We live only 1 mile from the Palms and when we first moved here we would go
there about 5 times a week for play and/or meals. Now with reduced mailings
and other things we hardly ever play there, but past play keeps bringing in
mailings for Megabucks pulls, cheapo gifts, and some free play. But a couple
of bad promos recently have left such a bad taste in my mouth that I've just
done the free play and that is all, while in the past I might put as much as
$20,000 through VP or even reels on 1 day sessions.
Here's one that annoyed me last week. The buffet at the Palms is pretty
bad, but since it is close to us, and dirt cheap (75% off for Hall of Famers) we
still go every few weeks, while picking up free play, or just passing
through on our way to Gold Coast across the street.
We had a coupons for $25 in free food. In the past these could be used at
food court, Guardarnos, Little Buddah, coffee shop, or buffet. We were
heading for the buffet so presented them, but were told you couldn't combine offers
- so $25 in coupons would still cost us about $4-5 in comps - which is the
same amount we paid for with the Hall of Fame discount. I didn't look at the
coupon, thinking I could use it at food court. Turns out they have now
changed the coupon to Buffet Only. What good is a coupon that is effectively the
same as the discount you are already getting?
The buffet is apparently being "promoted" - and next week the discount will
go to 90% for Hall of Famers. Obviously the reason they are promoting it is
that people aren't eating there much. Try improving the food!
Then there are the gifts for swipes which are so cheap in general we give
them away to the next person in line. How many pirate logo scarfs do you need?
Or Palms hats? Or nail clipper sets? Or tiny flashlights. We have never
ever won that extra money promised as the big prizes.
If all you can give is a cheap gift worth $1 - just don't give it out. This
gives a casino a bad name as a "cheapskate." Same holds true for a
"discounted" or "free" buffet meal - when you already give discounts to regular
players and your buffet is bad!
By the way, since the Palms has basically no real cashback (only free play
on mailers), all those points you accumulate have to be used for food (with a
few rare exceptions). So why give food discount coupons at all? We have
about 200,000+ points for food (value about $500) - so we don't need more food.
Argh - the Palms marketing efforts make me annoyed!
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