I doubt there is much male-female discrimination for gamblers. Often one
reason why people get different offers is the amount of winning/losing during a
session. Two people can play the same game, side by side, for the same
length of time, and might get two different offers. Some factors that can affect
offers include length of play, amount of coin in, denomination, win/loss,
and even the specific machine you play on. At Taj Mahal in Atlantic City I was
told that all these factors were put into the equation plus Secret Factor X
(whatever that was). If you played on 2 exact machines, side-by-side for the
same amount of coin in, you could get 2 amounts of cashback.
Generally speaking, the higher the denomination you play, the more you will
receive. But this isn't a hard and fast rule. For example a player who
plays 1 hour at a $5 VP machine might end up getting less than a quarter player
playing 20 hours on a quarter machine -- the long length of play could in the
end count for more.
In some casinos, a little reel slot play might count for a lot if added to
some VP play.
Another factor is the "daily average" which is extremely important in many
places. In casino X for instance, if you stay Friday and Sat. nights and play
on Sat. and Sunday morning, it could end up counting this as a 3 day stay,
and average your play out that way. Had you played only Friday and Sat. or
Sat. only, you might have a 2-day stay in their books, and be averaged out that
way.
Take the bad example of the Palms, where you are really penalized by their
"daily average system." On day 1 of the month you play $100,000 through a
machine. You'd think you'd be a top player. But then you come back to pick up
your cashback (free play) 9 times during the month, because that is how they
issue it, and you don't play. Now you go in 1 time to see a movie and have
a dinner and don't play. You meet a friend and have dinner another time.
You do this because you are a local. Okay -- you have now visited the Palms
12 times during the month. But they average you by 12 - so you end up a
$8333 daily average player.
Meanwhile the friend you had dinner with sat down and played before he met
you. He played $15,000 through a machine, and then he left town. He is a
$15,000 daily average player in their books - and he ends up getting more offers
than you do.
Is this fair? No. Actually it is pretty stupid. You put through more
money, plus you are visiting the casino several times and paying for dinners and
a movie. Even if this comes from comps, you are tipping people and keeping
the restaurants busy. Your friend is going to end up with even more comps
than you next month, so the comp-part is going to average out.
Meanwhile, you are going to be upset when you see your offers go down, and
end up going somewhere else. The Palms has just lost a $100,000 player!
If you played that $100,000 through at a Coast casino, they use Coin-In per
month, so your average will not go down if you visit them for dinners, movies,
etc. Also you can collect your cashback at one time, immediately after you
play. You will get fewer bounceback offers than at the Palms, but this will
be more convenient.
If you play that $100,000 through during 1 day at a Harrah's casino, you
will get tons of offers, and can take most of them for months without ever
playing again before the offers finally trickle off. But your cashback will be
pitiful, but the comps and offers for slot tournaments etc. will be good.
And so on.
For best results, in general, if you are staying at a hotel, play during the
days you have room nights and don't play a little on the day you leave.
Anywhere you play, try to maximize your play on 1 day rather than spread it out
over several days. Try to play longer at a lower denomination machine. Try
to play at least 4 hrs a day. For unknown reasons, many casinos seem to
chart things by a 4-hour-a-day criteria.
Since in some instances losers get more than winners, you might want to
think about trying to increase your recorded loss. Don't go overboard with card
pulling though -- casinos can sometimes track this and don't like it. But
you could try a little bit of card pulling. For example -- you are dealt 3
Aces while playing 5 play multiline DDB. Take your card out. If you don't get
the 4 Aces, put it back in immediately. If you do get the Aces, leave card
out and don't put it in until you have played another hand. At end of
session, remove card before you cash out. Just do this extremely sparingly - not
every hand or every few hands! But just a few times where it seems you might
win a large amount. This may or may not show up on the computer as less coin
out, but you never know. Should you ever be questioned -- you were removing
your card to check to make sure your points were being updated correctly to
the computer (or come up with some other excuse - you were checking on your
comps, you thought someone else's card might have been in there, you had to go
to the bathroom, your wife took your card out "for luck"). Don't overdo!
Another method for maximizing losses could be as follows: You have played
over 4 hrs and have a lot of play. You are loser. You think you've played
enough for the level of play you want. Pull out your card and stop playing on
it. Now you are a loser. But you wanted to keep playing -- so play on your
husband's card, or play somewhere else for the rest of the day.
A good time to ask for comps is when you are losing and/or when you are
playing a $5 or higher slot machine. If you play tables, try asking for a comp
when you have upped your bets to $25, not when you are putting out $5 a hand.
Oh - another reason for people getting different offers? Are you a Vegas
local? I get far fewer offers from Harrahs than out-of-town friends of mine
who play far less. They determinedly don't want locals. Harrah's sometimes
assigns the place where you play the most as your "home" casino. Then they
tend to send you fewer offers from there based on this faulty logic -- since you
are already visiting that property, you don't need to be enticed to visit
more! Talk about ways not to reward your loyal customers!
At some casinos, Vegas locals may get better offers than non-locals. The
Venetian sometimes sends locals bounceback checks of $25, $50, $100, or $200
(perhaps more) per week for a month. Out-of-towners don't get these. Palms
sends lots of mailers to locals who out-of-towners don't get. Coast locals get
mailers for food and cash, but out-of-towners might find the offers they get
for RFB (free food) and rooms to be the better bet.
And so on.
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