I have been a longtime lurker, and finally figured I ought to get off
my duff and post something. If I screw it up, please don't torch
me. I live in the Kansas countryside about 50 miles from Kansas
City. I go to Vegas about 3-4 times per year. I play primarily for
comps (I know that's blasphemy, but I earn a decent income, and the
thought of spending 14 hours a day in front of a video screen pushing
buttons for a "probable outcome" of $7 an hour, ... hell, I can stay
in Kansas at my desk pushing buttons on my computer for alot more
than $7 an hour).
We have 4 casinos in KC (there are 3 Indian casinos near Topeka, but
I wouldn't go into an unregulated casino - Indian or online - at
gunpoint). The Isle of Capri doesn't do much for me. It has lousy
VP, a seedy clientele, and no hotel. Same for the Argosy, although
it has rude staff and a buffet you could fit in a phone book as added
attractions. Ameristar (formerly a Station casino) is the largest in
KC and probably the most popular. However, I play primarily 9/6 JOB
and Pick'Em (I am tempted to try my hand at DB or DDB, but the
volatility coupled with the fact that I am, according to WinPoker,
nowhere near able to play them competently, prevent me from making
that jump yet). Ameristar had just one $1 9/6 JOB the last time I
checked, and the Pick'Em machines are impossible to get a seat at
after 3:00 p.m.
I know many in this group view Harrah's as just this side of demonic,
but it allows folks like me regular access to solid JOB and Pick'Em,
with pretty decent (and predictable) comps. The connection to
casinos in LV is the primary attraction. I am a Platinum card
holder, and I love being able to jump the line at the buffet at the
Rio (I know, it's not that big of a deal). Last year, I noticed that
I was only at the 2000-point level on 12/1, and you must get 3000 by
12/31 to keep Plat status. So I went to Harrah's and played $1 JOB
for 6 hours each on 2 days, accumulating over 1000 points. I managed
to hit a Royal for $4000 ("loved" getting that W2G right before the
end of the tax year). Boy, did that make the dam break! I now
regularly receive mail offers for 2-3 free nights at Harrah's in LV,
the Rio, Tahoe and Reno, as well as 2 free weekend nights a month at
the hotel in KC. I just accepted a mail offer for 3 free weekend
nights at the Rio, with 2 free tix to Scintas (I know, that's an easy
score), 2 free tix to Clint Holmes and $25 cash. I can go across the
street to the Palms and play for real, hoping that my continued play
in KC will keep the offers from the Rio coming. Now that it appears
that an average of $5-6k per day in KC turns on the faucet, and on a
very low-volatility game, I don't know that I need to search for a
casino in LV with "advantage play".
I can't speak for other visitors, but I have never felt welcome in
the locals casinos in LV. The boothlings, when they hear your "out-
of-town" address, roll their eyes more often than not. If the Coast
casinos are torching their inventory, content to tick off locals in
the hope that they are going to make up for it by suckering in us
dumb tourists, I have news for them. The Harrah's strategy of
spreading casinos across the country is working. We have our
own "locals" casinos, and we don't need to fly 1000 miles to get to
one. They should concentrate on serving the people who built them
into the successful operations they were so short a time ago.
Ok, I know I've rambled on way too long (future posts will be much
shorter), but I have a couple of questions for the group. My wife
played some at the California, and on a monthly basis, we started
getting great mail offers from them. In January, we went there, and
I took my staff along as a treat for them for 4 days. I set it up
through host Leslie Dennis. We had a triple-point deal, and I
thought it would boost future offers if all the play was on one
card. So we just got duplicate cards on my wife's account, and both
played on them. I thought we gave them a decent amount of play, but
now we get no offers at all! I even bought a $30 gift certificate at
the Fashion Show Mall for the host to show our appreciation. What
did I do wrong? Also, can you get in trouble for a married couple
both playing on one card? We went to MSS and used her card there,
altho every time I hit a quad for a scratch card, I got up and went
to the bathroom while my wife moved into my seat and took the card.
Muchas gracias,
Russ
Sinatrafan12000