Harrah's - Upgrade your drink to premium liquor for $2 more. It's begun.

A group of us were in the dollar slot area at Harrah's last week. There are little signs on the slot machines that say,

"Upgrade your drink to premium liquor for only $2"

The group I was with was not as taken aback by this as I was. But I was outraged. To me, it's the first volley, the first step, towards eventually charging for all drinks even while gambling. They want you to get use to going into your wallet to pay for a drink. They are just testing the waters to see how this goes over, then they'll keep moving towards the ultimate goal. Just like 6/5 blackjack was at first for double deck only, but now it's everywhere. Should I start another thread about how they now have a TEN deck shoe with 6/5 at Harrah's? But I digress.

And of course it's the evil empire that is trying this first. Or maybe that honor should go to Wynn and their policy of not comping drinks at the video bar tops. Is that still in effect?

 

I guess I see it differently...
Your thread's title led me to believe something other than what it is.

If I order a rum-and-coke or a screwdriver, I'll still get one for the cost of a tip to the CW. I am given the option of a premium brand for a nominal fee, and I don't see anything wrong with that. No one is forcing you to pay for it...it's your choice. To me it's just like going to any bar and ordering a drink...a screwdriver made with Grey Goose will most likely cost more than one made with the well brand.

Just my opinion...others may vary, and that's fine.

 

Except for higher rollers, casinos have always had drinks they would comp and premium drinks you had to pay extra for. Its not new.

Only difference is they have a sign. Why? Because demand for "premium" brands is up.

The 10 deck shoe is actually much bigger news. Regardless, the answer is the same: they wont do it if it doesn't work so don't participate.

But I invite you to sit at some MGM penny slots and see if they'll give you a screwdriver with grey goose.

 

Ah, but he wasn't sitting at penny machines. He was at the dollar slots.

I certainly never had a problem getting Goose at quarter VP at Cosmo, Bellagio or Aria a few weeks ago.

 

The official policy may not be the practice though. A couple of years ago the CW told me a Crown & Coke would be $2, but last year they said no charge.

A smile goes a long way too.

 

It's pretty clear OP has some type of a "beef" against Harrah's. The title of the thread is clearly misleading and should either be changed or deleted - "upgrading a drink to premium liquor for $2" is a much different policy. And while I don't know for sure, it is probably a result of abuse by people pretending to gamble or gambling at low limits and expecting top shelf drinks.

I have been to vegas several times over the past few months and found no change in Harrahs drink policy whatsoever.

 

This has been going on for over a year and AFAIK it's only at Harrah's, IP and Flamingo. The title of the thread is misleading and I don't know that this is the tip of the iceberg. I think the alternative would be to only have well drinks. The only brands I request by name are Malibu, Jack and SoCo. They are still free so I have had a hard time getting upset about it. Sooner or later, I guess there had to be some tradeoffs for $40/night rooms.

 

Yeah this is definitely misleading. How is an upcharge for premium liquor anything new, anywhere in the country? The basic cocktail will be the rail alcohol, unless you want to pay more for the good stuff.

In the Harrah's properties, from what I see, they make the regular cocktails with liquor from a soda gun... Definitely in Flamingo.

 

Those signs have been all over the Harrah's (and other CET casinos) slot floors for about two years now.

Its an option they started back in 2009 or 2010. You are looking at it as a way to screw over the high rollers, which is not why they started doing that... they started doing it so that the lower end gamblers have a way to get higher end drinks and the casino has a way to make a few extra dollars doing it.

He wasn't in the high limit area either. There are some nickle slots in that dollar area too.

 

Vote with your feet, harrahs has nothing that every other casino doesn't have.

Premium liquor costs maybe 25 or 50 cents more than bar pour.

 

Yeah, I'm thinking that my opinion on this depends on what they consider 'premium.'

What I do know is that I'm not in favor if, like you say, they just use a slightly better better brand and bank a dollar or more per drink. It just seems wrong to me for casinos to start turning something that used to be a free service into a money making opportunity. I feel this way because, as has been said here, if this is successful they'll likely try to make every drink have a 'nominal' fee.

 

Not any bar I've been to. More like a buck up. For me it's just not a deal breaker. I'll still go just as often.

 

I was going to say I was sure this signage was older. However, they don't post it much out at the penny slots - but I have seen it frequently by the tables. Us Penny Slot players must be lower class drinkers lol. I guess I am a basic person & I am fine with standard brands. If I want something 'nicer' then $2 doesn't seem like much vs paying outright $8 or $10 for a drink at the bar?

And I made the mistake of criticizing a couple of patrons who I saw basically 'milking' the system - One was playing one cent every 10 - 15 minutes & ordering wine every time the CW came & never tipping. I was raked over the coals totally for that post (don't think that was on here) - so not sure if the person I criticized actually read it or what lol. But I did sit a minimum of 45 minutes (probably a lot longer than that) & the gentleman had at least 5 glasses or wine and spun maybe 6 - 8 times (again - one penny - multiline machine & not a new one that requires a .40 cent min spin). I probably wouldn't have noticed so much but I wanted to play that machine!!! I can't remember the details of the other one right now but we all know the 'milking' happens. I have seen many posts encouraging it also (again not really on here but once in a while).

 

Now that you bring in the CWs, I hope this doesn't mean worse conditions for them, i.e. people complaining about the new system or not tipping/tipping less over a policy they have little or no control over.

 

A regular bar charges a buck or two more, the actual cost is certainly less than $.50, if they are charging $2 more, it's not because of cost recovery, it's greed.

 

Is greed the same as making money?

 

Very misleading title!! If you don't want to upgrade, don't get it. Take the free well drink instead. I don't see why you have your panties all up in a bunch.

 

If I want something special...not a call brand....big deal. If I ordered a special liquor at a restaurant....I would be charged more. We were in every CET casino in early April and hubby was able to get a Grey goose martini at every one of them without any CW asking for anything. Each person was pleasant and gladly accepted our $1 per drink tip. Will they ever go to charging for drinks?....I doubt it, they want everyone to chill-out and that induces more gambling. Like jgates, I've seen some people playing minimum amounts...I think I saw some playing 5 cents a spin just to sit there with another person, rest & drink. I think the casinos expect a certain number of people doing this. I can say, my gambling habits make up for those.... LOL.

 

I have always accepted a few things about drinking while gambling.


First, you gamble, you drink free.
Second, some places serve some liquors free, and not others.
Third, not all rules are bound tight, depends on the bartender/cw, and a lot of times your attitude and generosity.


As for the op, seems more of a formal advertisement of what has always been. In fact, it may be an improvement, depending on your drinking habits. A "yes for $2" may be better than a "no, you can't."

 

people love to point to the raw cost of goods as the "cost" for the company, but it's way more than that. they have to pay the bartender to pour it, they have to pay for the floor space to store the bottles, they have to pay the stock man to unload the bottles and put them in the bar, etc, etc. there's a lot of costs to doing business and i don't think that $2 for an upgrade from Old Crow to Jack is really that expensive.