It is a112 degrees and rising. In a few hours I will be leaving
the Phoenix area and heading to the San Diego area. I expect it
to be about 40 degrees cooler!
I wanted to mention something that I am learning. In order to
maximize comps and room offers I often try to reach at least
the "second tier" slot card level in most casinos. In the case
of Harrah's I moved two tiers to Diamond. On my first stop at
Barona Valley Ranch in San Diego, I played for awhile and then
asked to see a host for a free room and some food. They will
usually give you an idea of what is expected for such immediate
comps. I explained that if given a free room for the night and
some food I would stay and advance at least one card level
(Classic to Gold) before leaving. I did this and now I receive
more free rooms than I will ever need and some additional comp
cash and food.
This is similar to something I did a while back at the Ramada
Express in Laughlin. I moved from their "Classic" card to
a "Signature" card. Again many offers followed. Well eventually
my lack of play resulted in a drop back to the "Classic Card".
Recently I played a little video poker and then asked to speak
with an Executive Host. My purpose was to ask what level of
video play was expected to get back to the "Signature Card".
I was looking for a certain amount of dollar through number
based upon the main denomination machine I played. I was
surprise when I was told that the denomination of the machine
and dollar through was not the exterminating factor. I was told
it was mainly the denomination played and the number of hours,
not "dollar In". I do not remember the details, but it was around
10 hours for $.25 machine, about 6 hours for $1 machine and about
2 hours for the $5 machines. I was surprised by this information
and I kept it in the back of my mind. I had the intention of
returning someday and really "slow playing" to test this answer
with the minimum risk.
Well, this past Sunday I did just that test. I went in early in
the morning and sat at a $5 9/6 JoB machine. My goal was to play
a couple hours as slow as possible. This is easier said then
done, especially when all alone. I put $300 in the machine and
hit the "Deal" button. Then I waited. I had my watch sitting
next to me. I was deal 2 pair on the first draw. You can all
guess what I did next. I waited at least a minute before I held
one card. I waited at least another minute before holding my
second card. I think you get the point. I play 150 session
points which was a total of 50 hands in two and one half hours.
At the end of 50 hands I was financially dead even. I did not
want my card to time out so when dealt a no hold, I would put
something on hold and then remove it. I might do this a number
of times just to keep the machine alive. After 2 and one half
hours I moved to the machine next to me and played some $1 video
poker. I again played 150 session points and this was 250 hands.
I did not play the $1 level as slow as the $5 game. I had enough
of that!
After my play I went to the reward desk and asked if I qualified
for an upgrade. Nobody could answer, but they directed my to a
house phone where I talked to an Executive Host. She looked up
my information and said she had noticed that I had played 3.7
hours. I did not ague, but that was more time than I had played.
She also said her information had everything about my play,
including the dollar in, profit or loss for the year, etc, etc.
She said everything! She did not seem to focus on the $5 machine
play of that morning and noticed that I have played various
denominations in the past $.05, $.25, etc, but that I was mainly
a $1 player. She said she was impressed by my play today and I
should qualify for the Signature Card soon and told me how much
more it would offer in benefits. It was at this time that I was
given the news that she would like to see similar play as I did
today for at least two trips and the upgrade would be a sure
thing. That was the first time I heard of that, but it was not
surprising. I am sure there is some level of play that would
make it automatic on the first try. Also, today`s play was a
substantial change from previous play and I am guessing she would
like to see it again. Then she surprised me! Without my asking,
she said she would like to immediately place $40 into my comp
account so that I could have a nice dinner and that she hopes
to see me again soon. Remember, this was a conversation on the
house phone.
I hope that I am not boring everyone. Now the reason for the
early information about Barona Valley Ranch comes into play.
I do have their Gold Card and receive many nice comps. I have
no intention of try to get to their next card level. Comps do
not increase enough to make that a focus of my play. My though
was that I would just maintain what I have. Upon looking at
their web site I came across some surprising information. On
the site, they ALSO state that time of play is a significant
factor in determining comps. They specifically state that with
video poker they expect about 2 hours of play on a $1 machine
and 1 hour on a $5 machine for weekday rooms. For weekend rooms
the $1 machine play goes to 3 hours and the $5 machine play stays
at 1 hour.
What does this all mean. I think to minimize risk and to
maximize comps you should usually play both carefully and SLOW!
I will not say much more since this post is already too long.
I just wanted to emphasize that time of play is a big factor at
least in these two casinos. Unless you in a positive play
situation, there might be little reason to hurry play. In fact,
if you want to maximize comps it is often to you advantage to
play REAL SLOW. Everyone will play at their own enjoyment pace.
I just wanted for you to know how time is considered at some
casinos. I would be very interest to hear of any other casinos
members are aware of where time of play is a stated factor over
the traditional dollar in concept.
Maybe this is not only boring, but "old news", or "so what news"
to most of you. If that is the case I apologize.
Respectfully,
Bob