Hi,
A friend and I spent last weekend at the Peppermill. Not much new to report. I didn't do an exhaustive search, but from what I could tell, game inventory seemed stable as reported on the database... although it might be worth adding that there are many 25-cent 3/5 play 9/6 JOB machines scattered around the casino in both upright and slant-top configurations, including many in the zone in front of the buffet. One of these machines was kind enough to give me a royal (holding 3 cards), thus making my trip profitable. We stayed in one of the remodeled Peppermill tower rooms -- IMHO this room was nearly as nice as the Tuscany Tower. As someone who basically uses the room to shower and sleep, I certainly don't see a reason to pay the 50%+ increase in comp dollars for the Tuscany room.
Business seemed really slow to me. We arrived at about 11 PM on Friday, and it was DEAD. Saturday and Sunday daytimes and early evenings were a bit better, but overall the state of the economy is taking its toll.
As was announced about a million times over the PA on Sunday, at 12:01 AM Monday Pepp shut down their slot club kiosks for the week -- they're expected to be back online by this coming Tuesday. The announcer kept stressing that with the new system they're installing, players will be able to issue their own comps. Sounds Harrahs-ish. Is this likely to result in an environment where hosts are more-or-less useless, and all benefits are managed very impersonally by computer? I hope not, but I'd appreciate hearing feedback from more frequent visitors once the new system is in place.
Cheers...
--Joe