CET vs MGM Coin-In Platinum/Diamond Calc

I could be working on important business right now, but who wants to do that when I have Vegas on the brain? :evillaugh

The purpose of this thread is to have somebody else check my math, because I think I might be off.

So, I've taken the last year mostly off welcoming a child into the world but before that I often maintained Diamond with CET and Platinum with MGM. I have been downgraded for lack of gaming on both, but I was going to wade back in. I am mostly a table player but I relate the programs based on Coin-In because it's so much easier to calculate.

So here's my math:
To achieve Diamond (for 2 years if achieved this week, Expires March 2015)
15,000 Tier Credits
Easiest way to achieve that is 2,500TC/day for 2 days. Each 2,500TC day gives a 5,000 TC bonus and 2 days gives 15,000 for Diamond.
CET gives 1 TC for $5 slot or $10VP
So to get Diamond you need to coin-in $25,000 slot or $50,000 VP

For Platinum (1 year)
200,000TC.
They give multipliers of 1.1x @ Pearl (25,000) and 1.2x @ Gold (75,000).
No single-day bonuses.
MGM gives 10TC for $3 slot coin-in and $10for VP
So to get Platinum (little bit more complicated):
$7500 to reach pearl
$16,500 more to reach Gold (with 1.1x for 50k points)
$45,000 more to reach Platinum (with 1.2x for 125k points)
So $69,000 coin-in on slots for and rounding $175 for VP.

I consider Diamond and Platinum about the same tier and benefits. (One tier above, same type of priority at most places etc) Others can argue which gives more, but is my math above right? Roughly 3x the coin in with MGM over CET?

 

The cruise is cool and all in another thread, but without taking into account variance, the extra $125,000 coin in needed for Platinum on a full pay 9/6 JOB with perfect play is $575 in Theo. But you've got to multiply that by 2 because MGM status is good for 1 year whereas if I went to Diamond this week I would be good for this year and next, expiring in March 2015. That's $1150 taking into account 2 years. Hardly worth a $1200 cruise if you swap benefits out.

 

I just looked back at my play at ARIA over last Halloween. I had $48,000 coin-in, mostly playing slots where it's $10 for 10TC based on the type of slots I end up playing (Top Dollar, Wheel of Fortune, and VP). I only earned 60,000 TCs, but got them to correct it and ended up with 180,000 TCs. So, $69k coin-in may reach Platinum.

 

Your math is right. But you have to remember you are comparing the normal route to Platinum with MGM (since there is only a normal route) versus the most efficient route to Diamond with CET. Under CET's normal route (i.e. without the Bonus TCs) the difference is much smaller ($175k at MGM vs $150k at CET for VP players). Most of the tier benefits look roughly the same between the two but MGM's are used at superior properties which is worth something. Also this new news about the free cruise for Platinum members is worth quite a lot in terms of just a simple tier benefit - in fact its worth more than probably all other tier benefits combined if you actually use it.

If you were getting 10 TCs for $10 coin-in (or 1 for 1) how did they "correct it" to give you 180,000 TCs for $48k coin-in? Even the 60k TCs you originally had would be more than the 1 for 1 rate. Did they decide the slots you played weren't worth just 1 for 1? Also how did you get your total coin-in data? Did the MLife desk give that to you in person or on the phone? I never asked them for coin-in while I was there at Aria this past weekend but they gave me the data for my table play so I should have asked about coin-in on VP as well but neglected to.

 

Interesting calculation, but isn't really apples to apples, since you take the most optimistic assumptions (time of year benefit achieved, route to Diamond) for CET Diamond.

I would think if your level of play is enough to hit the most optimistic Diamond scenario, your ADT would be high enough that your comps would dwarf any tier benefits.

I could be wrong, but its always seemed to me that tiers are more for the grinders (people that play often, but not necessarily that high). They get more potential from the benefits (being at the casino more days), and benefits are higher relative to their comps/offers.

So assume you are grinding those tier credits out over, say, 25 days throughout a calendar year, and then what do you get for each program?
Assuming your play is fairly flat in terms of daily coin-in, that would take about 12375 tier credits (you hit the 500 tier bonus on 21 of the days). Which would then take $61875 coin in on slots (or 123750 on VP) for one year of benefits.

And of course your CET worst case with no bonuses would then be 75k/150k.

Just puttin that out there.

 

is it not cheaper doing diamond in a day

 

Well, if its 2 years it is 2 cruises. Also, can you find a full pay VP at CET?

But of course, just as with comps, you'd want to discount the "benefit value" of the free cruise based on if you would have done it anyway (and the various expenses you incur taking the cruise).

 

i'm primarily a bacc player (hehe you can see in my username)

If I only play 4 hours a single day, what's the average bet in bacc do I need at CET to reach the 2500 tier credits (and hit the 5K bonus, thus yielding 7500) ?

 

With the bonus system that they've instituted, absolutely not. I believe DIAD is now 4,000TC in a day and it's only good until the following March. So if I went to Caesars for example, I could coin-in 4,000TC and have Diamond through March 2014 or coin-in 5,000 over 2 days and and have it through March 2015.

 

I did my DIAD on $5 JOB, full pay in Caesars high limit room.

Would do it via 2 days of 2,500 points on lower denom now if I were to do it.

Those Mlife cruises aren't worth $1,200 per my research they varied from $299-$429, none of the newer ships involved and all the choices available are either western caribbean or bahamas. (no eastern caribbean, those must all be 7 day cruises).

 

Well, I guess I am making some assumptions, but some parameters have to be set. Let's use a less direct method for CET. Let's say you accumulate all the points in one day, not granting the 2nd bonus day. You would still be "forced" into getting 1 day's bonus of 5,000 points, you would have to accumulate 10,000TC or $50,000 coin-in slots, $100,000 in VP. That's still far below MGM. Plus it is still kind of apples because MGM spreads their bonus out more where CET gives it in lump sums, they still have some formula for bonus/multipliers. I agree, Tiers are more set for grinders. I'm not personally a grinder, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to take the most efficient way from A->B (making personal observation about myself.)

 

They've made it 5000 points for DIAD and bonus tier credits don't count towards it. They've effectively eliminated any logical reason to do DIAD, in fact the only reason I imagine they are even keeping the program alive is to be able to award a big new player who unintentionally makes DIAD through heavy play. Doing it on purpose is frankly just dumb. As you said, you can do the same 5000 coin-in over 2 days now and have Diamond for an entire year longer.

 

I feel like Platinum at Mlife is almost completely worthless as the primary line cutting benefit is available at lower tiers. Diamond at CET gets you two very tangible benefits-- -Diamond Lounges and preferential drink options at the tables.

Anyone ever see that little numbered disk they put on the table games when you give your diamond card? I believe that is how they communicate to the cocktail servers that you are "ok for the goose"

 

For Platinum (1 year)
200,000TC.
They give multipliers of 1.1x @ Pearl (25,000) and 1.2x @ Gold (75,000).
No single-day bonuses.
MGM gives 10TC for $3 slot coin-in and $10for VP
So to get Platinum (little bit more complicated):
$7500 to reach pearl
$16,500 more to reach Gold (with 1.1x for 50k points)
$45,000 more to reach Platinum (with 1.2x for 125k points)
So $69,000 coin-in on slots for and rounding $175 for VP.
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Your MGM numbers are wrong for coin in
Pearl is correct
Gold is $13,637 coin in 13637/3=4545.666*10TC *1.1 multiplier = 50,000 Tier
Plat is $31,250 coin in 31250/3= 10416.66*10TC *1.2 multiplier = 125,000Tier

So its $52,387 coin in for regular slots

 

Anyone comparing these two needs to actually compare what you get and what it is worth to them.

Diamond Lounge, line hopping, cruise, etc is sometimes worth ZERO to some people. Write down what it is worth to YOU.

And, what many are missing, is the other comps that come with ADT that are NOT part of tier. After all, a lower level player can get comps that blow things away with a good adt vs a NOIR/Diamond with low ADT.

 

This is true. However, I've seen the kinda comps a player get if they earn points the way mentioned for Diamond in the OP's post and it's nothing to sneeze at, especially some of the discretionary comps. I am assuming that the OP is used to playing in that way already or else it would take more than one trip to fully realize the comp potential.

 

Agreed. Me, personally I like the Diamond lounges and discounts on things I use, like Qua. So CET fits my profile more. The big argument for MGM is that the hotels are nicer. To your point again, I am just about as happy at Bally's as I am at Encore, so the hotels don't hold value to me. Maybe I'm weird like that but I tailor my weekend trips to the hotel. More Bud Lite at Bally's, more Chimay at Encore. I've just been out of it some months and was kind of shocked when I saw the coin in to achieve what I believe to be similar levels. Just surprised me from a numbers/apples standpoint.

 

Ya, Diamond is not tough in a trip. I am a weekender from SoCal, so 2 days of 1,000 hands of $5JOB is doable. Was just surprised by the numbers I thought the same level took mathematically in coin-in. Going in mid-Feb and was thinking about doing 2 25k JOB coin-ins at Caesars (or a bit more). I'm kind of curious how they'll value that going forward. More used to the amenities than the casino.