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Mlife March 1st Changes

Discussion in 'Comps' started by UKFanatic, Jan 2, 2013.

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  1. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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  2. CaptainJack

    CaptainJack Low-Roller

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    My take is that anyone who plays at a level where they get a loss rebate on the amount owed on their credit line will not accrue Express Comps. Of course, this doesn't apply to 99% of the readers of this forum...and the 1% that it does apply to often don't care what their Express Comp balance is as their host takes care of everything they need given their level of play.

    FWIW, the times I've qualified for a "reduction in my gaming indebtedness" has been when I've lost over $20k in a trip...even then it's not a done deal.
     
  3. Kickin

    Kickin Flea

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    Yeah that's what the first item seems to mean. The second just says if you're late on paying back your markers you would forfeit express comps. Though I suspect any gambler in debt to a casino has bigger worries then that. :nono:
     
  4. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    That's how I read it too. Just seems a bit strange, though. I thought high rollers running up a ton of EC and buying expensive bottles of wine with it was the reasons they established the EC limits on October 1. Why take away those High Roller EC even further? Don't understand it
     
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  5. 44inarow

    44inarow VIP Whale

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    This is how I'm reading it, too. #2 makes plenty of sense; #1 is logical for the reason CaptainJack mentioned, but I have a feeling it's still going to cause a stir, considering how riled up people get about their Express Comps (which I've never fully understood, but so be it).
     
  6. BeeeJay

    BeeeJay President of The Red Lobster Hostess Satisfaction

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    Another lame attempt to trim that Accrued Promotional Expense Payable liability account and avoid breaking debt covenents by reducing current liabilities.

    I find it especially bizarre they would publish THIS on their lame website, as opposed to, I don't know, making it possible to complete a reservation online?!?!?

    just another sign they are headed down. glad to see their properties sold off to multiple operators and maybe a little competition on the strip. maybe get rid of some of the 6/5 crap.
     
  7. Kickin

    Kickin Flea

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    BeeeJay your post piqued my interest to check out their last 10-K (2011). Express comps are indeed recorded as liabilities (discounted by some internal cost factor and by ECs not expected to be redeemed). Unfortunately I don't see them broken out anywhere, looks like they're hidden in "Other gaming related accruals".

    Something crazy I noticed is they're holding over $111 million in peoples' front money! Nice way for them to earn some interest for free....I'm assuming they don't pay you the interest they earn on your front money right?
     
  8. y2mulder

    y2mulder Low-Roller

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    Its amazing. They started the express comps program a couple years ago, and then literally have enacted 100 new policies to reduce how you earn them.

    Its like they never even tested the program in the first place, or ran a single computer simulation. So now, it's this monster genie they are trying to get back in a bottle.
     
  9. Naturaleight

    Naturaleight MIA

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    LOL... You can always count on BeeJay to chime in for a good Mlife slamming.

    Though you do make a great point about the website. It's ridiculous already. Not sure why such a reputable company with so much to lose having a crappy website hasn't fixed it.
     
  10. Boone

    Boone Tourist

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    I brought this up in the Oct. MLIFE changes thread. It was a bad system for them to adopt as on a P&L they have to show the Express Comps as a liability since they are issuing it to their customers on a statement. A basic comp as you go system is so much smoother in my opinion. You don't have to work with the guidelines of a set program if you don't establish it!
     
  11. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    They have always had a crappy website, dating back to the Players Club days. Not an excuse, it should be better. I guess my expectations are so lowered for MGM's online pressence that I just expect it to suck. Now I'm going to go get on the geocities site Wynn is using for his hotel :Þ
     
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  12. BeeeJay

    BeeeJay President of The Red Lobster Hostess Satisfaction

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    Vegas is a textbook example of how reduced competition hurts not only consumers, but eventually the business owners themselves.

    I can see people being bullish on the new Vegas based on clubgoers, etc. I can't see anything but degrading earnings on the gaming front. They are hitting the high rollers just as hard as the low rollers now that they are combining the 6/5 crap with these chincy comp cutbacks on their most profitable players.

    Just my opinion, but I think the path for success in Vegas was always offer lots of reasonable games, great service, and great comps, and just depend on gamblers to blow their money on the carny bets in the end.

    Tightening up the games and the comps like they have makes it tougher to get people in the door. When I am drunk and having fun I have no problem throwing $100 on those 17% house advantage bets. But when I'm sitting sober at my house deciding where to go on vacation, its a little more difficult to justify the $500 flight for 6/5 when I've got a brand new 9/6 casino 5 minutes away.

    Personally, I think Vegas is in a death-spiral until the next reinvention event occurs.
     
  13. shiny

    shiny Low-Roller

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    Agree! It appears that VMB has just a few genuine high rollers who have posted photos of their winnings and losses (for instance, Natedogg and CaptainJack).
     
  14. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    I see so many people playing 6/5, I doubt the casinos have any incentive to change that anytime soon. I think they attribute the reduced spending in vegas on the overall economy (and they are, at least, partly right about that). Wynn seemed to figure out that becoming a vodka distribution center was the fastest way to separate people from their money in Vegas. Gaming is no longer king on the Strip.

    I wouldn't say Vegas is in a death spiral, but I agree changes have to be made to keep certain segments of customers. To me, the biggest problem was the decision (I think started by Adelson years ago) to monetize every aspect of the vegas experience. Hotel rooms were no longer a loss leader. Corporations decided to squeeze every penny they could from every visitor, and these changes to EC for high rollers is emblamatic of that
     
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  15. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Oh, and I did get an email response from my host this morning. Not his words exactly, but he confirmed these changes are targeted at the high rollers
     
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  16. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    Based on the wording on the website- it is surely focused on high rollers.

    You know those guys, with $20,000 in EC sitting out there, and earning $5,000 more per trip. I am waiting to see rules that regulate how they are spent next.
     
  17. Funkhouser

    Funkhouser In Charge of the Big Door

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    EXACTLY! With Steve-O and the other owners getting old and decrepit, I don't
    see any new and innovated leaders in Vegas. The place may head down the
    S@$THOLE path that AC became (No offense to AC fans).

    I find less and less appealing about the place each year, except for the debauchery I witness and the free booze (Can't get that in the Midwest).

    The big corps can't fail fast enough for me. If more downtown joints could get to Golden Nugget quality in appearance and thin out the undesirables, I'd stop going to the strip.
     
  18. Tellafriend

    Tellafriend MIA

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    This is really, really bad for folks who play high and often lose. So, I'm sitting with $36k in express comps and have been for a while. That figure hasn't incresed in months. I returned from the Beau yesterday and it didn't budge despite a theo that should have moved it higher $5k. The reason this sucks is b/c when i lose more than a minimal amount i get a 5% rebate for timely payment. So, now if i were to lose $50k, then I'd get a $2500 rebate but they'd then snatch the same amount to reduce my express comps. Here's the problem however: we as players used to get 40% of our theo. now, at least at the Beau they have cut it to 30% (mostly b/c of no high end competition). Of that 22% is for primary and 8% for EC. So what MGM has done is to reduce my comp level from 40% to 22% b/c i don't get/accrue EC and even if i did, they can take the one's I've built up for my "magical mlife moment" to cover what used to be standard practice (5% loss rebate; plus in the good ole days -circa 2009- they would also give me 4% in promos coming in for timely payment.

    I think i'm just going to go out there and buy a case of screaming eagle and be done with this mess. Its gotten too knit picky -- and its all b/c they listened and want to improve my experience.
     
  19. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    This is exactly why these new changes are nonsense. The October changes already placed a cap on EC for high rollers. Why take away what is already capped?? I guess it forces the high rollers to spend down their EC before March. Wouldn't they rather take that hit spread out over a year rather than in the first two months??
     
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  20. BlueSkadoo

    BlueSkadoo VMB Sweetheart

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    I think its time for our VMB Private Party with the ladies of Fantasy! :beer:
     
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