I have just over 20k points, enough to snag a $25 Match Play at Park MGM for my trip in a few weeks. I noticed the $25 Freeplay is WAY more points, and requires a stay at the hotel. Besides the match play only being used on blackjack, am I missing some key flaw with the match play? If I understand correctly. I place a $25 bet and the $25 match play. I win, I get $50. If I lose the hand, I lose my $25... right? Also, I already redeemed 15k points for $15 match play. Any issue with having two matchplay rewards at Park MGM?
free play is better because the value (expected value) of the play is the same (for simplification purposes about 50 percent of the face value of the coupon) but you don't have to risk any of your own money
At the same amount, free play is always better than match play. Let's assume 90% return on slots and 98% return on blackjack: - With free play, your expected return is --> $25 x 0.90 = $22.50 - With match play, your expected return is --> $50 x 0.49 + -$25 x 0.51 = $11.75 --> $50 is the likely profit you will make, less than half of the time (due to house edge) and -$25 is the likely loss you will encounter, more than half of the time. In addition, using a match play on blackjack is usually not a good idea, as you only get 1:1 payment for blackjack. This takes off some of the good returns on the game. Roulette is also bad idea as the return is less than 95%. The best play for a match play is betting pass line (or don't pass line) on craps.
I like your explanation and I would go with that. The OP indicated that he was concerned about the amount of points that he would have to redeem. The free play would also require a stay, which would almost certainly cause him to spend a lot more money. If points redeemed were equal, and no casino stay required, I would absolutely take the free play over the match play. I love free.