On a recent broadcast of Gambling with an Edge, our guest (Mark Anduss, www.markslasvegas.markanduss.com) compared Total Rewards, the player’s club of Caesars Entertainment (formerly known as Harrah’s) with MLife, the player’s club of the MGM Mirage family of casinos.
Recently Bonnie and I traveled to Harrah’s Cherokee for three days and then immediately on to Harrah’s New Orleans for three more days. Both casinos belong to the Total Rewards system, but there were LOTS of differences in the way they did things. I want to point out some of these differences.
Prior to this trip, it had been about four years since my last visit to Harrah’s New Orleans, and I had never been to Harrah’s Cherokee. This means that the information I have about the two casinos is rather limited. Next time I go to either one of these casinos, I’ll learn more. Other players who have been to one or both casinos many times and pay attention to such things know a lot more about the way each handles things. Those of us who work to come out ahead in our gambling adventures try to learn these things and then take advantage of them.
While I usually speak with casino hosts in an effort to gain valuable information which might help me beat the system, on this trip I spent very little time meeting with hosts. Should I start receiving regular offers from these locations, I’ll establish relationships with the hosts at both casinos. Although hosts are professionals who are only supposed to tell you “so much,” they will sometimes tell you more than their bosses want, especially if you also become friends. Giving them small gifts is a good way to foster that relationship.
I went to both casinos on mailed offers. I had 300,000 tier credits at the start of the visit — which is twice the amount I needed to accumulate prior to December 31 to remain at the Seven Stars level. That many tier credits used to require $3,000,000 coin-in from the first of the year. Now they give you some bonus tier credits along the way, so I actually put through less money than that. Although it’s a considerable number of tier credits, casinos may still treat their Seven Stars differently. For example, I may have been getting Seven Stars #2 level treatment at one casino and #3 level treatment at the other. I don’t know. It will take many more visits to both casinos to find this out with any certainty.
When I made the reservations, Cherokee told me that flying into Asheville and renting a car was my best option. New Orleans sent a stretch limousine to get us. This actually turned out well. We WANTED a car in Cherokee to check out some of the local things to do. In New Orleans, the casino is located just outside the French Quarter and many things are within walking distance. (This was Bonnie’s first trip to New Orleans. If she goes there several times, we’ll want to explore options you can’t walk to.) Transportation costs are a part of what you have to take into consideration on casino trips like this.
I received food coupons at both casinos. At Cherokee (they provided me with $250), I could charge to my room the cost of meals from ANY on-property food outlet. At the end of my trip, the first $250 would be picked up by the casino. At New Orleans, the single $200 coupon I received was good at three outlets only: the buffet, Besh Steakhouse, and Manning’s, a new restaurant/sports bar that appears to be a joint venture between Archie Manning and Harrah’s and is located a block away from the casino. (Even though Manning’s is partially owned by Archie, a popular former quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, he’s got a couple of sons who also play quarterback pretty well. There are many pictures on display celebrating all of their football careers).
When I asked, Harrah’s New Orleans broke their $200 coupon into four $50 coupons which I could use at any of the three eateries. This was a lot better, but $50 is a fixed amount. It’s too little to cover two dinner buffets and too large to cover two lunch buffets. Dinner at the steakhouse could easily be $75, $125, or whatever. For a $75 meal, I could have used two separate $50 comps (which wastes the value of the comp) or used one coupon and charged $25 to my room (to be picked up with Total Reward points later.) Alternatively, I could have used two coupons and ordered an extra $25 item “to go” to use up the full comp — whether I wanted that item or not.
The two casinos even handled food taxes differently. In round numbers, a $45 meal with $5 tax counted as $50 against you in Cherokee and $45 against you in New Orleans. Additionally, Seven Stars members in Cherokee received two free buffets daily — which Bonnie and I redeemed on three separate days. That’s $150 – $200 in food costs that we didn’t have to pay.
Both casinos also offered travel vouchers. At Cherokee, they paid the voucher before I played a cent through the machines. At New Orleans, they wanted two hours of play before they reimbursed my travel expenses.
In the VIP check-in room at Cherokee, they have a refrigerator filled with cold water, sodas, and a few juice drinks. All Diamond and Seven Stars players are allowed to help themselves — although they didn’t check ID and anyone who knew about it could go in and help themselves. When we would feel the need for hydration, I would invent questions to ask (Are in-room movies free for Seven Stars? Which road should we take to go to the zip line adventure?) while Bonnie would load up with drinks. Our suitcases started out underweight enough that we were able to carry about 35 pounds of liquids from Cherokee to New Orleans. Some of that came from the VIP room. Some from using our food comps at a “similar-to-Starbucks” coffee stand called the Lobby Cafe. All the beverages were consumed in New Orleans where “free” liquids were much harder to come by. Another option we didn’t exercise was the Dunkin’ Donuts outlet sold whole bean and ground coffee in various varieties — which counts as “food.”
While they have NSU (which I played) at both casinos (among other machines), I received only base points in New Orleans, but base plus bonus points in Cherokee. To make the best choices in the future, I’m going to want this kind of information about a LOT of different machines in both places. It takes awhile (and a network of players willing to share) to accumulate this information.
At Cherokee, I could have redeemed the free play for somebody else, so long as I had their card and coupon. At New Orleans, the free play voucher didn’t work in the machines so you had to go and have it replaced with “reel rewards” slot dollars. I suppose some people take care of their hosts well enough that they can cash the coupons for others — but for newbies, it was out of the question.
I made notes and filed them away in my computer to help me remember details for my next trip to either Harrah’s Cherokee or Harrah’s New Orleans (and to help me write this article). These computer files will always be a “work in progress.” On each trip to these casinos (and others), I’ll update my files — which could mean either adding or subtracting information about things that have changed.
Understanding the player’s club is at least as important as knowing how to play the games well. Players who ask, “What’s the best game to learn how to play?” are missing key elements such as how the player’s club and game selection differs at each casino. A smart player needs to take ALL of this into consideration.