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Help With A Comp Rating Question

Discussion in 'Comps' started by jpete1966, May 1, 2012.

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  1. jpete1966

    jpete1966 Tourist

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    I have a question for all of the players that posted their comp packages in this thread. How much do you actually play to acheive free nights at the Bellagio, or free nights + a daily food & beverage credit, limo etc...?

    For table games are you the person playing black chips exclusively at a $25 & up BJ table? Are you the person that has $400+ at risk at every roll of the dice at the craps table?

    For slot players are you playing $1 & $5 machines exclusively throughout the day?

    I'm just trying to get a handle on what it takes to actually get some type of decent comp from a casino these days and which players they actually focus on.

    I've been going to Vegas for 15 years now and have seen my comps almost reduced to nothing over the last few years. I normally bring around $6,000 - $10,000 with per trip and average about $25-$350 playing double deck pitch or Baccarat and $40-$250 per roll on craps. When it comes to slots I'll play anywhere from pennies to $5 machines about $100 a pop multiple times throughout the trip. I'm obviously still small time to a lot of posters here but is this type of play ignored by all of the casinos at this point?

    When I started coming years ago I had more hand-written comps than I knew what to do with. Free rooms - no problem. If suites were available, no problem. Now I check my TR card after 8 - 10 hours of play at this level and I'm lucky to accumulate $10 in comps. Am I just put in at the table minimum regardless of my bets? Should I buy in for larger amounts when I sit down?

    Any light posters could shed on their level of play compared to what I listed would be aprreceiated. I just find it hard to believe that this level of play doesn't get any of the offers listed all over the comp thread. Is the new minimum to be rated and sent offers now black to purple chips?
     
  2. engicedave

    engicedave VIP Whale

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    Rooms are easy.

    I assume you have a players card and ask to be rated every time you play a table and use in every slot every time?
     
  3. jpete1966

    jpete1966 Tourist

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    Yes, I use a player's card every time. I've been a Platinum member of Harrah's for 15 years until recently when I switched over to Station Casinos and MGM(because of how bad my Harrah's/Caesars offers were). I've split my time in the past with MGM properties as well but have never received any type of offer thru them.

    I just recently looked at booking a Harrah's property for June and was offered a discounted rate for 5 nights that came to around $700(Paris, Harrah's or PH) which was a complete joke.
     
  4. engicedave

    engicedave VIP Whale

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    This and you're only a CET plat? Something is not right. Do you ask the floor manager what they're rating you per hand? Do you not tip?
    Do you bounce properties a lot?
    How much time do you spend in any one casino at a time?
    Say you walk into PH and play, how long do you play until you move on to another property?
     
  5. The Equalizer

    The Equalizer Low-Roller

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    Your getting screwed on comps I play mostly poker but play a few hours of blackjack and Pai gow poker 25-50 a hand max and some .25 vp have not payed for a room in years I am staying 9 nights in June 3 at aria 2 at mgm and 4 at ph all comp with 300 freeplay between them I don't get offers in my mlife account but when I call VIP services they have offers that show up on their system.


    I also have 3 nights over weekend in Sept. At bellagio then 3 nights at the octavious tower at Caesars in September and am booked for 5 nights at Paris for superbowl weekend 2013 all comped and you seem to play larger then me so either your being rated wrong or you may just need to call and talk to VIP services to check what they can do for you
     
  6. shifter

    shifter Degenerate Gambler

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    there's your problem. you're playing table games at CET. that's a waste of time as they value the penny slot grandmas more than green-black chip table gamers.

    also, if you spread your bets a lot, that can be to your disadvantage. if you sit down at a $25 table out on the floor and put your first bet out at $25, that's what the pit boss will write down. pit bosses on the floor are usually covering multiple tables and even if you press to $350 at some point, if you don't point it out to them, there's a good chance they won't see it. if they don't see you do any pressing, when you leave they'll just sign the rating slip at $25/hand and you'll be screwed.

    your best bet is to take your money over to an MGM casino and you should have no problem getting free rooms and potentially even some F&B as well.
     
  7. jpete1966

    jpete1966 Tourist

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    I agree, something definitely isn't right. I haven't asked a floor manager what they're rating me at in years. I assumed they rated accordingly, but now wonder if they just put me in for table minimum and never change anything.

    I do tip. I feel I tip more than average. I've been to plenty of BJ tables or craps tables where it seems like I'm the only one tipping.

    I do bounce around casinos a lot. I'll normally buy in for $300-$500 and if I lose I'll try a few new tables at the same buy-in. If a few in a row go bad I'll go to another casino. Until recently, I normally went to another CET casino. If I were in PH and a few tables went bad I probably wouldn't stay more than an hour. If it was going decent I could be there for 4-8 hours.

    I've never made it past Platinum. I've been close to Diamond once or twice but never made it. I did question my low level of comps years ago at a Total Rewards desk and found that they somehow set up multiple accounts for me, which they claimed to have fixed.
     
  8. engicedave

    engicedave VIP Whale

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    I think part of your problem is like shifter says, you're playing tables at CET, and on top of that, you're making it worse by bouncing around, so your play looks inconsistent and you likely have a lot of play missed.

    #1, you need to concentrate play more to one location and every time you move a table, check with a floor manager to watch your play.
    #2, play tables more at MGM props and not CET
    #3, try and get with a host at an MGM & CET on your next trip and discuss your situation. Go into the HL area, find a host and have a talk. Tell them you believe you're being mis-rated and mishandled, and ask "How can we fix this? What can I do?" Tell them what you play, your bankroll and how you play.
    #4, wire your $6K-$10K bankroll to the cage where your staying, then they know you're not blowing smoke about your bankroll
     
  9. Nevyn

    Nevyn VIP Whale

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    I'd say there's definitely a chance they don't see you pressing your bet. Short sittings at one table could be hurting you, too.

    Which nights are you looking at in June? If you look at a less busy month (September?) in the calendar what sort of rates show up?

    I ask because I play almost exclusively BJ and poker, green chips (with little to no pressing) at the BJ tables, and a fraction of your trip bankroll and it sounds like my rates are on par with or better than yours. I'm gold, and don't get that much in reward credits, but do get a lot of nights comped in the calendars.
     
  10. thecarve

    thecarve Misanthrope

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    I think engicedave and shifter have it nailed. By moving around a lot and varying your bets by so much, you are opening up the possibility for too much human error.

    I would never suggest changing your betting behavior if that’s what makes it fun for you. But, I would definitely ask a floor person where they have you rated (both time and $). If that doesn’t jibe with what you think is right, then perhaps talk to them about what you/he/she can do to help you be more accurately rated.

    If you are giving your “home casino” at least four hours a day and your average bets fall right in the middle of the figures you gave earlier (for BJ you said $25-350, so I’m going with an average of say, $100-200), then I would think you should probably get free rooms any time you want at the mid tier places, maybe even with a little food and beverage credit. And, at the very least, you could expect free weeknights and deeply discounted weekend nights at even the high end joints.

    Oh, and as others have mentioned: if you’re playing BJ at those levels, move over to MGM. Even if your comps don’t improve, that’s way too much money to be wagering on the sub-par rules you’ll find at CET places. :soapbox:
     
  11. jpete1966

    jpete1966 Tourist

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    I just went to TR and checked an offer for free or reduced nights in June. I searched June 1 - 5 and got these results:

    Caesars PH Rio Harrahs Paris Flamingo Bally's IP

    Friday: $200 $275 $110 $150 $180 $110 $140 Options
    Sat: $200 $275 $125 $250 $200 $160 $50 Options
    Sun: $159 $160 $45 $250 $180 $80 $40 Options
    Mon: $139 $65 Comp $90 $95 $45 COMP Options

    I did just lose my Platinum status at the end of March because I've been trying to build a relationship at Stations and MGM but no offers from MGM whatsoever. It looks like Harrahs instantly sends your offers to the toilet when they move you down. I don't really mind because I feel like Caesars has been running their properties into the ground the last few years but that brings me back to my original post. What kind of play is Bellagio or Aria looking for to get these types of offers? These properties are far superior to CET properties but it seems like I'm not on their radar since I've started coming to Vegas.
     
  12. Nevyn

    Nevyn VIP Whale

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    Something is definitely off then.

    I checked the same dates and my rates are slightly better than yours (couple more comp nights, and a few lower prices), but mostly comparable.

    And as I mentioned, they have me rated as a strict 25/hand player who usually only plays 1 hour (2 max) a day. I play some poker too but I doubt that moves the needle much, and I've never been close to platinum.

    One more thing to mention is that I go fairly infrequently (once per year or less, maybe once also to a non vegas CET prop). Not sure how much that matters, but sometimes my offers do seem to get better when I've been away awhile.

    If you're planning to switch anyway, I'd ignore CET completely for a year, and then randomly go through the rate calendar (you don't have to use the offer codes) and see what you get.

    I can't answer the MGM question as I haven't tried to get my play rated there. I had always heard that it takes a fair bit though (black chip territory) to be noticed by their nicer casinos.
     
  13. jpete1966

    jpete1966 Tourist

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    Thanks for the replies. It sounds like I've been backing the wrong chain of properties being a table games player. I'll keep giving MGM a try. Someone mentioned calling VIP services and asking for offers that don't show up in M Life. Is that an approach that people have had success with? I just signed into my Mlife account online and no offers besides the slighly discounted room rates similar to what Caesars offers. Have people gotten free or discounted rooms this way?
     
  14. engicedave

    engicedave VIP Whale

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    If you call MLife, you're just going to get a powerless phone jockey.
    At minimum, call MGM and ask to speak to a host.
    IMO, the best way, would be wait until your next trip and track down a host and speak to that person face-to-face and plead your case.
    BE NICE, but firm. Tell them your level of play, and your lack of player comp. Tell them you like playing there, want to play there, and want to work out the issue...BE NICE
     
  15. thecarve

    thecarve Misanthrope

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    It really is the luck of the draw when speaking to a player’s club rep. I’ve had some great ones that would (evidently) look up my play and then (evidently) go speak with a host and come back to me with “we can do X, Y and Z for you, Mr. thecarve” - even if I didn’t have an offer for X, Y and Z. Then I’ve had some that simply read me the offer I had verbatim. Just like in every other job, there are those who give a shit and those who just want to punch the clock and pick up their check.

    So, I suppose that your best bet would be to ask to speak with a host. Though, (assuming you don’t have much history with MGM properties) I really doubt that a host will do a whole lot more for you than give you the same rates the Mlife site does with the promise that “he’ll take a look at your play at the end of your stay and see what he can do for you”.
     
  16. The Equalizer

    The Equalizer Low-Roller

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    I had no offers on the mlife site and called VIP services at bellagio aria mgm and mirage and all said they had offers in the system for me ask for VIP services tell them the dates your looking at and ask if they have any available offers for you. I have stayed mostly at cet properties due to no offers on mlife but this trip I decided to call aria and mgm and low and behold I got 5 nights with freeplay comped between the 2 both over weekends
     
  17. dfalk

    dfalk VIP Whale

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    Thats pretty much what I'm showing except I'm comped everywhere that Mon except for CP/Paris. And my play is waaay lower than yours. I only bet $10-20 on BJ and some slots here and there.
     
  18. Chuck2009x

    Chuck2009x VIP Whale

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    Also, for CET, forget the "offers" and go straight to the availability calendars.

    If you can't get 5 nights comped at most of the properties in the rate calendars, I'd say you're being severely underrated at the tables.
     
  19. luvnvegas2

    luvnvegas2 Guest

    When you sign onto the mife site do you go to program rewards or yourbpersonalized offers? There is a sectiob that shows vegas offers (or something similar) that has comp nights.
     
  20. volfaninbama

    volfaninbama High-Roller

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    I would say you are not getting rated properly I think at that level you should get room comps from all MGM properties except maybe Bellagio.
     
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