Since May '07, I have been boycotting Mohegan Sun of gaming because
of the actions of this woman. Oh, I still went there to collect my
marketing offers and the offers still keep coming (e.g. LCD TV, $400
shopping in December, now the free cruise, etc.), and since then they
still have offered free rooms which I occasionally took advantage of;
but I have not played more than penny slots at the bar for one credit
[and obviously did not use my card.]
What she did to me I feel was atrocious, and I have been
contemplating going to the major newspapers and possibly the Attorney
General about it. She was assigned to me back in March, sent me a
welcoming letter, and first talked to me on the phone late in that
month. She told me that by having her as VP of Player Development
that she could do things for me a normal host could not do. [My
average daily theo is over 2000.] She asked if I wanted anything,
and I said "Well #1 I want 4 Gwen Stefani tickets, and while you're
at it, I could use Rod Stewart tickets too." At that time it was a
little early to reserve them on the toll-free VIP services line, but
I could have waited a bit and very well of had them that way. I did
not call her much, but every time I remember I did, she threatened to
cancel my Gwen Stefani and Rod Stewart tickets. One time I talked to
her afterward, I asked her for the "special" seats for Heaven &
Hell. She said she could not do that, but did say that if I did not
play by the end of the week, she would cancel my Gwen and Rod
tickets. Now it had only been barely over a month since I first
talked to her, and she was all ready threatening to take away the
very first thing I asked of her? So I did play my usual 14-15 hours
later that week. 2 weeks later I tried again, and asked her to try
to get me the best seats for Gwen Stefani since this was the one show
I wanted the most. She then told me that if I didn't play in the
next 23 hours, she was going to cancel not only all my Gwen Stefani
tickets, but also all tickets to any remaining shows (which she
did). She said that there had been ~ dozen shows over the prior 6
months that I attended without playing. Now I only first talked to
her 2 months prior to this and essentially congratulated for upping
my play to earn a VP of Player Development, so what is this that
she's complaining about 4 months before I even had her. No host or
anyone had ever complained about it before; and my theo has increased
substantially each succeeding year until that point. I live only
45min away from the casino, but I can't sacrifice 16+ hours every
time I'm there.
I begged her not to cancel my Gwen Stefani's and that I promised to
play the day after she asked, since I had to rush to New York City
that day, and even told her that my driver's side car window was
stuck in the down position, but I would give up getting that fixed in
order to play (and I did end up keeping that promise). Nevertheless,
she walked over to the Arena Club, and cancelled my Gwen Stefani
tickets. When I walked over there on the day of the show I was
supposed to have the "A" tickets, but I saw my name crossed off with
her notation. Lynn Foster was gone at this time, and then after a
hour on the phone to Player Development, I got her boss to okay 4
tickets, but they were so bad, (all the way in the back), that I
ended up throwing those away and buying others from someone standing
outside the Arena. I then went to the Box Office window and every
other good lower section in front had seats available.
I felt this was a great slap in the face. Then I starting thinking
about how it could have been a lot worse. What if the 4 tickets were
going to 4 teenage daughters having a birthday party around the show
and were all planning it for months. Then I thought how I was giving
up getting my car fixed to go play within a 24hr time frame. Then I
thought, what's next, giving up working a day to go play? Then I
thought of those compulsive gamblers in Gambler's Anonymous who could
have been influenced by high-pressure tactics exerted by people like
Lynn Foster. She claims it's because of her boss, VP of Marketing
Lisa Stevens. I can see how the casino might be concerned with
someone abusing comps, but if they never offered me the tickets to
begin with, I would not have complained. It's 100 times worse when
they give you something you plan for months, constantly use it as
hostage against you, and then take it away at the last minute. And
even if they offer me Rolls Royce, I don't think it's worth it if I
have to jump at the drop of a hat. I think Lynn Foster did not have
me long enough to justify what she did. I've worked in the Hotel,
Restaurant, & Service industry, and even if my boss told me to do it,
I would not have the nerve to do what she did. I've talked to many
other players and none of them have gotten this pressure to play from
her that I have. (Her picture looks rather young for a VP that
started out as a regular host, so maybe she was promoted quickly for
improving the "bottom line", but her way will not work with me.) She
has given me nothing I could have had without a host. She couldn't
even give me the first thing I asked her.
So for the past nine months I have given them nothing. Now they sent
me $400 more in free slot play and I'm considering caving in and
giving them a day, even though part of me does not want to do it. Am
I really off base here?