directly test a theory) as net win/loss do not represent what was played.

Though Mr. Griswald lost $22,600, we do not know how much he wagered or how many times he wagered it. The movie does not show every bet he made. Heck, he could have churned tens of thousands of dollars over several win/loss cycles before stopping play. He may have even been ahead by thousands of dollars a time or two.

The above scenarios have very different point earning results than if Mr. Griswald simply walked in the casino, put $22,600 on a few bets, and subsequently lost.

Bill

 

Only in Vegas can you expect to earn something by LOSING......

 

I haven't gotten the MLife system down as well as I do CET's Total Rewards as I'm just now switching from the latter to the former. But let me set the scene a little better for those who might know more about MLife but not the movie.

It seems that Clark was in a pretty good mood before Uncle Eddie showed up. This would imply that he was winning or breaking even. Either way, the movie doesn't show Clark's bets prior to Uncle Eddie arriving. Once Uncle Eddie arrived, Clark couldn't win a bet. The Wikipedia site probably came to the number of $22,600 by observing Clark's buy-in amounts during the movie (although it seems high from my recollection, but I never counted). Clark was playing, what would be assumed as high house advantage table games (such as "Pick a Number", "Casino War", "Guess a Hand", etc.).

There were times when Clark pushed, but for the sake of argument, let's assume the following hypothesis:

If you averaged $100+ per hand at a table game with the highest HA and lost every hand, enough to lose $22,600 what would you get back in Tier Points & Express Comps for your effort?

 

You can't "confirm" a hypothesis either......

 

If I remember the movie correctly (it's been a couple of years since I last watched it) Clark lost money at the Mirage, but he also lost some of Cousin Eddie's money as well. (the cash they dug up in Eddies yard)

But, I think that money went to the off strip property.

There are a few scenes from the movie where Clark was winning, then the dealer changed and Eddie showed up. That dealer became part of Clarks downfall.

 

Pretty sure poor Clark won very very little. Out of his $22,000 loss, I would be surprised if he bet $25,000 in total.

Then there is theo. Money bet on big wheel would get lots of points,but probably not even tracked. After all, they like to see hours of play.

Now that I think about, he bounced around alot and in todays world, would not have been tracked at all. Not counting some slot play, he would have zero points. Back in the day though, a pit critter would be open to giving him some buffet comps without actually rating him.

 

Wiki gets the $22600 directly from a statement by Clark.

Nick

 

$22,600 is the figure he gave Ellen. I believe that's before Cousin Eddie lent him some money from the buried coffee cans in their yard. He went on to lose Cousin Eddie's money at what looked like The Klondike. The family gathers at MGM and Ellen gathers whatever they've got including loose change, they bet it on Keno and lose. But, Sid Caesar next sitting next to them won on his ticket and promptly died after talking about how he had nobody and what a sweet family they were etc. So, they took his winning keno ticket. Only after the vow renewal and Clark pays back Cousin Eddie the money he owes him do we find out that Rusty has won 4 cars at various "win a car" slot machines.

$22600 is the only solid number we've got for Clark's losses, all at the Mirage. The movie was filmed in 1996. Your question is what level of comps would that get him with Mlife. The way my little mind works, I ask myself what kind of comps it would have got him in 1996 when it was a Wynn property. Also, Rusty was on a hot streak as "Nick Papageorgio from Yuma Arizona". How much did Rusty win? It looked like his hot streak was at the Riviera. But when Ellen and Clark find him it looks like that comped suite is at the Mirage. Anyway, how much did Rusty win and lose to get those kinds of comps?

 

Yep - slipped on that one. Been a few years since stats.

Bill

 

$22600 is the figure he gave to Cousin Eddie and perhaps Ellen as well.

Nick

 

Rusty is put up in a 1-bedroom "Lanai" villa at the Mirage - that is exactly what they used to look like [possibly still do?], so they either filmed it on location or built an exact replica on a set somewhere - and although the pit critter tells him "they're very impressed with his play" before offering him the suite, to me it is uncertain whether this is actually because of his own play or because "Jilly from Philly" wanted to keep him around as a lucky charm & therefore had him added to his entourage - this kind of getting put up in a villa for one heater at the tables almost never happens in real life, even in 1996.

To get more into the theoretical - we are talking 1996, so yes things were getting more corporate, but still a time when players clubs & play tracking [as compared to today] were a bit more in their infancy, so I'd imagine that Clark could've gotten a 100% comp on his stay for a $22.6K loss - they only had two adjoining rooms, and did not appear to be shown eating much from what I can remember, except at the coffee house.

As for what was Clark actually betting? I'm pretty sure I paid attention to this in the past and noticed he was playing green ($25) chips, usually a few - maybe $75 a hand - so if he lost every hand, that would work out to about 300 hands, or only about 5 hours of play figuring 60 hands/hour at BJ. So let's give him the doubt & say he averaged 4 hours a day @ $75 hand at BJ, he would have a daily theo of $180 day or so at a 1% HA - though depending on what kind of BJ he was playing, HA could be lower than 1% - and 40% of $180 would give him $72/day in comps - pretty shitty for losing $22.6K if you think about it.

Regardless though, I think it's safe to assume that back in the Vegas of '96, a $22.6K loss would've easily gotten him two rooms and a few meals a day comped fairly easily - that is, if Clark even knew to ask.

But the one thing that's always bugged me is, how did he lose $22.6K in the first place? I mean, he apparently doesn't have a line or FM if he's cashing checks at the front desk, and I have to wonder - would any hotel let someone cash $22.6K in checks in one trip? Seems kind've high [although I guess it's also possible that at some point Clark did open a LOC or wire in some FM, but then again, it's a movie, so really all of this conjecture is just silly, isn't it? LOL]

 

I like this thread !
Because I love that movie !
.
But as I'm thinking about the $22,600 -- I realized
I was mixing up Chevy Chase movies.
I was thinking Clark got the $22,600 from his Christmas Bonus ?
Wrong !
That was "Christmas Vacation" movie.
.
oh well......
.
"How much did you lose, Clark ?"
"Oh ?.....I'm about even."

 

In Xmas Vacation his bonus was enough for the down payment or deposit on the swimming pool he wanted. I don't know if they ever gave an actual dollar figure. But, he had a whole Fantasy scene about the swimming pool. And the swimming pool guy called Clark to ask him if he had his deposit so he could keep his spot when spring comes. He was going to surprise the family with the news about getting a pool for Xmas.

 

The carefully crafted movie establishes that Clark does have, and makes use of, cheque cashing priveleges at the Mirage. He has access to additional funds through the ATM. We have to assume that Clark also brought a suitable bankroll with him in cash or traveller's cheques.

If Clark had gotten subsequent Christmas bonuses of similar amounts that enable him to pay for the installation of a swimming pool, I think it is reasonable to assume that his bank account would be healthy enough to support both significant cheque cashing (perhaps $10,000) and ATM withdrawals (maybe $5000 to $7,000?) to supplement whatever cash or negotiables he brought with him (say $5000 to $7000 - not unreasonable for a family of 4 staying at an upscale resort for an unspecified lengthy of time in Las Vegas).

He may also have sold off 5 or 10 of those Silver Strike coins that had been rattling around in various drawers in Chicago since 1989.

 

Let's also not forget that Clark sold their airline tix as well - making it perfect for the four of them to drive all of Rusty's cars he won home. :wink

 

When he gave Ellen the rundown, I believe he said he liquidated the kids college funds. The airline tickets, the checking account, the savings account, the college funds. I don't remember what else. And then he gave her the total.

 

Clark told Eddie that he lost $22,600, and Eddie had an over the top reply, "Oh God, Oh God.... "

Am I the only one that rememebers that scene?

Nick