Hi folks, New poster, but I've been reading the boards for some time. Thought I'd get your advice on whether I should get a host. I'm not a slot player (every once in a while, I'll play to get rid of some bad juju) -- mostly just craps and blackjack. I bounce around casinos but prefer to stick to the mLife properties -- in fact, just hit mLife Platinum. I usually travel with 2-4 friends (not always the same friends) -- the suites that I've booked have helped me rack up TCs, though I'd say 60% of my TCs is from gambling. I've stayed at MGM and Mandalay, and have gambled considerably at those two places in addition to Luxor (where I will never actually stay -- I was just bored one day and ended up losing $2K at their craps tables and have been bombarded with marketing offers ever since). I usually bring in a bankroll of $6-8K. My last trip was to MGM, where I played $50-100/hand blackjack (more on the $50 side), and my craps average bet is somewhere between $150-200 per hand/roll/what have you. (Usually bet pass-line minimum, odds, place the inside for about $25-30/pop, and occasionally make a field bet for $25 or buy the 4 and 10 for $25. I also do $5 hardways on the even-numbered points, $10 on the C&E for the come-out roll (almost like an insurance policy) and always, always, always put $5 on a hardway for the dealers when there's an even-numbered point, with the occasional $10 C&E for the dealers if there's a dry spell of even points. I think this has helped my craps rating considerably.) I guess my question is -- does my play make me eligible for a casino host or make it worth his/her time? I ask because a floor manager suggested that I get a host -- I was playing $100/hand BJ at the time. For some frame of reference, my last trip was the first time I ever bothered calling Casino VIP to get comps on the back-end -- I got two of three nights comped in a Tower One Bedroom Suite. How do I go about finding a casino host? Should I just pick someone off the table games list at MGM? Thanks for your help. Sorry for the long read.
I would just call the casino and ask to be transferred to the host on duty. I sort of lucked into mine, I was visiting host on duty to get back end comps and they handed me their card and said to get in touch next time I came in. I play a similar style to you just at a slightly lower level.
I mainly play at the CET properties, but I'm sure there are people on this board who could recommend a host from MGM, then you can request to see that host at VIP Services. Just calling VIP Services won't get you the treatment a host can give you. My bankroll is typically less than $5k over 4-nights and I get every night free at PH with an upgraded room which is larger and has a strip view with full-length windows. I also get free-play (reduced from $300 to $150 in January but back up to $250 last month; don't know why it went back up). My host at CET upgrades my rooms which the on-line reservations don't allow me to do together with keeping my free-play reward. In fact he upgrades me to a better room than what I can get on-line, even without the free-play. And he is able to attach the free-play along with it. For your play, I think a host can help.
you should definitely do like Bayou said, call VIP and ask for the host on duty and start from there one question: you said $6-8K BR, but for how many days? and how many hours of play per day? most hosts take on players that give at least 4 hrs/day at X avg bet ($100/hand is usually the minimum to get noticed) as a table only/ no slot player I feel your pain Bacc/BJ/craps are the lowest edge games and if you're betting mostly smart, your rating is nowhere near what a slot player gets for the same BR also forget gold/plat/noir...that's not what a host is interested in, because like you said 40% of your tier is from room and restaurant spend they focus on your action, but any VIP clerk at any mlife office can give you your stats over the phone before you ask for a host and I know this is no shock, but the floor people often make mistakes and don't rate all your bets or notice how much you've lost (given them) so you might seem weaker on paper than reality having said that if you want my mlife host at Aria's contact info?, PM me
Thanks, frank67. I realized I forgot to mention how much play -- the $6-8K is usually over three-four days, about 4-6 hours of play a day. The craps ratings should be pretty accurate because I ask the floor what my average bet is before leaving the table. I often wonder if I'm rated as a smart/meh/dumb player (i.e., low/med/high house edge) because I do make prop bets on a regular basis (though obviously not for a ton of money, usually $5-10). I don't play bonus craps and don't make fire bets, mostly because I don't like players who play for the sake of making those numbers, rather than the point. I rarely press in blackjack (I mostly like playing basic strategy and enjoy watching the cards come out as they do, sometimes if I'm heads up, I'll make risky/dumb plays) -- so my bet doesn't fluctate enough for it to be inaccurate. Sometimes, if I get a nice floor manager, I'll get a nicer rating. (Plus, I tip the dealers generously too -- usually between $50-200 a session. I view gambling as a form of entertainment, not to make money.)
It won't hurt. at MB and MGM, if you're average is less than one black chip a hand, a host probably won't be able to do much. The key information that is not in the original post is how much time are you gambling and what is your average wager. If the average is closer to $100 than $50, a host will be more interested.Obviously, the more hours you are playing, the more interested a host will be. I was wagering around your level when I first started approaching hosts. They didn't really do anything for me above and beyond my corporate offers, but still, they would set up my trips for me. My play ended up growing significantly form that level and it certainly paid off for the hosts that took me on when I was a smaller player. I say give it a shot.
In my experience, hosts at mLife and CET operate differently. IMHO, MlIfe hosts are property-centric, where CET hosts are geography-centric. I am Platinum mLife, and have different hosts at the two mLife properties that I frequent. I am TR (CET) DAL2 and have a host at Caesars that takes care of all of my Las Vegas issues. I also have a host at Harrahs Reno who takes care of all my Reno/Tahoe issues. If you have a favorite mLife property, I would suggest getting a host at that property, making sure that it's within your play level. Your play level might not get you a host at Aria or Bellagio, but MGM Grand/Mirage/Mandalay Bay or lower should be fine.
We were contacted by a host after our second trip to V/P. We had an email when we got home from one of their hosts inviting us to contact him next time we came into town. I'm a table player, my wife plays slots, so I have no delusions it was my wife's play and not mine that got us noticed. I never thought about reaching out to a host at another property but that seems like a good option as well. My wife and I are a bit unique in that we tend to take trips that are essentially like half-marathons for a Vegas trip...we come for about 7 days with a roll of about 10k. We'll play 6-8 hours a day at whatever level our roll permits. I tend to play Craps @ 150 or so a roll, and my wife will play penny slots, but at 2x/3x wager...so we're not high rollers, but not true low rollers either. I'm not sure having a host has helped us all that much. The biggest thing is he's able to get us "better" offers if we pick certain dates. For mid level gamblers like us at a resort like V/P where there are constantly huge conventions the rates fluctuate a lot based on availability. Our host helps us avoid those busy con weeks and gets us a better offer at slower times. But often the offers are only marginally better than the marketing flyers and emails we receive on a regular basis. What has made me realize our host is not just doing whatever he wants though is that there is apparently a glitch with our account in the Grazie system that has prevented it from generating automated offers for us...and so my host is unable to advise me on my offer aside from the comp room. So even with a host, you're still getting an offer that's based on your theo or average bet or whatever the particular system in place is for the club.
I think one of the biggest fallacies that gamblers have is that a host will be able to get you things that you don't already qualify for. If you only qualify for $50 in free slot play they can't get you $200, on rooms they may have a little more leeway on upgrades if they are "available", but not much more than a front desk clerk. If the suites are sold out to qualified gamblers they won't be able to get you into a suite. Think of host as real estate agents, they know the market/system and are able to guide you to the best deals, but in the end they can't get the buyer to accept your $100 bid.
I just inquired about a host at Bellagio and was emailed back that you need to show about 5400 points/day. Does this sound normal for most other places or should I consider contacting some other property to see what they have to say?
Yes, they will find you when the time comes. After my last trip I got an email from a host telling me that I was assigned to him and to let him know if I needed anything.
I agree. Based on the numbers I was given and the fact that you earn 1pt/$3 on slots and 1pt/$10 on VP, you would either need to be doing $16.2K for slots or $54K on VP / day.
This is probably a good rule of thumb for the most part. But there are certainly exceptions. Several years ago, Aria was my home base. I gave them most of my action and my Aria offers were fairly generous and my host there gave me what I figured was fair. However, the rest of my Mlife offers were crap. So, when I wanted to stay at Bellagio one trip but wasn’t going to pay for a room when Aria would comp the room and other upfront goodies, I asked this board for a host recommendation. I contacted him, gave him my Mlife number and he immediately offered something similar to what I was getting at Aria.
Being a Brit and doing long (in Vegas terms) trips of 14 days I can't reconcile some of these comments. I have been well looked after and daily it can really fail (I.e. a day at Mob Museum or down town or xyz) but I think they also must look at your trip profile as well as your daily amount.
