There were a number of things at play at this part of the trip around offers. Let's take a look-see, shall we?
Full hands out. |
Four Queens
We'd booked two back to back offers. QQ had $300 free play for Sept/Oct and I had $200. That offer also came with 3 nights, a meal at Hugo's, and all the other food we could cram down our gullets.The Nov/Dec offer also had $300 and $200 freeplay respectively, but the FQ moved to their new system starting Nov 1. You play would earn cashback as usual, and comp dollars at double the rate. You'd use comp dollars for meals. We also got letters granting us a total of $160 comp dollars.
My play has been a bit light there and that's why my free play is less. We aimed to do $10K each of coin in per day, or (gulp) $120K over 6 days.
It would be, in the proper sense of the word, an epic stand. It could make us. It could break us. We might get drunk and fall off a stool.
For the Nov/Dec part of the offer, we figured we would end up generating, including the letters, about $850 in comp dollars.
That, my friends, was enough to cover an imperial shitload of Magnolia's country throw-up gravy.
Golden Nugget
Mrs. F likes the tubs at the Rush Tower. Who am I to argue with cleanliness? So she'd booked some offers through our host there, John Submarine, and had gotten an 8 day stand with 5 days comped, and including some wine tasting promotion and the Turkey Trot slot tournament. We gobbled up that offer.
Mandalay Bay Delano
I'd played enough at Mandalay Bay last summer to garner another two night comp with $50 resort credit. So I booked it.Because every savvy gambler needs three hotel rooms.
Just before the trip, I'd gotten an email from Delano saying I could upgrade for $25 a night. Luxury? All-white bedrooms with padded walls? I'm in, hell yes, I'm in.
And then there was the matter of the comp situation at the Cal.
California
I've felt for a long time that we are undercomped at the Cal. For the same play, we get $200 or $300 free play, and RFB at Four Queens.Our offers at the Cal are free nights, and $30 or $40 food, and some tournaments.
It's not even close.
We'd gotten about $180 cash back which we'd grabbed the night before. Four Queens is similar to that.
I'd tried to rectify this a number of times, talking to marketing and whoever else would listen, but it always came back that we are getting what we should. I kept confirming that play at all three downtown properties counted and everyone says it does.
Now, we'd put the meal at Redwood Grille on our room and went to see the host on duty to get it comped off. Apparently, that isn't how we should have done it - we should have gotten an up-front comp ahead.
I'd known that Main Street had the wonderful mythical 'gold card' that would get you food in any downtown Boyd restaurant. We'd been told last year that the Cal didn't have this, and they didn't know why, and they wished it did.
Well, intrepid little snoop that I am, I found out during our stay that the Cal does indeed have a gold card. How did I know for sure?
I'd been shown one.
We had a second stay booked for later in our trip so I broached the subject with the host on duty. It would take $10K coin in per day each to get the gold card.
"We have that."
She made typey typey on the computer.
"You have about $7,500."
"Look again. Look at Main Street, and Fremont play."
She made more typey typey.
"Oh. Hmmmm. I'm going to send this upstairs. I think they will be surprised."
We'd done $102,000 coin-in in four days.
"You should be able to get the coveted Gold Card next stay. I'll make a note."
Every time I'd ever gotten the hosts to do anything I'd had to point out that we'd played at all three properties.
All of a sudden, I was lightly bathed in the dim glow of a 5 watt flashlight bulb, which flickered in recognition that I should have seen ages ago.
"Are mailers based on the play at your home property only?" I asked.
"Yes. But comps are calculated on all three."
I finally had the missing puzzle piece to why our offers fluctuated. The Cal was our home casino, but we actually played probably 75% of our coin in at Main Street and Fremont.
Sometimes I am amazed at how thick I can be, because this now seems obvious, and logical.
Needless to say, we will take this into account going forward, and play more at our home property!
We got the meal at Redwood comped off and our bill at the Cal was $6.00. It was time to pack up and move on to some new adventures.
These adventures included the first pictures from my new Cameron Powershod G16 camera. I'd hoped to use the thing for the more important pictures, like scenery, artistic shots, foodie shots and so on - for the run-of-the-mill quads and Royals Flush the piPhone 3.14 would suffice.
Missed the three pointer. |
Squint and you can see Uranus. |
I kept at it and then I think I started getting somewhere.
Zoooooooooooooooooom |
How about a toast to the Cal?! |
You should make MSS your home casino, since that is where you do most of your play. I discovered a long time ago that the way the Downtown Boyd properties work is that the hosts can only see what you do at their property.
ReplyDeleteAll of your play counts towards your cash back and tier status, but everything else is done on a property by property basis. Since Main street is the best play because of the scratch cards that's where I do all of my action,
and with the Gold card I eat at all of their properties. You should also try the Second Street Grill at the Fremont.
A.P.
You need a PhD to figure out the Boyd system. Orleans is my home casino (I think), but I get better offers from Gold Coast where I rarely play.
ReplyDelete