vpFREE2 Forums

Just for variety: a post about video poker

Survey of the Big Three west of the Strip:

Orleans: No decent games at the $1 level. Some quarter plays remain,
but .25 FPDW is getting harder and harder to find as the target of a
gradual replacement scheme. Slanttops near slot club remain for now.
There is no decent multiline play anywhere is the place: not even
9/6 JOB or NSUD can be found on the multiliners. Slot club mailers
are now sent on what they call month to month action, although since
I got my March mailer yesterday I guess the month in question for
March is JANUARY. This place is going downhill fast.

Gold Coast: Less than half the .25 FPDW remains. Almost every day
another bank disappears. There are no $1 plays left (or .50, for
that matter). There is one bank of multiliners (no ticket-out) that
still has triple play 10/7 DB. This bank is clogged with locals just
about all the time (especially on multipoint days), as it's the last
such bank in the building. It is safe to assume that the Coast
Customer Alienation Program will continue here as it has at Suncoast
and Orleans, but the GC got a later start.

Palms: No change in inventory of note, which means they still have
10/7 DB in .25, .50 (ten-quarter), and $1; .25 10/6 DDB; .25
FPDW; .25 FPJKB; and NSUD in $2 and up denoms (worth a play to get
into their higher levels for cash mailings). My mailed bennies for
Feb amounted to $440, plus $120 food comps, plus two movie tix, a
$50 spa credit, two car washes, nine Megabucks pulls, etc. etc.

Where do you think I'LL be playing from now on?

Sounds like a no-brainer to me. Too bad, I stayed at the Orleans a couple times and really grew to like the place. But if I want to scramble for full-pay machines, I can go to AC.

Elaine
"mkl54321 <mkl54321@yahoo.com>" <mkl54321@yahoo.com> wrote:Survey of the Big Three west of the Strip:

Palms: No change in inventory of note, which means they still have
10/7 DB in .25, .50 (ten-quarter), and $1; .25 10/6 DDB; .25
FPDW; .25 FPJKB; and NSUD in $2 and up denoms (worth a play to get
into their higher levels for cash mailings). My mailed bennies for
Feb amounted to $440, plus $120 food comps, plus two movie tix, a
$50 spa credit, two car washes, nine Megabucks pulls, etc. etc.

Where do you think I'LL be playing from now on?

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

What kind of monthly action will get you $440 in bounce back cash at
Palms?

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "mkl54321 <mkl54321@y...>"
<mkl54321@y...> wrote:

···

Palms: No change in inventory of note, which means they still have
10/7 DB in .25, .50 (ten-quarter), and $1; .25 10/6 DDB; .25
FPDW; .25 FPJKB; and NSUD in $2 and up denoms (worth a play to get
into their higher levels for cash mailings). My mailed bennies for
Feb amounted to $440, plus $120 food comps, plus two movie tix, a
$50 spa credit, two car washes, nine Megabucks pulls, etc. etc.

Where do you think I'LL be playing from now on?

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "belle_s_beau <belle_s_beau@y...>"
<belle_s_beau@y...> wrote:

What kind of monthly action will get you $440 in bounce back cash

at

Palms?

I don't really know what the threshold is. I don't think I put
through less than $30K in any one of the months where I received the
big yummies. A couple of months it was more like $70K.

In any case it look like I'm getting about 1-1.5% in additional cash
and comps. In some earlier months I got $175 bounceback when I
couldn't possibly have put through more than $15K.

I have been tempted to ask somebody what the guidelines actually
are, but the vacant, bovine stares of the slot club boothlings
always make me hesitate. (And these are better boothlings than most!)

A thing to remember about the Palms. Daily average is of prime importance in determining bounce-back and other mailed goodies. Try to put in more "big play" days rather than lots of little ones.

···

____________________
Jean $cott - "The Frugal Gambler"
Order autographed book, cassette tape, and the new
   Frugal VP software at http://www.frugalgambler.biz
Read Frugal Fridays at http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Or maybe I should have said: Put in fewer "big play" days rather than lots of little-play days.

···

____________________
Jean $cott - "The Frugal Gambler"
Order autographed book, cassette tape, and the new
   Frugal VP software at http://www.frugalgambler.biz
Read Frugal Fridays at http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Kevin,

A lot of people, especially out-of-towners planning vacations rely on us to post accurate and complete information about changes at their favorite spots. I don't suspect you of malignancy, just carelessness.

I do suggest that we inventory GC pretty frequently and post the results, especially the triple-play and machines in the big area near Ping Pang Pong to make sure that the downgrading is over.

I checked out both Orleans and GC today. Here is an accurate survey:

Orleans: All 50-cent and up VP was removed months ago and widely reported. All 25-cent machines were slowed down slightly. Except for the one bank of slant-top FPDW that moves at glacial speed, all other machines appear to play in the 500-600 Hands per hour range. As I like to play 700-900 HPH I find it slightly annoying but not critically so. There has been no degradation in the FPDW inventory in months. On a quick count I found over 60 machines and I know I missed some. There are no NSU's that I have seen.

The only 3-play they've had in a very long time is the two banks of 5-cent 10/7 DB progressives. These are fun and low-cost.

GC: As widely reported they recently changed several banks of Game King's to NSUD. They have left many FP's. All machines that at Dueces only, new or old are still FP. All the Game Makers are FP. There are still at least 30 Game King's with FP and there seems to be no sign of a change. The inventory has been stable for a while.

I forgot to look to see if the 50-cent 10/7's are OK. I assume they are.

I found several banks of 10/7 3-play quarters, not just one. They may have removed one as I always play at just one of them but there are certainly more than one bank.

I am not in any way defending Coast management. I fantasize that someone will hit Megabucks on March 17 at a Coast property with their card in (which would cost Michael Gaughan about $200,000 out of pocket...let's see at $7.50 / hour that is 26,667 hours of expert play at FPDW. Ah, fantasies)

Off-point comps are still erratic at Orleans. Sometimes you get 'em, other times SOL. I don't know about GC, has anyone tried lately?

Bill

···

At 08:16 PM 03/01/2003 +0000, you wrote:

Survey of the Big Three west of the Strip:

Orleans: No decent games at the $1 level. Some quarter plays remain,
but .25 FPDW is getting harder and harder to find as the target of a
gradual replacement scheme. Slanttops near slot club remain for now.
There is no decent multiline play anywhere is the place: not even
9/6 JOB or NSUD can be found on the multiliners. Slot club mailers
are now sent on what they call month to month action, although since
I got my March mailer yesterday I guess the month in question for
March is JANUARY. This place is going downhill fast.

Gold Coast: Less than half the .25 FPDW remains. Almost every day
another bank disappears. There are no $1 plays left (or .50, for
that matter). There is one bank of multiliners (no ticket-out) that
still has triple play 10/7 DB. This bank is clogged with locals just
about all the time (especially on multipoint days), as it's the last
such bank in the building. It is safe to assume that the Coast
Customer Alienation Program will continue here as it has at Suncoast
and Orleans, but the GC got a later start.

Kevin,

A lot of people, especially out-of-towners planning vacations rely

on us to

post accurate and complete information about changes at their

favorite

spots. I don't suspect you of malignancy, just carelessness.

I do suggest that we inventory GC pretty frequently and post the

results,

especially the triple-play and machines in the big area near Ping

Pang Pong

to make sure that the downgrading is over.

At the GC, the major devastation was in the west area near the
buffet; there used to be several banks of .25 FPDW there. The .25
FPDW that was in the nonsmoking area, as well as the two long bank
aligned east-west, are gone. One bank near Seattle Coffee is gone.

My count of .25 standalone FPDW is now 60 as opposed to 133 six
months ago. I realize that this loss is offset by FPDW (.25) being
available in multidenom Game Kings, but these can be downgraded in a
heartbeat (as opposed to the older FPDW which would need a glass
change). My main point is that the FPDW--all of it--is almost
certainly on its way out the door a la Suncoast. I doubt that ANY
report over a few days old would be accurate.

I did only find the one bank of 10/7 Triple Play, and seven or eight
with nothing playable. The one playable bank was near the south
stairs, with two machines unplayable due to screen malfunctions.

As far as the Orleans: I didn't bother to do an exact count. I did
have a hard time finding .25 FPDW in any but the two locations where
they had always been: uprights near the cashier and slanttops near
the slot club. The real slaughter I noticed was in the higher limit
(.50 and up) 10/7 DB, and the installation of some real crapola near
Sazio's and by the poker room. Multiliners are DEFINITELY a thing of
the past there.

Discretionary comps are a thing of the past at both properties, and
the criteria for mailings have been tightened drastically. So while
I may have been imprecise in my actual machine counts, the basic
point of my post was and is, Coast inventories are being gutted in
preparation for sacrificial offering to Harrah's, and these
properties no longer offer much in the way of decent play, and it
WILL get worse. In sharp contrast, the Palms continues to offer good
VP and tremendous mailed offers. So IMHO anybody with a few VP bucks
to spend, should spend them at the Palms.

···

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, Bill Coleman <billc140@m...> wrote:

Bill, thanks for the reassurance about Orleans - it sounds like the
quarter FPDW and DB are surviving so far, and that's all I really
care about anyway. Palms may be good for locals but it's not
competetive with Orleans for my visits.

I appreciate your taking the time to check it out and report the
details...

Kevin,

A lot of people, especially out-of-towners planning vacations rely

on us to

post accurate and complete information about changes at their

favorite

spots. I don't suspect you of malignancy, just carelessness.

I do suggest that we inventory GC pretty frequently and post the

results,

especially the triple-play and machines in the big area near Ping

Pang Pong

to make sure that the downgrading is over.

I checked out both Orleans and GC today. Here is an accurate survey:

Orleans: All 50-cent and up VP was removed months ago and widely

reported.

All 25-cent machines were slowed down slightly. Except for the one

bank of

slant-top FPDW that moves at glacial speed, all other machines

appear to

play in the 500-600 Hands per hour range. As I like to play 700-900

HPH I

find it slightly annoying but not critically so. There has been no
degradation in the FPDW inventory in months. On a quick count I

found over

60 machines and I know I missed some. There are no NSU's that I

have seen.

The only 3-play they've had in a very long time is the two banks of

5-cent

10/7 DB progressives. These are fun and low-cost.

GC: As widely reported they recently changed several banks of Game

King's

to NSUD. They have left many FP's. All machines that at Dueces

only, new or

old are still FP. All the Game Makers are FP. There are still at

least 30

Game King's with FP and there seems to be no sign of a change. The
inventory has been stable for a while.

I forgot to look to see if the 50-cent 10/7's are OK. I assume they

are.

I found several banks of 10/7 3-play quarters, not just one. They

may have

removed one as I always play at just one of them but there are

certainly

more than one bank.

I am not in any way defending Coast management. I fantasize that

someone

will hit Megabucks on March 17 at a Coast property with their card

in

(which would cost Michael Gaughan about $200,000 out of

pocket...let's see

at $7.50 / hour that is 26,667 hours of expert play at FPDW. Ah,

fantasies)

Off-point comps are still erratic at Orleans. Sometimes you

get 'em, other

times SOL. I don't know about GC, has anyone tried lately?

Bill

>Survey of the Big Three west of the Strip:
>
>Orleans: No decent games at the $1 level. Some quarter plays

remain,

>but .25 FPDW is getting harder and harder to find as the target of

a

>gradual replacement scheme. Slanttops near slot club remain for

now.

>There is no decent multiline play anywhere is the place: not even
>9/6 JOB or NSUD can be found on the multiliners. Slot club mailers
>are now sent on what they call month to month action, although

since

>I got my March mailer yesterday I guess the month in question for
>March is JANUARY. This place is going downhill fast.
>
>Gold Coast: Less than half the .25 FPDW remains. Almost every day
>another bank disappears. There are no $1 plays left (or .50, for
>that matter). There is one bank of multiliners (no ticket-out) that
>still has triple play 10/7 DB. This bank is clogged with locals

just

>about all the time (especially on multipoint days), as it's the

last

>such bank in the building. It is safe to assume that the Coast
>Customer Alienation Program will continue here as it has at

Suncoast

···

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, Bill Coleman <billc140@m...> wrote:

At 08:16 PM 03/01/2003 +0000, you wrote:
>and Orleans, but the GC got a later start.

Yes Bill we certainly do, and thank you very much for providing some
detailed scouting information. It is posts like this and the well
written and intellegent posts by Harry Porter and others that make it
worth while for me to sift through the ever thickening chaff on this
board. -JFR

···

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, Bill Coleman <billc140@m...> wrote:

SNIP
A lot of people, especially out-of-towners planning vacations rely
on us to post accurate and complete information about changes at
their favorite spots.
SNIP

Thanks Bill. I am traveling to LV tomorrow and yes I appreciate
accurate information when I am planning a trip. I had already booked
Orleans and GC for six days of an eight day trip and was telling
Brenda today how disappointed we were going to be with the shortage
of games we like at those two places. Sounds like things are not so
bad after all. Your report improved my spirits.

Thanks
Don Forsythe

Kevin,

A lot of people, especially out-of-towners planning vacations rely

on us to

post accurate and complete information about changes at their

favorite

spots. I don't suspect you of malignancy, just carelessness.

I do suggest that we inventory GC pretty frequently and post the

results,

especially the triple-play and machines in the big area near Ping

Pang Pong

to make sure that the downgrading is over.

I checked out both Orleans and GC today. Here is an accurate survey:

Orleans: All 50-cent and up VP was removed months ago and widely

reported.

All 25-cent machines were slowed down slightly. Except for the one

bank of

slant-top FPDW that moves at glacial speed, all other machines

appear to

play in the 500-600 Hands per hour range. As I like to play 700-900

HPH I

find it slightly annoying but not critically so. There has been no
degradation in the FPDW inventory in months. On a quick count I

found over

60 machines and I know I missed some. There are no NSU's that I

have seen.

The only 3-play they've had in a very long time is the two banks of

5-cent

10/7 DB progressives. These are fun and low-cost.

GC: As widely reported they recently changed several banks of Game

King's

to NSUD. They have left many FP's. All machines that at Dueces

only, new or

old are still FP. All the Game Makers are FP. There are still at

least 30

Game King's with FP and there seems to be no sign of a change. The
inventory has been stable for a while.

I forgot to look to see if the 50-cent 10/7's are OK. I assume they

are.

I found several banks of 10/7 3-play quarters, not just one. They

may have

removed one as I always play at just one of them but there are

certainly

more than one bank.

I am not in any way defending Coast management. I fantasize that

someone

will hit Megabucks on March 17 at a Coast property with their card

in

(which would cost Michael Gaughan about $200,000 out of

pocket...let's see

at $7.50 / hour that is 26,667 hours of expert play at FPDW. Ah,

fantasies)

Off-point comps are still erratic at Orleans. Sometimes you

get 'em, other

times SOL. I don't know about GC, has anyone tried lately?

Bill

>Survey of the Big Three west of the Strip:
>
>Orleans: No decent games at the $1 level. Some quarter plays

remain,

>but .25 FPDW is getting harder and harder to find as the target of

a

>gradual replacement scheme. Slanttops near slot club remain for

now.

>There is no decent multiline play anywhere is the place: not even
>9/6 JOB or NSUD can be found on the multiliners. Slot club mailers
>are now sent on what they call month to month action, although

since

>I got my March mailer yesterday I guess the month in question for
>March is JANUARY. This place is going downhill fast.
>
>Gold Coast: Less than half the .25 FPDW remains. Almost every day
>another bank disappears. There are no $1 plays left (or .50, for
>that matter). There is one bank of multiliners (no ticket-out) that
>still has triple play 10/7 DB. This bank is clogged with locals

just

>about all the time (especially on multipoint days), as it's the

last

>such bank in the building. It is safe to assume that the Coast
>Customer Alienation Program will continue here as it has at

Suncoast

···

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, Bill Coleman <billc140@m...> wrote:

At 08:16 PM 03/01/2003 +0000, you wrote:
>and Orleans, but the GC got a later start.

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "mkl54321 <mkl54321@y...>"
<mkl54321@y...> wrote:

I don't really know what the threshold is. I don't think I put
through less than $30K in any one of the months where I received

the

big yummies. A couple of months it was more like $70K.

In any case it look like I'm getting about 1-1.5% in additional

cash

and comps. In some earlier months I got $175 bounceback when I
couldn't possibly have put through more than $15K.

That's really is good. It's academic as I'm no local, but what sort
of hoops do you have to jump through for the bounce back. Timed for
certain days in certain amounts?