Sunday, September 06, 2015

Reflections on Low roller comps

All fine advice.
I think comps have come more quickly in downtown or off strip places. As a low roller I have never gotten much from the big guys like Mlife or CET.
And weekend nights are very hard to comp.

The Four Queens was my downtown place of choice, but lately the mailings have decreased in value. At the same time, however, the Comp Dollars earned with play build up quickly and to some extent make up for the loss of great mailed offers. So if you are seeding the Four Queens one year and coming back before a year has gone by, you will walk into a bunch of Comp Dollars. And when you play, you will earn more that can then be applied to your room when you check out. Their basic two for one offers include weekend, but of course you pay higher on the paid night.

I also get good offers from the D, but only 2 for 1 as a low roller, and now they want us to pay a $20 resort fee on the paid night so the benefit of the comp is reduced in value. I don't get weekends there either.

Downtown is evolving upscale. As it does, the cost of staying there gets higher and the blackout dates for comps are more often. It is anybody's guess how this will come down in the end, but it is very bad news for low rollers.
Conventions other places affect comps as well. I was just reading posts on VP free about the affect of GE2 convention on car rentals at the end of September.
Following those sorts of trends in Vegas is as important as concentrating your play.

I'm seeding other places and using the American Casino Guide to get 3 nights for the price of 2 at the Fremont downtown to see if seeding that will get me any offers.

I do get two free nights from the Orleans for very low roller play. I play only nickel triple play VP. And somehow with no play but just paying for rented rooms I get offer from their sister casino, the Gold Coast that cuts in half the standard rate on B Connected where Boyd card members book, and sometimes a couple free nights there as well, probably a come on wash over from my Orleans play.

The key, whatever casino you decide to seed for offers, is to concentrate your play in that one place so you look like a bigger gambler than you are. This means staying out of that casino, even for a player's club card food discount on the days that you don't gamble and perhaps taking two days of gambling bankroll and using it in one day and taking day two for a ride to Red Rock.

Also, send a private message to the host from the Plaza who frequents this board and see what he could do for you based on your play.
http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/for...484-feadolphus
This might be a place to seed on your next trip.
Ask him if there are certain weekends that are better for booking than others.

Try to estimate how much coin in you play rather than how much you can afford to lose in a trip. That is a more important number in determining comps. Someone else here can respond to table game requirements, but in some places you need to make larger bets to even get rated at games like blackjack. Feadolphus can give you a decent sense of that too. Being board officiated should help you get dependable answers, although I got wonderful honest and transparent perspective from this fellow when he worked for the Four Queens just by going in and talking to him for an hour.
Talking to a host can be great help.

Also, I hope you are asking for casino rates at places where you have played even when you don't get an offer.
You can call a host and book at the Four Queens if you have some gambling history at casino rate and then you can apply a mailer later when it comes.
You can book a place at casino rate and see a host on check out to have room or food or both comped.


Calling is a good idea too because mailed offers just don't always show up. At the Four Queens I call, ask for a host, and ask them to look up my offers. At the D they know right at the desk what they can do. I happened to call on the day of the mailing and the clerk was surprised to see the offer was up. All these places send low roller offers rather late in the planning.

If you are flexible, pay attention to when you are going. Don't go downtown during the Life is Beautiful festival, for example. Low roller comps won't be available. 2 for 1 offers will come with a higher price or be blacked out. Look for cheaper times of the year, August or December if you don't mind some shows being dark.
This board can help with that. They can direct you away from the most busy times. Also, here is a site that lists conventions so you can plan around those.
http://www.vegasmeansbusiness.com/pl...tion-calendar/
Book directly at a casino and charge food to the room if you eat there. Then you can see what a host will do for you before you check out.
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