In my Feb. 6 blog entry, I mentioned how on Feb. 14 Station Casinos was switching from an all-comp players club to giving free play for their points. I was excited about the details of this major change, including the fact that you would be earning points while you played off the free play and, more importantly, they were giving 7x points for five days to kick off the new setup. Brad and I hopped on the best video poker machines we could find, and pounded away many more hours than we usually play in one five-day period.  

We knew this was a good deal on many fronts. First, we could play a video poker game that we especially enjoy -- so it became our exclusive entertainment choice for those five days.   Second, the 7x points we could turn into free play made this a very positive play. Then there was extra value to boost the EV: We would be able to renew our President-tier status for another year and could expect to increase our mailed bounce-back bonuses. 

It all worked just as we expected – until our mailers for March arrived. Even though our heavy play in February wouldn’t impact mailers until April, the March mailer was as clear as a messenger pigeon with a missive straight from Station's top honchos: Bounce-back would not be as generous as it had been in the past for customers who played “good” video poker schedules. Even for high amounts of coin-in, the bounce-back for these machines would be just a few small token amounts. 

I wasn’t surprised at this Station tactic. What surprised me was that I hadn’t foreseen it. Whenever a casino suddenly becomes very generous in one area, I always expect a cut in another. This time I was so blinded by this wonderful short-term opportunity that I didn’t think about the long-term future. 

Station, you got me this time!

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