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Is sharing, daring?

Discussion in 'Misc. Vegas Chat' started by Snowbelle3, Feb 18, 2013.

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  1. sco5123

    sco5123 VIP Whale

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    Everyone has their "secrets". From strategies, hotel deals, favorite machines, favorite hang outs that you would not want too many people to know about so you can keep it to yourself, connections, experiences, etc...the thought is, if everyone knew, the value would be gone, the rates would go up, the deal would disappear, the casino would find out, the machines would be replaced, etc. we all have something to lose probably.

    I share 99% of what happens in vegas for me. I will admit too that things that were shared best kept secrets did disappear. But I still go on sharing...

    do you really think sharing information has a negative effect? Someone taught others how to win at bj by counting and there is retribution by the casino. Many people here have voiced that if something were really good, people would not share it. Why?
     
  2. Tbone3336

    Tbone3336 VIP Whale

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    I think it goes to the idea that when someone writes a book on how to win in the stock market or gambling, people ask, why are you selling a book instead of just making all the money off the scheme you wrote about. I know most of the deals we get here are free advice, but similar situation, once it is out there and the casino sees it is being taken advantage of to much, it goes away.

    But yeah most good things are only short lived anyway so I would offer any advice to someone else as long as it was not illegal, even if a short while later it was no longer available.
     
  3. LV_Bound

    LV_Bound VIP Whale

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    With how quickly information moves nowadays I can't image there is too much out there that only a few people from which are benefiting.
     
  4. numeno

    numeno VIP Whale

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    The number of people that are on this board is just a drop in the bucket compared to the number of people that go to Vegas. Information does spread, I'm jut not sure it spreads as quickly as some believe.


    I expect most deals are going away because casinos try something and it might not be paying off as expected so they try something different. Gone are the days where they will just keep taking a loss on a promo with the hope that the people coming in are gambling more money.
     
  5. Nevyn

    Nevyn VIP Whale

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    I don't think I've ever held something back (a vegas deal or vegas info) because I was afraid of the deal going away.

    I mean, if I figured out a system to beat a game that was practical and low risk for me, I wouldn't be telling anyone.

    But how to get the best comp/meal/game/room upgrade/etc? I don't sweat it.
     
  6. mike_m235

    mike_m235 Tourist

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    The one thing that got shared and killed that I wish hadn't...a few years back you could play video blackjack and MLife counted it as coin in the same way they do video poker. But it was blackjack with great rules, so the house edge was .3% with reasonably low variance. You could jam in a ton of coin in with very little expected loss after freeplay and generate good comps.

    People figured it out, and not everyone plays these things smart. People get greedy and have no concept of cover play, or things like that. They just pound the advantage and kill it. Now you don't get points for those games. Word would eventually get out anyway, but it got out faster by people spreading it.

    That's the cycle of life with any good play.

    As far as a restaurant or a spot or an upgrade...I'd share all that in a heartbeat.
     
  7. ardee

    ardee It's only money.

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    Sharing information can have a negative effect when it comes from a dubious, out-dated or misinformed source.

    It's always a good idea to take the stuff that piques our interest and do a little research for ourselves before
    accepting shared information as fact.
     
  8. JDinTN

    JDinTN MIA

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    A couple of months ago someone started a thread about a great deal they found and booked at Vdara. Apparently it was due to some computer glitch that was only showing up for a moment and he booked it. The glitch was fixed before this poster even posted about it. Yet he would not give anyone any details about the offer -- not the price or anything. But nevertheless he kept bumping up the thread to talk about it and that he was nervous it might not be honored, then bump it up again to say he spoke with them and they would honor it and told him he got really lucky, and bump it up again and again. People kept asking him for the price -- since he constantly mentioned it was an amazing deal -- yet he refused presumably because he was worried others would try to get the same deal. Which is stupid since it was a computer glitch.

    I can't find the thread now. I think it was deleted because me and some others criticized him for constantly bumping up a thread where it essentially sounded like he was "bragging" about a deal he found without sharing a single detail about it.

    My point being -- if you do have a great deal that for some reason you don't feel like sharing with people that is your decision. But don't brag about it to others without giving them any details. That's just flat out pathetic.
     
  9. kel3420

    kel3420 VIP Whale

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    The only thing I have shared and then kicked myself in the head about was how to guarantee patio seating at Olives at Bellagio. We went there our last trip and there was actually someone before me in line for the first time EVER lol. I SO wanted to ask them if they were on this board. :Þ

    :beer::beer::beer:
     
  10. Big Tip

    Big Tip VIP Whale

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    I always share. As stated above, I don't think the amount of people on this board, will "move the line" (sports book reference). There's just not that many folks here in the grand scheme of things.

    If there was that many people here, then 6/5 blackjack and resort fees would have gone away by now!
     
  11. C0usineddie

    C0usineddie VIP Whale

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    It can be dangerous to share too much.

    Look at the $20 trick. its almost expected by hotel workers now. If you get away without it you are one of the few.

    It seems that once we start sharing too much, they raise the prices.

    Remember the .99 shrimp cocktail at golden gate? i just read here the other day that the ellis island steak special has gone up in price as well.

    maybe just coincedence but i dont know.
     
  12. Buddha

    Buddha VIP Whale

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    The trip reports are often a good source of information, depending on how much the writer wants to share. I try to write a lot of my reports just for that reason ... regarding the offers that we're getting & using, what we play in the casino, how much we play, what comps we receive, and the many coupons we use (dining, free-play, matchplays, entertainment). Weekly and monthly LV promotions don't mean much in a report, though, as by the time you write about it, the promo is over.

    Also beneficial is information on booking & re-booking airfare, in my case with the Southwest Airlines system, as well as booking rental cars with promotional codes and procedures, and also hotel information.

    There's always a lot we can learn from each other. How often do you read where someone posts, "I never knew that !!"
     
  13. chef

    chef Resident Buffetologist

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    For those us that come from the food service industry, there has always been an unwritten rule about not sharing recipes or so-called secret ingredients.
    Not only is that childish, but very selfish.
    If I'm put here on earth to help my fellows, shouldn't I allow them reap the rewards of what I have found.
    If it is good stuff I am sharing, not only will they gain from it, but I will too by that act of sharing.
     
  14. kel3420

    kel3420 VIP Whale

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    Chef, that is interesting about the unwritten rule. I went to a restaurant in Aruba once and had a fabulous seafood stew. Once we got home, I wrote the chef, complimenting him and asking for the recipe NEVER expecting a response. But he did and sent me recipe. There was some special liquor I had to purchase that I had never heard of and never in a million years would have learned about elsewhere. I always thought it was so nice of him

    But in regards to Vegas and a previous question, after 41 or more trips to my favorite place, I LOVE reading something that I didn't know and can't wait to try. I would hazard a guess that the vast majority of my Vegas knowledge has come from discussion boards and fellow travelers. Thanks all!!
     
  15. sco5123

    sco5123 VIP Whale

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    A number of things I have shared has gone in the garbage. But most likely it's because of more than just me sharing it.

    For example Wild Wild West was $20 bucks permanently year-round on the weekend nights through hostelworld.com and I shared it in a trip report. Two months later, it's $50 on the weekend year-round permanently (and it has not let up...or down). To some this may not be a "deal" lol but WWW has a comfy bed and for a $20 weekend even during March Madness, it was a steal.

    Another time was when I discussed the Lucky Lucky side bet in Gold Coast (an amazing side bet that actually paid regularly)...and literally 2 months later it was removed from all BJ tables. That post even had a link about how costly that bet was to the casino. In fact, every time I went to those tables, I saw the whole table playing that side bet.

    Again, it is probably not caused by a single individual sharing but by several people sharing. After all, look at the changes in myvegas! I bet that there would not have been such a drastic change if people did not brag online about how much they were getting (even though the myvegas crew may have known all the inventory being used and by whom). Had it just been between the myvegas crew and the benefactors, there may not have been these current restrictions. Businesses like to keep their special deals limited and not a free-for-all.

    Perhaps sharing is daring, and there is a cost for what we divulge.
     
  16. KellyLovesVegas

    KellyLovesVegas Earthling/retired space nerd

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    I always enjoy reading the responses to your thought-provoking questions, Sco.

    In my case, many years ago on another board I was flamed ruthlessly for being "spoiled" and my "pampered" trips. So while I may share some broad-brush information about my trips, I don't go into a lot of details.

    My policy now is "you do Vegas your way, I'll do Vegas my way". I try not to be critical of the opinions of other posters in the hope they take the same "live and let live" attitude toward mine. :peace:
     
  17. BlueSkadoo

    BlueSkadoo VMB Sweetheart

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    Nothing wrong with being spoiled and pampered! :cheers:
     
  18. woodsie

    woodsie VIP Whale

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    If I ever found a machine that paid to the point the casino would pull it if they found out, I wouldn't have to worry about sharing because I would never leave it, and I don't even like slots.
     
  19. GA Redneck

    GA Redneck Low-Roller

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    What's you're secret? LOL! :thumbsup:
     
    VEGAS BABY!
  20. Vegas Insight

    Vegas Insight MIA

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    Online sharing: good and bad.

    When it comes to deals, such as the "off the menu" special at Ellis Island, I presume they want people talking about it, people taking advantage of it. And had it not been for this forum, perhaps I'd never know about it. Now I've had it more than once, and have since graduated to their BBQ dinners, which are better than the $8.99 steak dinner. Ellis Island owes many of you a thank you for driving me to their property repeatedly.

    At the local level, I use more than one local deal site for tips on how to get great deals on groceries and other items at the local grocery store. I don't like to brag about a great deal I find on my own at a local retailer, unless it was a one-time purchase, as I don't want the deal to dry up. I'm a hypocrite that way.

    All that sharing about how to get grocery/household items for free (or better than free, occasionally) has come at a price. Thanks to the Internet you can now get dozens of coupons for the same product delivered to your door for a buck or two in many cases. (A friend of mine is an extreme couponer and does this periodically.) The local grocery stores now have a policy limiting your redemption to two or four of the same coupon per transaction, and that's because the deal sites would tell people how to get something for 20 cents per item and people would then go with 50 coupons and clean the shelves of the product.

    While most visitors don't care, a small subset of Vegas visitors know how to max out their comps with minimal risk. That usually doesn't encourage casinos to give out more comps, but probably doesn't influence much of what they do, either. Sure, they misjudge or make mistakes, but casinos know what they're doing more often than not.

    Where I do worry that sharing hurts the most is the coupon world. I'm not talking about 50 cents off pasta coupons, I'm talking about ACG coupons.

    Example: I use to buy the local Entertainment book. I swapped a couple of coupons with my mother. Soon I realized people swap those coupons via online classified sites. I was able to procure several coupons for a restaurant near my office. I didn't use them 5 days a week, but I used them repeatedly throughout the year. Guess what, they were gone from the book the next year.

    A few years ago I showed up with the Entertainment coupon for a local pizza joint. Although the book was only a few months old, the sign on the door said it was not being honored. I turned around and left. I decided I should email and find out why the coupon was in the book, yet not being honored. I was told that the pizza joint canceled its participation, but a coupon was printed in the new book anyway. Why did they cancel their coupon? Trading. They had people who came in every single week with a coupon for half off a pizza, the owner claimed.

    Different type of sharing, but it has a Vegas parallel.

    I am guilty of trading ACG coupons. People have bemoaned that the offers aren't as good as they use to be. I suspect that's in part because the Internet has allowed a higher percentage of the coupons to be redeemed every year. A few casinos require submission of the coupon at the club desk, and can therefore limit your redemption of the coupon to one per player card per year. Perhaps that's more of a hassle than its worth. I'd have to have a ton of $10 MPs to really impact a casino, but at the same time, if they're being abused, all it takes is one corporate honcho to say no to them and it's all over.

    Once again, I knew nothing of the ACG when I first went to Vegas in 1998. Had it not been for this board, I might not know about it today. Because of that book I have taken advantage of an occasional entertainment option I might not have spent money at, so the sharing has paid off for both the book publisher and area businesses, but those benefits have come at a bit of a price to some casinos, at least when I win with a MP.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 13, 2013
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