slot
club spotlight
By Jeffrey
Compton |
More
Changes
The Las Vegas slot club renovation continues |
Two months
ago, I stated that there have been more slot club changes in 2000
than in any comparable period. I discussed changes at Bally/Paris,
Silverton, Venetian, San Remo, Regent Las Vegas and Four Queens.
This
month, three more slot clubs are added to the list: the four-year
old Club Monte Carlo, plus two established local Las Vegas veterans,
the Town Club at Sam’s Town and The Club at the Gold Coast.
(Note: The Tropicana Winners Club has also announced a makeover,
but due to computer difficulties, the new club is not up and running
at press time.)
While
the sheer number of changes continues to surprise me (and frustrate
me, as I’m trying to get the long overdue second edition of
my slot club guide out the door), none of the specific changes are
out of the ordinary. Whenever casino managers establish or redesign
their slot clubs, they all ask themselves the same questions: “Should
we offer cash rebates?”; “Should we tell our members how
much play is required to get specific comps?”; and “Should
we have special cards for our better players?” The changes
below show how three casinos answered at least one of those questions.
Gold
Coast
According
to Gold Coast propaganda, The Club is the largest slot club in Las
Vegas, and it’s certainly one of the oldest. Like most casinos
catering primarily to Las Vegas locals (including the Fiesta, Arizona
Charlie’s and Station Casinos), The Club rewarded comp dollars
only, but gave members a wide variety of places to spend those comps.
Besides hotel rooms and restaurant meals, members could spend their
comp dollars on a selection of gifts, or purchase gift certificates
at several popular local stores, such as Ultimate Electronics. Coast
management did offer cashback at their two other nearby properties,
The Orleans and Barbary Coast.
Two months
ago, cashback came to the Gold Coast. Members of The Club earn one
point for every dollar coin-out (more on that in a minute), and
can redeem them for cash based on a rate of 4,000 points to $10
(translating into a .25% rebate). Gone are the gift displays, gone
are the gift certificates, gone are the famous four-color point
redemption catalogs—now all you get is cold hard cash. That
is, unless you’re hungry, for under the new system, Gold Coast
Club members can redeem their points for food or hotel rooms at
a slightly higher rate: 4,000 points equals 12 comp dollars.
And better
news yet, members can cash out all their unredeemed points at the
same rate. Like many long-time casinos with non-cash slot clubs,
the Gold Coast has quite a few members with over a million points,
some as many as 10 million points (which equals $25,000 in cash).
While
a .25% cash rebate (or a .30% comp rebate) may not seem all that
exciting, it is when you consider that the Gold Coast still offers
some of the best video poker in town, especially within throwing
distance of the Strip. Though many of their better 100%+ single-line
machines are being replaced by multi-line games (including Triple
Play, Five-Play and Ten Play) with tighter schedules, you can still
find several full-pay quarter Deuces Wild games, as well as quarter
and dollar 10/7 Double Bonus.
“My
favorite spot,” according to Strictly Slots columnist Scotch
Henderson, “is the central bar, where the slow-as-molasses
bartop multi-games have full-pay Jacks or Better, Double Bonus,
and Deuces Wild. Fosters and Killians are on tap and the bartenders
can make anything you can think of, while the race and sports book
and the craps tables provide the soundtrack.”
Also,
the Gold Coast (as well as Barbary Coast and The Orleans) has a
tradition of offering frequent double points plus one triple point
day per month, usually on a holiday. Assuming none of this changes,
video poker players, especially educated video poker players, have
several opportunities for lucrative play, or, at least, a rather
cheap way to earn a meal. Multi-hour $1 and above players can probably
get additional meal comps through a host or slot supervisor without
using their points.
Note:
The Club at the Gold Coast (as well as Club Orleans and the Fun
Club at Barbary Coast) rewards points based on coin-out, not coin-in.
This means that instead of earning points based on every dollar
you play—either by depositing coins, injecting currency, or
playing off the credit meter—you earn points on the dollars
you win, whether they drop into the tray or go on to the credit
meter. More than at most clubs, you have to be very careful that
you do not inadvertently lose points by pulling your card from the
meter too soon. Wait until every credit is played off and every
coin has dropped into the tray before you touch that card.
Monte
Carlo
The Monte
Carlo is the only casino on the Strip with duel ownership. First
proposed as a joint deal between Gold Strike and Mirage Properties,
it then became a joint project between Circus Circus Enterprises
(who bought Gold Strike) and Mirage Properties. Since the opening,
Circus Circus Enterprises changed its name, while Mirage got gobbled
up, so now Monte Carlo is owned 50% by Mandalay Resort Group, who
manages it, and 50% by MGM.
It’s
also, in my opinion, one of the most underrated properties on the
Strip, and one of my frequent recommendations to out-of-town friends
making their first trip to Las Vegas. Visitors will find everything
they would expect in a Strip megaresort, including a large casino
with 2,100 slots and 95 tables, 3,000 well-designed hotel rooms,
six restaurants (plus a food court), a headliner show featuring
Lance Burton, health spa, shops, etc. And all of it is available
for considerably less money per night than at other properties (the
casino rate is $59 on weekdays). Besides an excellent location near
Tropicana and Las Vegas Blvd, there is now a convenient monorail
to Bellagio (and whatever else you want to see at Flamingo and Las
Vegas Blvd.). My only complaint is that the Monte Carlo’s video
poker is mediocre, with the best games being 9/7 Double Bonus and
8/5 Bonus.
As with
other slot clubs in the Mandalay family, Club Monte Carlo awards
four points for every $15 coin in on slots and two points for every
$15 played on video poker. Members can redeem their points at a
rate of 200 points for $5 cashback, which translates into a .67%
kickback for slots and .33% for video poker. Room and food comps
are based on theoretical hold—in other words, they don’t
tell you. (Note: Last December, all Mandalay casinos including the
Excalibur, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, Circus Circus, Circus Circus Reno,
and the Edgewater and Colorado Belle in Laughlin, reduced their
cashback from 1% slots and .5% video poker to the current levels.)
In June,
Club Monte Carlo became the first Mandalay Resort Group casino to
offer premium-level cards. Members who normally earn RFB status
(about 2,500 points per day) will receive a Gold Card. Members with
200,000 lifetime points who average 5,000 points per day will receive
a Platinum Card. Membership levels will be reviewed by club management
every six months, and qualified Gold and Platinum members will be
able to pick up their new cards from VIP check-in upon arrival.
According
to David Sarafini, Club Monte Carlo Manager, “Gold Card members
receive unlimited line pass privileges, VIP check-in, and use of
the special VIP member-only line at our main club booth. Platinum
members receive 1% cashback (wow!) on all machines including slots,
video poker, and video keno. They will also receive exceptional
birthday and anniversary gifts, as well as special invitations to
exclusive events.”
Sam’s
Town
If you
have not been to Sam’s Town in the last year or so, you are
in for a bit of a shock. The casino is in the middle of a yearlong
renovation/expansion to give it a “new, sophisticated look.”
The casino and all the restaurants have been completely renovated—and
so far, the results are quite impressive.
“The
casino sports a brighter, lighter look,” comments Scotch Henderson,
“while maintaining the Old West theme. The new multi-colored
carpeting is a big improvement over the old solid red design.”
By late
November of this year, Sam’s Town plans to open 18 all-digital
THX movie theaters with stadium seating, an entertainment center,
a new buffet, and a new childcare center. Outside, access to the
parking barns is being carefully maintained during the construction
of a new valet parking garage and a new pool.
Though
Sam’s Western Emporium, once the largest western-wear shop
in Nevada, has become a casualty of change, the loose games that
made Sam’s Town famous remain. Full-pay machines are scattered
throughout the casino, including several quarter Deuces Wild games.
A bank of four-play Odyssey machines offers 25¢ 9/6 Jacks or
Better and 9/7 Double Bonus.
The Town
Club is also being renovated. Under the old club, members earned
a little less than .1% cashback. If they were frequent visitors,
they could get excellent comps through a host. Under the new club,
members will earn one point for every dollar coin-in and can redeem
them for cash (1,000 points equals $1) or comps (600 points equals
one comp dollar). At press time, management had not decided if the
club would be renamed.
The big
question, at least in my mind, is how will this new system go over
with established Sam’s Town players, who are used to getting
pretty much whatever they wanted through a host? And how will management
deal with this situation? Of course, you and I will have to wait
and see, but until we know more, my advice, especially if you’re
already an established Sam’s Town customer, is to go with the
host. They can always offer you the same deal that you will get
through the booth, and frequently a better one. ´
