In a message dated 10/18/2002 1:43:25 AM Pacific Standard Time,
llvrenoforum@yahoogroups.com writes:
Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 10:40:24 EDT
From: becksam@aol.com
Subject: Re: Harrah's cashback is now via mailI also was at H's Tahoe last weekend...and was told something different by
everyone I asked. We did NOT get any advance mailing. The most frequent
response to my questions was "has that started already?"I heard the Reel Rewards would be sent out quarterly. I heard nothing
about
doubled, which would be great, if true. My biggest concern, which if true
would be a very sneeky way for them to greatly reduce cash back...what if
they replace/combine them with the mailed Reel Rewards they are already
sending us?And why did they stop displaying cash back? If they really are going to
send
it to us, wouldn't they still put in on the display to let us know how it
is
accumulating? I don't trust this at all - it smells bad.
It is bad. Was there last Thu & a long time employee, Terri Caldwell, tried
to put a good spin on it which I understood was the party line that she had
to give us. I replied that the change has already made the rounds on the
internet & nobody likes it. Terri & most of the booth employees have always
tried to be considerate & helpful so don't take it out on them.
Unfortunately, the decision makers hide behind them & can only be reached by
mail which has never worked for me on any meaningful matters like this.
TRIPLE REEL REWARDS -- ONE LAST CHANCE
The only way they could mollify the pain of this conversion was to tell me
that I had $87+ coming which she would round up to $90 & advised me that
triple reel rewards was still available if I take it over to the Harveys side
& convert it. This I did & I took it over to the $5 slots & converted it to
$70. Insteading of stopping like you should, I converted that to $0.
DOUBLE REEL REWARDS WILL BE AVAILABLE ON DESIGNATED DAYS
The new mail-back cashback program will have some (few?) designated double
reel reward days. I'm guessing these will probably be midweek,
traffic-builder days which they will need. The expiration dates will probably
be short too so that will save Harrahs additional money as the cashback will
expire before many people go to the hassle of redeeming it. A possible play
strategy (considering cashback only) is to play heavily only on those trips
when you know you will have a nearby return trip to use the cashback & play
light on the trips when you don't.
Don't know if daily trip average is a consideration here, perhaps someone can
comment. Tend to think it isn't as qualifications for various levels are over
a period of time like a quarter or a year.
COMPETITION
Harrahs has 70% of the market in Lake Tahoe. Despite the changes, I won't
stop coming due to its charms but I started to gamble at the Horizon for the
first time this year. As the system gets progressively worse in south shore,
I'll spend more time at the Hyatt at north shore.
There are 2 main arteries to Reno - Tahoe from CA. 80 to Reno, 50 to Lake
Tahoe & a lesser-used 88 which goes to Minden, NV but has an easy detour to
Lake Tahoe & continues from Minden as 395 N to Carson City & Reno. United
Auburn tribe & Station Casinos have inked a deal to build a
Green-Valley-Ranch type casino off of 80 which would corner a lot of
Reno-Tahoe traffic coming from the Bay Area. Another tribe has plans to build
just west of Jackson on 88. There are already 2 existing & very well-attended
indian casinos, Cache Creek which is not far from Sacramento and Jackson
Rancheria which is off of 88. I have not been to Cache Creek but I have been
to Jackson & it is packed. Judging by what I've been told about the buses,
its target market ranges from Sacramento to the Bay Area south to San Jose.
Any of the casinos in Reno-Tahoe would be lucky to have half the traffic
Jackson averages on a nightly basis. On concert nights, people are lined up
behind every available machine. Jackson would like to double in size but
there is a constraint on growth which has something to do with the number of
slot machines the state limits it to. I suspect that Cache Creek also has the
same problem as I hear it is also packed.
In any case, the current competition is not favorable for Reno-Tahoe casinos &
the future competition is heavily on the minds of employees. So why does
Harrahs make moves like this which weaken its current position further? They
could be following the Boeing model of using the current downturn to beat
employees into submission on current or future negotiations. In all the S
Lake Tahoe casinos, there are still a large number of employees from overseas
(eastern europe). As a group, they all have good English skills & are quite
pleasant to receive service from. However, I am speculating that these
employees (probably near-minimum wage) are being retained while other
longer-term employees are being laid off or let go in order to significantly
lower their average wage base.
As for lost customers, they probably think that we can be brought back with
future promotions. When we see these, we should apply the Gary Loveman
(Harrahs CEO) mentality in valuing the offers. Harrahs has a history of
changing its programs without notice so discount any offers by 50%.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]