Originally posted by: Kevin Lewis
Oh, hell, yeah, I've noticed them. In fact, I stayed there twice in the last 30 days. I did very, very well. The only issue was that the local senior set sometimes clogged all the machines. When that happened, I just got in my car and went to Emerald Island or Four Queens, both of which had +1% promos every day. But if I waited until about 8 pm, there were always machines in that bank available. I scored about a 3% return on my action, much better than expectation. Makes up for all those times I've been pounded through the floor when the royal gods spurned me. (BTW, if you visit there and the bank is full, just duck into the cafe and have a $4 breakfast or a $5 burger and fries.)
I kind of doubt that those games have long to go, because a) the Boulder location removed 5 of their 8 good machines last month and b) the abovementioned pod of seniors plays the games very well--95% of that is FPDW (a little bit of FPJW mixed in). So AZC can't be making any significant money on those machines. I've hit them fairly hard lately because I expect them to be gone soon. Also, I enjoy FPJW, and that's the absolute last place on earth to play it (other than Boulder).
As to why the sports books companies are offering those bonuses, I think you essentially have it. People, given those bonuses, will bet them away gradually until they're gone--and hopefully, be hooked and lose more. I doubt that 1 player in 100 will grab the free bet, win it, and then walk away whistling, using the money to buy a new flat screen TV or something. This correlates with what a slot manager at Green Valley Ranch told me some years ago. At that time, they did very generous mailers with lots of free play. He told me that they recovered 95% or more of that free play, because people would almost always play it until it was gone. The only real exception, he said, was when someone hit something big--then they'd cash out and leave (for the time being, at least). That's why it was such an asinine move for locals' casinos to stop giving out free play. It got butts in the door and cost very little.
A further reason is that these companies are competing with one another as well as trying to be attractive to investors--perhaps, for example, going public if they're not at that stage already. And the more people who are signed up, the more attractive their company looks. Since no one can tell just how much Joe Sportsfan will eventually bet when he signs up for BetNet, success for these companies is measured by how many people they've managed to attract. And offering free bets is a pretty powerful tool to do that.
Look at it this way--if they weren't completely confident that people were going to eventually piss away their bonuses, wouldn't those bonuses be a LOT smaller?
For sure on the bonuses - everything you said.
With AZC, specifically I was referring to the addtion of $.50 to three of the machines. Now that actually interests me. Had I known about it Monday when I arrived in Vegas rather than Thursday, I think I would have hit it hard and did the rest of the trip the same as you.
Another play I've found kind of low-roller juicy is another place in Henderson. I know a lot of people dislike place but I kind of find it very nostalgic. I always say I'm going back in time 20-25 years when I walk through the door. I'd have you email me if I could put my email in here but I don't think that is OK to do? The extra bonus on this place is the waitresses and bartenders are super cool and the music is the absolute best.
