Change to Ameristar StC discretionary comp system

[hockeystl]

Ameristar's unadvertised discretionary comp system will soon be
changing. Currently, comps are issued at a level of about 0.5% of
coinin. The printed comp slips have a exp date of one week after the
issue date but that has never been enforced....until now.

Due to numerous people abusing the non enforcement of exp dates,
Ameristar will soon start enforcing them. I have a friend who works
in their marketing department and he told me some people were
bringing in comps that were several months old and using them! When
people used expired comps, Ameristar had to void the old comp and re-
issue a new one...which obviously caused a great deal of paperwork on
their end.

Friday night, I went to the Star Awards booth to get my comps after
playing and the clerk said, "You know you don't have to get them now,
they'll stay in your account." I replied, "So they're bankable now?"
and he replied, "Yes". The actual fact is that the comps are NOT
truly bankable. Ameristar currently determines your comps based on
your current trip, and if you request a comp and have NOT played that
day they use a five trip average when issuing the comp.

The slot boothlings are generally leading player's to believe comps
will be banked... ie)If you earn $50 in comps on Friday and $50 on
Saturday you should have $100 available. That is not the case. If
you come back on Sunday and ask for a comp (without playing) you'll
get an amount based on your 5 trip average.

My suggestion is to continue to get your comps as you earn them and
chow down! If you have an abundance of meal comps, they offer baked
goods in the Diner which can be taken 'to-go'. The whole pies and
cakes are enormous and are great for parties, etc.

[margec01]

As usual, the casinos are doing their best to tick off their better
players. Why on earth do they not want to make the comps bankable?
Every time I go out there I see tons of people carrying grocery bags of
food out of the casino, because it's use them or lose them. Wouldn't
it be better to entice more people to come BACK at a future trip--and
bring friends who will gamble, too?

I had heard they would take comps after the expiration date, but I
never tried to take the chance on it. If I have excess comps and won't
be back within the week, I go up to the second floor deli and get
something from the "to go" case. The chef salad is especially good,
and the submarine-like sandwich was excellent, too. The roast beef was
on bread though, instead of a bun, and was very dried out.

There is frequently a long line at the deli, but it's usually people
waiting for their hot food order to be served up. There is often a big
gap up by the cahier and you can zip in, grab something from the
carryout case and make a quick getaway.

Marge

--- In vpFREE_StLouis@yahoogroups.com, "hockeystl" <vegasstl@...>
wrote:

···

My suggestion is to continue to get your comps as you earn them and
chow down! If you have an abundance of meal comps, they offer baked
goods in the Diner which can be taken 'to-go'. The whole pies and
cakes are enormous and are great for parties, etc.

[appleworks51]

"So they're bankable now?"
and he replied, "Yes". The actual fact is that the comps are NOT
truly bankable.

Actually, they are bankable now. The boothing who told you about the
5-day average was not informed about the recent change and was
mistaken. He was telling you the OLD WAY. It is not that way now.

On Friday night, we confirmed that we had each earned $33 in
discretionary comps and that they would remain available to us on
future visits.

On Sunday night we came back asked how much in comps we had, and the
answer was as expected - $33 each. Same as it was after playing on
Friday night.

They realize that there has been some confusion and misinformation
going on. If you go back and speak to someone you know is "with it,"
you should get your banked $100 available.

BTW, as of Tuesday 3/14, the price of the Ameristar buffet has gone
up $1 in every category. Lunch is $10.99, Brunch is $14.99, Crab Leg
night is $19.99, Saturday night is $17.99, and Sunday night is $15.99.

- bcc

[hockeystl]

--- In vpFREE_StLouis@yahoogroups.com, "appleworks51"
<appleworks51@...> wrote:

> "So they're bankable now?"
> and he replied, "Yes". The actual fact is that the comps are NOT
> truly bankable.

Actually, they are bankable now. The boothing who told you about

the

5-day average was not informed about the recent change and was
mistaken. He was telling you the OLD WAY. It is not that way now.

On Friday night, we confirmed that we had each earned $33 in
discretionary comps and that they would remain available to us on
future visits.

Actually, they are not "truly" bankable. What this means is that if
you earn $33 per visit for ten consecutive visits you cannot come in
after the tenth visit and expect to have $333 available. The only
thing they're banking is the amount you earned on your last visit, or
the amount available based on your trip average - likely the higher
of the two.

[jim_becker]

--- In vpFREE_StLouis@yahoogroups.com, "appleworks51"
<appleworks51@...> wrote:

>
Actually, they are bankable now. The boothing who told you about the
5-day average was not informed about the recent change and was
mistaken. He was telling you the OLD WAY. It is not that way now.

On Friday night, we confirmed that we had each earned $33 in
discretionary comps and that they would remain available to us on
future visits.

This sounds very good, How long are they available ? 5 visits ? 1
month ? some places it is 13 months, Last in First out.

On Sunday night we came back asked how much in comps we had, and the
answer was as expected - $33 each. Same as it was after playing on
Friday night.

That is good, but doesnt really fully explore the situation, if after
several visits and tracking each days comp and adding that to the
previous days, then we will have a better understanding of the new
system. I rarely play at Ameristar, so I cant be of much help.

They realize that there has been some confusion and misinformation
going on. If you go back and speak to someone you know is "with it,"
you should get your banked $100 available.

- bcc

Thanks for the info, well see what the future brings.
Jim

[hockeystl]

--- In vpFREE_StLouis@yahoogroups.com, "appleworks51"
<appleworks51@...> wrote:

Actually, they are bankable now. The boothing who told you about

the

5-day average was not informed about the recent change and was
mistaken. He was telling you the OLD WAY. It is not that way now.

On Friday night, we confirmed that we had each earned $33 in
discretionary comps and that they would remain available to us on
future visits.

On Sunday night we came back asked how much in comps we had, and

the

answer was as expected - $33 each. Same as it was after playing on
Friday night.

Actually what you described would not fully explain if they
are 'truly' bankable. They only banked one trip worth of comps,
which could also be close to your 5 trip average (or perhaps they use
the higher of your most recent trip instead).

After you make 10 trips, and assuming you would earn $33 per trip,
you should have $333 available. It was made very clear to me that
this is NOT what will happen after the change.

[appleworks51]

This sounds very good, How long are they available ? 5 visits ? 1
month ? some places it is 13 months, Last in First out.

I didn't specifially ask this question, but the implication
was "forever," which I doubt is true. I would like to know the answer
to this, too.

That is good, but doesnt really fully explore the situation, if

after

several visits and tracking each days comp and adding that

We did not ask about comps after playing Sunday night. We are
assuming that they will pile on, because we were told this multiple
times by different boothings. We will not go back until Friday (clam
chowder/pick up money night).

We actually have played 3 times since the new system went into
effect. The first time, we took the comps anyway, because we doubted
what we were being told about comps staying in the accounts. The
second time, we carried them forward and then 2 days later, used part
of them for the buffet. The third time, we didn't ask. I expect that
we still have what's left over from the previous comps, plus what we
earned Sunday night. If there is some glitch that they are not
telling us, I would be very surprised.

I believe one of the points of this is to be more Harrah's-like,
where people routinely carry forward hundreds, even thousands, of
dollars in comps. They go in and out. You can eat any time, even
before playing (although often Ameristar would do this also).

- bcc

[appleworks51]

The only

thing they're banking is the amount you earned on your last visit, or
the amount available based on your trip average - likely the higher
of the two.

Then that's not much of an improvement. I wonder why they would have
their employees tell people that the comps would stay in the account
without making the qualification that they have to take them all out on
the very next visit, presumably before starting to play. We specifically
asked about the 5-visit average, and were told it was "no more."

It does sound logical that it would only be the last visit, though. They
can't become a Harrah's (hand card to the waiter, sign, done)overnight.

So, back to Harrah's, then...

- bcc

[hockeystl]

--- In vpFREE_StLouis@yahoogroups.com, "appleworks51"
<appleworks51@...> wrote:

The only
> thing they're banking is the amount you earned on your last

visit, or

> the amount available based on your trip average - likely the

higher

> of the two.

Then that's not much of an improvement. I wonder why they would

have

their employees tell people that the comps would stay in the

account

without making the qualification that they have to take them all

out on

the very next visit, presumably before starting to play. We

specifically

asked about the 5-visit average, and were told it was "no more."

It does sound logical that it would only be the last visit, though.

They

can't become a Harrah's (hand card to the waiter, sign, done)

overnight.

So, back to Harrah's, then...

Yikes, I wouldn't go that far! Ameristar's cashback is still 2.5x
higher than Harrahs on regular days and comps are still about 2x as
much. I also heard last night that Ameristar will start with 3x
points on Thr and Sun. This has not yet been confirmed by a
reputable source.

I hope you're correct about the full banking of comps, but I think
management just told the employees to tell customers the comps stay
in their account a) So they can reduce their labor costs since they
likely won't be printing comps nonstop now and b) Smooth over the
enforcement of expiration dates.

[margec01]

If they ARE banking comps, that's great. If they're not, it sounds
like they understand that's what we WANT, at least. Now let's just see
if they follow through or are just screwed up.

···

I hope you're correct about the full banking of comps, but I think
management just told the employees to tell customers the comps stay
in their account a) So they can reduce their labor costs since they
likely won't be printing comps nonstop now and b) Smooth over the
enforcement of expiration dates.

[appleworks51]

Well, we learned a little bit more today, but not much. Yes, they "look
at" past comps that were not yet redeemed and apply them to a total
available. However, apparently there is no box on the computer where
it's all neatly added up for them. And maybe there is no place to note
that a partial comp was taken. You get the impression that they are
adding it up in their head (gulp!).

Haw far back do they look? Don't know. When do they expire? I don't
think they know, either.

We are going to continue to take comps as we go, for the sake of keeping
it simple and more accurate. We get kind of sick of Ameristar's
restaurants and long buffet lines (no comp line, no Star Club line)---
and you can only eat so many Ameristar cheesecakes.

So that's what little we learned. They aren't all that forthcoming with
answers.

- bcc

[hockeystl]

Sounds like they're doing exactly what I was told they were going to
do....

···

--- In vpFREE_StLouis@yahoogroups.com, "hockeystl" <vegasstl@...> wrote:

I hope you're correct about the full banking of comps, but I think
management just told the employees to tell customers the comps stay
in their account a) So they can reduce their labor costs since they
likely won't be printing comps nonstop now and b) Smooth over the
enforcement of expiration dates.

--- In vpFREE_StLouis@yahoogroups.com, "appleworks51"
<appleworks51@> wrote:
just outraged that they would do this without any warning.

[appleworks511]

Sounds like they're doing exactly what I was told they were going to
do....

They went back to the way it used to be. Wait in line at the end of the
night and come back within 8 days, or face the dreaded "average of last
5 plays."

For two weeks, we enjoyed easy and generous comps, coming in on our
schedule instead of theirs, feeling really good about Ameristar and its
employees, and playing there a lot more than we usually do.

Now, we have a rotten feeling about Ameristar, who has alienated many of
their best customers (us), made their own employees look like fools, and
retreating into an old-fashioned system that we do not particularly
enjoy.

- bcc

[hockeystl]

--- In vpFREE_StLouis@yahoogroups.com, "appleworks51" <a2mg@...>
wrote:

> Sounds like they're doing exactly what I was told they were going

to do....

They went back to the way it used to be. Wait in line at the end of

the

night and come back within 8 days, or face the dreaded "average of

last

5 plays."

And this is exactly what I was told they were doing (and what I
posted)...essentially that nothing was changing except the
enforcement of expiration dates.

For two weeks, we enjoyed easy and generous comps, coming in on our
schedule instead of theirs, feeling really good about Ameristar and

its

employees, and playing there a lot more than we usually do.

Now, we have a rotten feeling about Ameristar, who has alienated

many of

their best customers (us), made their own employees look like

fools, and

retreating into an old-fashioned system that we do not particularly
enjoy.

Well their system, IMO, is still more generous than Harrahs. Let's
compare:

Cashback
Ameristar: 0.25%
Harrahs: 0.1%

Comps
Ameristar: ~0.45% (must use within one week)
Harrahs: 0.1% on most playable machines, non multiplier day (bankable)

Bounceback
Ameristar: $20/week for most players
Harrahs: Various amounts from $7/week to $50/week.

[jim_becker]

You are correct that the comp/cashback at Ameristar is better than
Harrahs for low volume players and if you dont have a good multiplier
(for either place). You also need to consider what games to play.

.25 and .50
Ameristar JOB 99.5% several of them
           Loose Dueces 99.2% 3 of them

Harrahs JOB 99.5% one machine
           several other games, but only one machine of each type
           with 99%+ paytables

$1/up and .10/.25 multiline high volume games
Ameristar Loose Dueces 99.2% 3 of them
           50 play .10 Dbl Bonus 99.1% several of them
           5play multistrike .25 Dbl Bonus 99.1% few of them

Harrahs Same games in 'good' bank range 99.0 to 99.8% only one of
           each type $1 or $2.
           $2 Super Dbl progrsv base 98.7% w/1% meter often positive
           $2 Super Bns Dueces progsv base 98.9% w/1% meter often pos.

Personally, I dont care for .50 JOB, so the best game at Ameristar is
99.2 + .25 = 99.45% and that is not acceptable. I really like
Ameristar as a property, and wish they had something I could play.

···

--- In vpFREE_StLouis@yahoogroups.com, "hockeystl" <vegasstl@...> wrote:

Well their system, IMO, is still more generous than Harrahs. Let's
compare:

Cashback
Ameristar: 0.25%
Harrahs: 0.1%

Comps
Ameristar: ~0.45% (must use within one week)
Harrahs: 0.1% on most playable machines, non multiplier day (bankable)

Bounceback
Ameristar: $20/week for most players
Harrahs: Various amounts from $7/week to $50/week.

[appleworks511]

several other games, but only one machine of each type

            with 99%+ paytables

There is only one 9/6 JOB, but there are more of the 8/5 Bonus, 9/7 DB,
and 9/6 DDB at Harrah's. Overall, the total is slightly more than the
Ameristar row of "better" machines.

- bcc