vpFREE2 Forums

vpFREE Posts on the value of hosts.

#1

At the risk of being vilified for agreeing with Rob Singer I have to offer
anecdotal info on my relationship with Harrah's.My friends are Diamond members,
as I am, and they have a host.They get one mailing a month on free room
nights for the next month.Period.Their host has never provided them with much
more than what is in the mailing except for an offer of limo service from the
airport which in the last 4 trips has only appeared once, necessitaing their
hailing a taxi after frustrations of trying to 'find' their free
transportation.
On the other hand, I get 3 to 4 mailings a month, offers of free slot
tournaments, VP tournaments, BJ tournaments, Rodeo show in December, all with free
nights and tickets to events, the Chippendales Show weekend, NY Eve 4 night
stay and just yesterday a FREE trip [4d 3n ] including airfare to San Diegeo
in Feb at their Rincon property.My friends are green since they would take
advantage of any of these offers but never get the info.So, in my experience,
hosts are anachronistic for non-local players.
KH

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#2

harlilady - You are implying that you get more mail offers than your
friends due to your not having a host and the fact that they do.

Do you believe that their host has gone to the Marketing Director and
said "Remove my clients from your mailing list for promos?"
I can't believe this is the case.

Saying hosts are unnecessary or can be counter productive is one thing.

But how can they interfere with direct mail offers?

#3

So, KH, I'm coming into LV in a couple months and would like good
seats for "O". All that are available via Ticketmaster on the Friday
for which I want tickets are nosebleed seats. Can you help me out?
I'm looking to pay out of pocket.

No? Then maybe I'll go back to the host who helped me out in October.
She picked up phenomenal center section, 3rd row tickets making for
one of the most memorable shows I've ever seen. The last time I
played in her casino was 2-1/2 years ago.

That's my definition of an outstanding host. I don't think you'll get
assistance like that through some marketing dept.

If you want examples of a shoddy host, I can offer up several from my
own experience and that of others. They're a dime a dozen. That's
not the point. If you seek out a strong host in the manner I
suggested, more likely than not you stand to benefit.

- Harry

Oh, and Rob, I think I've proven that I grant your play philosophy as
working for you and potentially working for others sharing comparable
play goals.

For you to suggest that I'm likely misguided in my approach to play,
and to indicate that I may be a "loser" as well, is simply bullshit
... but comes as no surprise.

#4

Harry: If you're going to LV and are willing to pay for tickets if
you don't get them comped, then you're on my team. Pick your most
desireable section. Asking a host for ANYTHING is never a good idea
and will have a negative effect on your freebies. You guys are always
worrying about your visibility when playing the positive EV games.
Why on earth would you be willing to compromise your stealth
existence for anything? It is 100% true that the value of comps put
out by Marketing Dept's. is FAR greater than that which you have to
beg for, and with a host you're going to notice it's all coming out
of your 'comp account' almost every time. I'm simply saying use the
mailings only and not your host--unless you've found a foolproof way
to manipulate them.

I know what you've said about my strategy, and it makes sense as
nearly everything you write does. That's why I took exception to your
unusual post on this subject. You should also know I believe strongly
that the more one is roped into playing--promotions or not--the more
probable it is that he or she is a loser who has been misguided by
long-term strategy. I don't know how you do, and I hope you've been
lucky. You just fit the pattern when you say things like how valuable
it is to use a host, and I believe you should know better. Those were
lines right out of Jean Scott's $3 bill show, and I was surprised.