--- In vpFREE_NewEngland@yahoogroups.com, "steviemcc1"
<steviemcc1@y...> wrote:
2 days ago I was at Mohegan Sun and with $7000 in action at $1 PE,
I
asked for a food comp and got $20 for Fidelia's from a host named
Judy. Yesterday, with $5900 in action I saw a host named Cedrone
and
he was very informative. I was surprised when he said you only
need
one hour of play at $5/hand (ie. 5 x $1) to be admitted into a
lounge
(sachem, feather, or arrow) and that I qualified almost every day
I've been there; and I did in fact have quite a few days where I
only
played an hour at a 450 hand/hr rate. You can get 24 hrs of
lounge
access for every day that qualifies, but they will only look back
30
days. He let me see my computer screen which showed my numbers
(theos, avg's, etc.) None of the hosts who have seen my account
were
able to tell whether I was playing slots or VP; they treated it as
the same game. No where did my screen show an actual loss, just
the
theoreticals. Using simple division, and having played only $1
PE, I
was able to determine the theo they use for this is almost exactly
6%. Now I've seen some of the reports to the State of Connecticut
and have seen them classify machines and their percentage return
by
denomination but not by game (whether VP or slots). At MS, the
higher the denomionation, the higher the return. [Both MS and
Foxwoods have an overall return of 91.8%.] So the theo for .25 PE
might be higher than 6%.
I was interested in finding out what one needed to get comp
concert
tickets. Ced told me they look at 2 criteria. Your present 4
month
average theo (per day), and your 1 year gross theo; you need to
pass
both. The requirement varies from show to show and can vary from
day to day based on whether the artist has become more or less
popular than expected. So I asked about an average show like
Dolly
Parton (now sold out of comp's). For her you needed a 4 month avg
theo of $600, and a year gross theo of $30K. For Cher it got as
high
as $1500 avg theo. before it went back down. The gross theo is
generally going to be 50 times the avg theo. So they "expect" you
to
gamble at least 50 days/yr; if you were there only 25, you'd have
to
gamble twice as much on the days you're there. While this might
be
the criteria for shows, it might similarly apply to other comps as
well. Haaljo has written you need a $35K yr gross theo for
Sagamore
and $50K for Sachem cards. What is interesting that I've been
told
by other hosts as well is that gambling only little on some days
is
worse than not gambling at all since it will lower your 4 month
avg.
If going for those cards, you might consider averaging a theo of
$700/day and $1000/day respectively.
Stevie,
Interesting information. Several years ago when I enquired, I was
told that the theo for vp was in the range of 2.5% and for slots
just over 6%. For lounge eligibility, you would qualify with either
a certain theo or, alternatively, so many hours of play. I was told
that this was 5 hrs. on $1 machines or 1hr. on $5 machines. You
would not qualify w 4 hrs. on a $1 machine playing 5 coins, but
would qualify with 1 hr. on a $5 machine playing 1 coin. Therefore
my favorite became a $10 JOB machine w an 800x RF on one coin, till
it went MIA. I believe the weekend standards for lounge passes were
increased, and eligibility was only for the 24 hrs. following play.
I subsequently stated playing under my wife's card since as a slot
player she had much higher theo for similar action.
Eligibility carrying for 30 days is good news. It could be that the
system now recognizes 5 coin play at $1 as the equivalent of 5 hrs.
at 1 coin. Alternatively the system could now be granting the same
theo for vp as slots, although that would be illogical. [However my
vp playing frind qualifies for higher level tourneys than his slot
playing wife, and his action is not twice as much, so equal theos
may be the case.] Did you actual see or were you told what your theo
was?
As far as Sagamore status, I have been told that your host proposes
you and a committee passes on the application. They are looking for
history over a couple years as well as play level, since this status
is seldom revoked once granted. As previously discussed, there is
little benefit other than immediate lounge access and parking.
However, I was recently told by my friend that they are entitled to
free hotel suite upgrades, if available. I also heard that a host
called a player as soon as he parked, saying I see you are in the
casino. Therefore, you may not want to use this parking when not
playing.
When a host has been helpful, I try to let his or her boss know. I
have done this in person, but an email or letter to the head of
player development would be appropriate. It might be more diplomatic
to say how he/she made you feel at home, than saying how he/she
disclosed the workings or the ratings system. If you don't have a
host assigned you can also ask a helpful host if he/she can be your
assigned host.
With the recent increase in the playable inventory, I have less
aversion to playing on weekends (still don't love crowds or smoke).
I will probably compliment my host on these recent enhancements.
Management personal love hearing how well their place is being
managed, and I have found that MS management and tribal members love
hearing how they are doing a better job compared to Foxwoods.
David