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Casino Hosts Trying To Lure Players Away From Home Casino

Discussion in 'Misc. Vegas Chat' started by blackjacknut, Sep 22, 2012.

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  1. blackjacknut

    blackjacknut VIP Whale

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    So if you have read my other posts I'm an MLife player with Hotel32 (Monte Carlo) being my "home casino". As of late I've been getting emails and calls from hosts at Aria and Mandalay Bay trying to lure me aware from Monte Carlo. I find this strange as they are all MGM properties. Are MGM property casino hosts now competing among themselves for players? Maybe this is normal operating procedure but this is the first I have experienced this. I have significantly increase my level of play over my last 4 trips maybe they are looking at my account?
     
  2. DonD

    DonD VIP Whale

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    After Steve Wynn built the Mirage he decided to build Treasure Island to siphon off some of the medium players. The reasoning was to be able to cater appropriately to the proper players. The main job of the TI hosts was to entice the medium players to move over there. I'm sure that practice works both ways and is still used today.

    The reason I know this is that at that time I was a small time stockholder and it was in one of the reports I got at that time.
     
  3. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Interesting information. I will share with you what a couple game supevisors and dealers told me about this subject during trips in the past year.

    A game supervisor and dealer at Bellagio both told me that MGM has intentionally tried to siphon off some of the Bellagio higher players and send them to Aria to help the numbers there.

    At Mandalay Bay, a dealer told me that since MGM purchased the resort, they have continuously steered all the higher limit play to Bellagio and, eventually, Aria. She said the company goal was to turn MB into a convention hotel filled with low and mid rollers. She was obviously a bit disgruntled (not happy about the decline in tips), but having played at MB somewaht regularly over the past five years, I see what she means. I like MB, but the high limit area doesn't compare to Aria or Bellagio. Over the past year, I was consistently the biggest or second biggest gambler in the high limit room (there is a younger Hawaiian guy there somewhat frequently and he seems to bet between $1k and $5k per hand). And I am hardly a High Roller.
     
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  4. mike_m235

    mike_m235 Tourist

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    So I ended up talking to the marketing director of the Excalibur. They sent me a lowball offer, so I sent them an email asking why. Got a very prompt reply from the director -- so we started emailing then I called her. Basically, I wanted to know why I was getting an excal offer that was way below my other offersb (it was a mistake.)

    So we got talking about if they'd send me a better offer (I'm not planning to stay there, but it's nice to know you've got options.) She said no. So naturally I asked why not. She could see that I've got a host at MC and was booked in Hotel 32 at the time, and she knew without asking that I'm in the military (she referred to me by rank.)

    But then came the interesting part -- the MGM properties work together, and based on their market research they try to use different hotels to appeal to certain players based on their habits.

    So in your case, if you're a high end hotel 32 type maybe they see you as someone who might want to 'move up.'
     
  5. eloisegirl

    eloisegirl Low-Roller

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    This is interesting stuff! I am going to MB, and I am a low-roller but my pal is a little better off than I am, she has a 3k bankroll for three days. With using the card, would that result in her getting MB offers or would she get Luxor/Excalibur offers?
     
  6. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Just a thought.....I wonder if its because they view you as a candidate to move up to a higher rated property, or if they are concerned that you would be disappointed by a lower tier property (the castle) and would get turned off by MGM as a result. Just an idea....
     
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  7. blackjacknut

    blackjacknut VIP Whale

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    Interesting...my normal room at Hotel32 is a Loft Suite, on non-holiday's or special occasions, I do get offered the 1-bedroom Pent...so you are probably correct Aria is looking at me as a potential "move up". Interestingly I have not received a call from Bellagio, I would not consider going there though I don't like the pretentious atmosphere.

    So its like this I could move to Aria and be a "little" fish in a big pond or be the "medium" fish in the little pond at Monte Carlo where they bend over backwards for me. I think I will stay put.
     
  8. mike_m235

    mike_m235 Tourist

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    That's how I see it too
     
  9. Chuck2009x

    Chuck2009x VIP Whale

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    I would think this "steering" is all OK with the higher ups, so it's not really poaching per se.

    I had a conversation with an Aria host once; I already had a reservation booked through a host at MB - the Aria host made an offer, and I told him I already had a stay booked at MB and would have to inform my host before I could accept the Aria offer. My intention was not to try to play them off each other, but it got his hackles up a bit and he said 'we don't compete against each other".

    I think that's probably true, although I suppose it could vary if you're a big player.
     
    Last edited: Sep 24, 2012
  10. leo21

    leo21 VIP Whale

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    This has been SOP for MGM. But I know that they said they were going to stop doing it and I can't understand why it hasn't. Opening all these rooms just led to one hotel siphoning off another MGM prop's business. You would think that they would be using their hosts to try and draw players from their competition instead of still letting them compete for their existing business. CET tries the same kind of steering but they don't pit hosts against each other to do it.
     
  11. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    It might not be so bad. After all, if I was a regular at MGM-1, and might be getting bored, I could just go to CET or Wynn. Or, if I got a nice offer from MGM-2, etc... I might give that a try.

    Personally, I was getting great offers from Bellagio, then better at Aria, then pretty good at M-Bay. Mirage host then offered something good, but I was not able to take advantage of it.

    Never, ever got anything from MGM Casino. (other than online). Noting from Excal, Luxor, Castle.
     
  12. Tellafriend

    Tellafriend MIA

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    That woulnd't get her anything out of the ordinary. Maybe, mabye a free room and a buffet.
     
  13. eloisegirl

    eloisegirl Low-Roller

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    We've already paid for the room (wicked package deal on flight, taxes and hotel that has since doubled three months after booking) so getting some buffet action and maybe comped off resort fees sounds just dandy to me.

    Thanks for the great link to figuring out comps - so much fun to tweak the numbers!
     
  14. Tree DA

    Tree DA High-Roller

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    What the heck is Hotel 32? Is that a new name for Monte Carlo?
     
  15. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Its the botique hotel within a hotel comprised of the refurbished floors of the Monte Carlo that caught fire a couple years ago
     
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  16. shifter

    shifter Degenerate Gambler

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    aka the poor man's Skylofts
     
  17. Funkhouser

    Funkhouser In Charge of the Big Door

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    ROTFL....:)
     
  18. mike_m235

    mike_m235 Tourist

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    Just one floor..the 32nd...hence the name.
     
  19. blackjacknut

    blackjacknut VIP Whale

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    I normally agree with you on here but not this time..this your opinion....I could stay in a Skyloft any day of the week I wanted to but choose to go where I'm appreciated and have a great host. So not all of us are "poor" that stay at Hotel32 some of use are just smart. :nono:
     
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