Having recently returned from my first Vegas trip in 7 years, This is something I'd like to address. This whole topic of drink comping at the bars. By reading it here I hated before I even got there. My disliked of what I read was for no reason what so ever. In fact if I hadn't read about this here I would have never known it even exsisted . Except for the chandelier bar at the cosmo which spit out a drink ticket , which I accumulated rather quickly. I had absolutely no problem getting a drink while playing VP at the various bars. I was served right up front everywhere from the strip casinos to downtown to the locals casinos. Even at the Cosmo I was served as soon as I sat down, no waiting for me to play . Just play and drink as usual. When I sit at a VP bar I play but even when my playing tapered off a bit I was still served promptly everywhere. I really feel that it is designed to keep the scammers away. That's fine by me. I play and I get served drinks. I do think that some of the things I have read, people may be making more out of it than need be. Quite frankly I was expecting the bar keeps to read me a list of rules and regulations concerning the comp drink situation. My experience was if your playing your getting comped drinks.
I think the concern though, at least for me, is that these drink policies shouldn't even exist. Everyone has a story about "that one time I saw 4 people order and leave"...wow, the casino just lost $1 in alcohol costs. Meanwhile, I've got a buzz from my "free" drinks and I'm chasing the $500 I just lost with another $500. And this has been happening forever; I've seen eleventy-billion dollars worth of casinos go up on the strip but now...NOW...they've figured out that drinks at the bar are a huge issue. And the "scammers" that do walk away probably get the munchies and buy a $9 bag of chips from the gift shop, or get the liquid courage to finally buy those $300 sunglasses. The "free" drinks just aren't a losing proposition for the casinos - it's not like they're handing out free Ipads as long as you play and people are dashing out the door with them. And this won't be the end of it. Wait until 2 years from now when they have table-tents on bar machines advertising that players "only" pay $1 for well drinks and bottled beer - a savings of 90%!! And people will gladly pay that..."Hey, in Chicago or New York that drink cost me $12.50...it's still a cheap vacation!" For the record I'm pretty much Mlife-only for my gambling and haven't had to deal with drink tickets. And, like your recent trip, most of my trips haven't been an issue at all for drink service at the bar...but there have been a few. The Gem Bar at Aria has a crew that likes to lecture everyone on the policies. And it's not just free drinks...they're getting weird policies on amounts and brands, too. I'm not talking about getting an 1895 cognac for free, but .75 ounces of Tito's Vodka vs. 1.25 of a more expensive brand...because Tito's is "more popular". Huh? It would be nice if my Platinum Tier allowed me to get a rocks glass full of ice and vodka and then be left alone to risk my money. Instead I'll just get something notarized for free. I guess I'm just worried about what this leading to...a la resort fees and paid parking. Glad you had a good trip and don't take 7 years next time!
TedCheddy, I agree about the policies shouldn't even be there. But they are and Aria is a place that has zero appeal to me anyway. As for not taking 7 years to go back, I'm looking at a few days in December !!!!
Good stuff Tony. I'm agreed if you play then get the drinks. Do not agree with people shoving $20 in and one hand for a free drink but it happens and why alienate some of your customers (just seems a bit over the top). Wouldn't bother me too much as I play fair and expect the drinks (I tip well) but the reward of a free drink surely plays into the casinos favour overall. Cheers for update.
Completely agree with Tony, I was served up front at Paris/Ballys and after a minute to see if I was playing PH back in April. I don't play VP at Cosmo but it sounds like the drink ticket system also isn't as advertised. In a perfect world these drink systems would exist but that's not reality, they're here to likely stay. If they all of a sudden clamped down and were making you wait 20 mins for a drink or whatever, I would just stop playing. I play primarily table games anyway so that's probably why I'm not too concerned but if the casinos push too far, people will begin to really take issue. For the time being, while not ideal, it could be worse.
Thank you Tony...The whole idea is comped drinks, you get drinks by playing not just sitting. It is not that big of a thing to figure out. The problem was people were sitting drinking and not playing just talking, now you have to play a bit.and you get served. I don't sit at the bars but if I did I would understand.
This topic has been hashed to death, and the consensus has been that if you play, it will be a non issue.
Rush, I understand the issue has been done to death here. But I'm fairly new here and I guess you hit on a point, That I didn't make clear enough. As I rejoined the Message board to brush up on Vegas if you will, and there was a ton of postings about this issue. I honestly was expecting a dressing down about the rules from every bar tender ( Slight exaggeration put in for dramatic effect ) The reality was nothing different from what I always did. Played and got comped drinks. I didn't get the fuss.
Tony appreciate any new report good or bad about anything, it's the way people learn and make decisions............Rick
I had no issue with anything you wrote. It's all the worry-warts who think the sky is falling, and they somehow won't get drunk fast enough or free enough.
I've only had one issue (at TAG at the Linq) but it was with a bartender I've never seen before and haven't seen since. Ironically it was just before the system went into place. I was drinking quickly I'll admit that but I was still playing my normal pace at the bar which is anything but slow. I was told he wouldn't be able to comp anymore because I was drinking to quick and that they had this new system being put into place soon. That surprised me since even with the new system I don't have issues. I'll occasionally check the light to see if it's green and it always is so I wasn't playing too slow to get comp drinks. Once he saw that I was diamond he backed off a bit but it was still a bit annoying. Since then I've seen the usual guys behind the bar and had no issues at all.
Also, it should be obvious but just like at regular bars, tipping can make a big difference. From the look of gratitude I have gotten from bartenders for a $1 tip, I suspect some people are not even tipping for free drinks. And if the bar is only lightly busy they often are at your beck and call!
Comp drinks are a goodwill gesture first and foremost that costs the casino very little money (probably < $1 for a bottle of beer and in the time it takes to serve you, you could have lost $15-$20+ on gambling). The secondary benefit is it loosens players up and fogs the mind, leading to more rash decisions. My local casinos in Scotland charge for drinks, but the minimums are lower (e.g. £2 ($3) for BJ compared to $5 min at lower-end strip casinos). I prefer the Vegas model.
I had my first experience with the Cosmo ticket system last month. Considering I played for 2.5-3 hours with a friend, and drank at my normal pace (not pounding them, but certainly not sipping) and still had tickets left over that I could still get drinks with meant that I got served MORE alcohol than I would at a place without this system. I wish every bar in Vegas gave me drink tickets, it would make the trips even better.