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MLife Program Change

Discussion in 'Comps' started by smooth899, Sep 17, 2021.

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  1. smooth899

    smooth899 Low-Roller

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    I noticed this on the MLife website today. What exactly does this mean? Is this similar to what Boyd did a few years ago?

    20210917_171029.jpg
     
  2. DaiLun

    DaiLun R.C., L.C., and A.A.N.G.

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    As long as they state EXACTLY how they're tracking, I have no problem with it.
     
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  3. VegasSchemer

    VegasSchemer VIP Whale

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    Yeah, this could be fine or...a compete mess. Some properties use that language and keep it an opaque box. I don't mess with those.
     
  4. fugsworth

    fugsworth VIP Whale

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    I think the whole point of this change is to make it opaque-- unless I'm seriously misunderstanding something.
     
    EDC
  5. ReTriggerMe

    ReTriggerMe Stand Up to Jewish Hate!

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  6. smerrian

    smerrian View from Bally's

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    What’s the big difference from current calculations? Is the time factor new? I know denomination (amount of bet) and game type (slot or video poker) were already in the calculation.
     
  7. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    3 card monte. Now you see it, now you don't. Seems to me it is similar to what they do now. And no - they are not going to be transparent. I am sure of that much
     
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  8. JosieCat

    JosieCat VIP Whale

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    So, how is the time played thing going to work. Are they only going to give you points like once a day?
     
  9. JulianC

    JulianC Amateur

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    When you see verbiage like this...

    "game played, average bet, and time played"

    ... then you know it means theo.

    In the other thread, I speculated that for slots and VP, the point earning would be $1 theo = 1 base point. I also speculated that for the rest of 2021, there would be no changes to the number of tier credits earned per base point from slot or VP play. To more exactly quote myself, now that we have the more appropriate thread here...

    The whole post.
     
    • Informative Informative x 1
  10. JulianC

    JulianC Amateur

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    They want us to be confused to the point where we don't think about it and just bang away at the latest Monopoly, Britney, Madonna, * Link, and [insert movie / TV show] slots.

    My brain doesn't work the way they want it to work.
     
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  11. Chuck2009x

    Chuck2009x VIP Whale

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    It goes into effect on November 1.

    One way to tell what they did with points will be to do a short session ($100 coin-in really should be enough) on a non-specialty slot and track your Points vs ExpressComps earned.

    If you get the same amount in Points as you do in ExpressComps, then they're using the same method for both. You need to allow for a possible penny or two difference because of fractional points/ECs. I also noticed on my last trip that the mobile app displayed a one cent difference in my EC balance than the desktop app did (I can't remember which was higher). So it looks like one was rounding (which is really not the right way to do it) and the other was truncating.

    And if you get 10 TCs per (base) point, then they're tied to points, not coin-in.
     
    Last edited: Sep 18, 2021
  12. Chuck2009x

    Chuck2009x VIP Whale

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    They used the same verbiage for ECs and I got ECs posted as soon as I took my card out.

    Theoretically they could factor time into it somehow, but I doubt they do.
     
  13. Chuck2009x

    Chuck2009x VIP Whale

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    This is the complete opposite of that.
     
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  14. smerrian

    smerrian View from Bally's

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    I believe Boyd uses time as a factor in calculating offers. I once was given an offer for GC where the free play included with the room stay required having been rated for 4 hours of play before collecting. No point requirement, just 4 hours of play. I can see where they might be able to place a time factor into their equating.
     
  15. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    Somewhat related - but not....

    Some casinos sometimes have FP offers that require so many hours of play before you can redeem. I have run into that at Harrahs New Orleans and Gulf Coast/Biloxi. Seems like I have had it before.
     
  16. Chuck2009x

    Chuck2009x VIP Whale

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    Not to nitpick, but making the redemption of a throw-in contingent upon playing for a certain amount of time is not the same as factoring time into the calculation of the offer itself.

    And calculation of offers is a different animal than the calculation of points, although presumably this new method may close that gap some.

    I just think casinos would want to take anything gameable out of their calculations. Time on machines would be eminently gameable if you were a patient sort. Think about the real reason for Scoblete's 5 count.

    What they might do is, similar to how theo is calculated for table play, use a formula that uses a fixed number of spins per hour for everybody.

    I dunno. It seems very testable. Play a 3-reel machine for an hour, whacking the button as fast as possible. You should be able to get 550 - 600 spins in. You can figure out the number of spins from the amount of coin-in on your W-L.

    Go back the next day, play the same machine for the same denom and amount per spin, but only do 250 spins in the hour.

    If you get half as many points, they're probably not using time.

    Another way to test would be to do two sessions on the same machine back-to-back in the same day and do the same number of spins in the same amount of time in each. If you end up getting noticeably more points in the 2nd session than you did in the first, that would be evidence that they're rewarding you for accumulated time within a gaming day.
     
  17. JulianC

    JulianC Amateur

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    Unless there have been some huge advancements in the gaming industry that will be discussed in the more "academic" sessions at G2E in about two weeks, this is going to be way simpler than we are starting to make it out to be.
     
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  18. Chuck2009x

    Chuck2009x VIP Whale

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    Sure, think about the overhead involved by trying to use exact theo and/or time.

    If you want to go by exact theo, you have to dig out the exact theo of every machine (and at every denom) in your inventory and get that info into a database, and maintain it with any changes.

    If you want to reward time on an increasing scale, you have to build a bunch of "IF" statements into the formula.

    I don't know why I'm so interested in this, it's like waiting for Windows 95 to come out, lol.

    Maybe it's because table mins are too high and slots are basically boring. :D
     
  19. ColoVegPlayer

    ColoVegPlayer Speed Running for Noir

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    Don't the casinos already have this? I thought they had to report the theo of each machine to the NGCB, and if they ever wanted to change it, had to get approval?


    Rewarding time on an increasing scale could also be some sort of logarithmic formula....but I think you're right, they would make it simple with some clearly defined intervals, much easier to explain to the employees and customers.
     
  20. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    Maybe. But (no expert here) - they may be reporting the hold which is fixed by the chip. The casino has some other factors they can factor in - just guessing out my a$$ here. but stuff like paying royalties, paying a machine lease vs buying, floor space for machine, etc. As you can tell, I really don't know.
     
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