What if all comps went away?

We might quit after our next trip with the cost of airfare SKY ROCKETING......this past August it cost us (2 tickets) $575 for round trip airfare from the east coast to Vegas via Southwest......we want to return the first week of April as this is our favorite time in Vegas......cost for 2 round trip tickets are now $1110.00....that is redickulas......but we signed up for the SWA Credit Card so we should be able with the 50,000 points PLUS our already points saved to fly at no cost to us....but we will not be going again if the flights are over $850 in the future for 2 tickets to Vegas.

BTW we looked and the cheapest at ANYTIME to fly back to Vegas is $248 to Vegas and $258 back home...and that is for one person....now double that.....and your still talking over $1000.00

 

I'm not going to lie, it would cut me down to maybe 1-2 times every other year or so instead of 2x/year or more. We used to go alot more prior to kids, but we have cut back of Vegas becasue of kids, other travels plans, MGM opneing in Detroit, etc...

I love Vegas and the vibe/experience,etc... and it is a nice vacation, but with so many other casinos here in Michigan and elsewhere, why would I want to fly across the country to go to the desert when I can practically get the same treatment closer to home or in better location, i.e. carbibbean islands.

If the comps are the same in casino A and casino B: who cares if they are in the desert, my neighborhood, Caribbean, or Europe.

6:5 crappy BJ
full pay VP
single 0 roulette
etc, etc...

I can go to NY to get the shows, golf is better and less expensive here in Michgan and every other golf destiantion, there has to be 40+ casinoes within a 5 hr drive from Detroit. My wife/I do not shop in Vegas, so that is not a problem. I have been to the Hoover Dam, Red Rock, etc.. they are nice but not nice enough for me to have to make a special trip for them.

The ability to get comped for things other then drinks, the lure of a big win, neon lights, etc... is what keeps us going to Vegas.

Just my two cents.......

 

Sure, semantics. And I pay way more than that sometimes. I once had a $2000 glass of scotch, and another time I had two waters for $375 each.

But up front, it's free.

 

Interestingly, the thought of no more free drinks while gambling, may come to pass one day. Gary Loveman, CEO of the Ceasars group was quoted in a September 7th Financial Times article, as saying; If it was up to him, he would rather not serve free alcohol to people while they play. If he and other CEO's are starting to think this way, maybe we will see a change on the casino floor.

 

So, by the looks on this thread, the majority of you think you are "Entitled" to your FREE rooms.

(Just kidding)

 

Only if all the casinos in town colluded to do it at the same time...

 

I'd go less. My budget would probably shrink in half and would mean I would either have to do shorter trips or cut down my bets. Both of which would probably remove some of the entertainment I get in Vegas.

The good thing is I don't see this happening.

 

Actually, I dont think its the majority of us. Only about 47%! HAHA!

 

I'd still go, just not as often. You keep going back to maintain your tier, or to not lose express comps, etc. If that wasn't there, I'd probably be checking out other places, like Atlantis.

 

Probably would make one last trip to see the national parks and outlying areas. The airfare is already killing me and I hate that the strip is so focused on clubs and drinks and not gaming. I would probably be better off using the money seeing other parts of the country that currently get short shrift now compared to Vegas. I can gamble without the promise of comps but I can't spend all that money to do it.

 

we dont get free rooms, but decent rates....but even without that. Its hard to be beat the deals we get in Vegas. Every time it comes to planning a vacation and I start looking to do something else, NOTHING beats going to Vegas cost wise... Last year we went 3 times. Only one time was comped, 5 nights at Planet Hollywood. This year, due to family obligations we have only made it once, last week. But we are now faced with planning something for our December vacation. What I thought was a lock into going to Key West, now looks like we are going back to Vegas. Now I will say, the more we go the less we spend on the strip (or even downtown). We just make Vegas a starting point and make day trips. So yes even with the small comps we get and the 2.00 drinks when we do gamble, its hard to say NO. Simple answer yes, we would and will continue to go!

Kelli

 

Good point on airfare.

I can actually see an impact already in my Vegas trips due to poor comps/high airfare.

In 2010 I was pretty busy but still made 10 trips because I included some weekend 2-nighters on comp offers good enough to make up for the airfare.

In 2011 I completely cut out the weekend trips and only made 5 trips, one of which was a drive, another 2 were simply add-ons to trips to Phoenix and San Diego. (edit: oh yeah another was an add-on to my brothers wedding in Boulder)....so only 1 true free-standing trip out the whole year.

In 2012, I've only been once, and only plan to return once. The June trip was purely based on the generous Mlife corporate offer they had last summer. My December trip is based on a Wynn offer, hadn't even planned to go before receiving that comp.

I'll amend my earlier post of cutting back trips. I think I would find it very hard to pull the trigger at all on a $500 flight and another $750-$1,000 for a nice room. I might actually be looking at more like a bi-annual trip or once every few years. Once Vegas gets more expensive up front than a week long Caribbean cruise, its kind of pointless.

 

Like others have said, I would definitely go less often. By the time we are actually in the casino, we are likely out $1000 in airfare, another $50 for parking at the airport, cab or limo to the hotel plus tip, etc etc. It's a lot cheaper to drive to Louisiana (although, I despise that drive). We would also probably just eat in one nice restaurant each trip instead of 3 or 4.

 

Comps are merely the lettering on the frosting of a big cake IMO and SOME also IMO take them way too damn seriously. Lets put it this way before I pulled my head outta my ass and quit going I never got any comps from the Indian casinos here and damn sure played WAY more than I have in LV, yet I kept going because I liked the gambling, which SUCKS compared to LV. Long as I get free drinks thats all the comps I need.