MGM Resorts....I think it's Turning into a Bad Version of CET

This post is part rant and part hopefully informational.

For background, Barb and I are both Platinum in their new mLife system.

We acknowledge that we play there considerably less often and for lower stakes as we've transitioned from visitors to quasi-locals.

There have been a few recent incidents that have happened which will likely result in us completely breaking ties going forward.

First, as it's been said on this and other Vegas/Gambling boards, their mLife online site simply SUCKS. Specific examples....

1. Why don't they fully outline the terms of an offer instead of just providing vague details and say "call X to get specific details for your offer"?

2. Very few offers can actually be booked online. It's the gambling equivalent of shopping at Amazon.com but having to call them to place your order. I don't see much cost savings there.

3. The website has a "now you see it, now you don't" problem. Yesterday I open my account and it states "You have no online offers" or some similar language. The cure according to Barb is to sign out and quickly sign back in and voila! it worked. Is that really part of the system architecture???

The other issue is that they're sending out offers to way too many "qualified" people and then are unable to fulfill the demand. Specifically:

1. Barb gets a snail mail invite to the $75K Psychedelic Summer Slot Tournament @ NYNY in June via Excal. I email our host and wonder if I'm qualified as well. She checks into it and advises that not only did I not get an invite but that "corporate" has rescinded her offer. WTF???? When the host gently inquired as to why, the response was along the lines of "read the small print....management reserves all rights". Good customer service, right?

2. I get an email last Friday inviting me and a guest for a comped LOVE 5th Anniversary show. Within the hour, I email my host and about three hours later when she arrives at work she drops the reservation. The following night she comes back and says that it was sold out and that they only had 200 tickets. What dumb asses....if you had 200 tickets why not just send an email to each host across all properties and allow them to make an overture to their top player(s) instead of sending this out to thousands of "qualified" people and having to turn an overwhelming majority of them away?

I likley wound't get pissed if they hadn't sent the offer in the first place....it's very likely I wouldn't have known or cared about either of these. Offering them and then rescinding or restriciting their use does nothing more than alienate GOOD customers.

I know a number of people who work at various MRI properties. The thought process in general is that on a corporate level it's perceived that a host has little to no value and that customers are mailer driven. This may be true in some cases but not all. In my mind, it's a slippery slope. Decrease the cash back, limit offers, and downgrade games and you have CET (or a worse variant thereof).

I have been a MGM fan for the last four years; ever since I transitioned from HET after their castration of Caesars. Today, not so much.

My friends who work there will still be friends so nothing changes in that respect. My play on the other hand will very likely be going somewhere else.

These guys are really out to lunch. While I'm of the school who says "there's nothing like Vegas" when comparing it to our gambling venues, my opinion is likely not in the majority. When 8/5 BP is the new JoB on the Strip and the price of airfare and rental cars continues to outpace people's corresponding wage increases (whatever that is! LOL), people will opt to stay and PLAY closer to home. It's common knowledge that more and more states are coming on line and offering casino gaming to help bridge record budget shortfalls. There's a wow factor to Vegas that makes it a worthwhile destination at a specific price point. Exceed that and you reach the choke point for many consumers. While the hotels might not be as big, the entertainment options as cutting edge, current and diverse and the food options more limited, you can still find the same or better games closer to home. As Adelson is now finding out the hard way, it's still the gambler who's paying the tab for all these niceities.

I'd be happy to be wrong on my predictions here but I'm just not seeing it.

Dan

I'm with you on this one Fedomalley. I had enough MRI play last year over 2 trips to obtain a "Gold" level, which apparently entitles me to absolutely nothing when I log into my Mlife account.

Well, I do agree with you about their online site.

It's badly done. Both before and after Mlife.

However, I don't visit there too often.

I just rely on the mailers.

Both email and snail.

The only problems I have ever had with them
were 2, the big one with NYNY, which I just strolled over to MGM who took care of me.

The other one being a player's chip mix-up
which they made right on my next visit.

One thing you mentioned which puzzles me
is when you said you had difficulties with Amazon. I have ordered from them many times and have never had a problem ordering online from them.

If I experienced your problems with MGM I would look elsewhere also.

This is why, probably like you, I always have
other options when visiting LV.

Hope things get better for you on the comps
issue.

I think that since they have been on Mlife for a while now they are really downgrading the offers overall. I suppose the economy is
improving and they don't need as much help filling up the rooms. The thing I don't seem to understand is why there seems to be a lot
of bigger players that are getting severely downgraded while some lesser players are getting better offers.

Hard to say for sure, but it feels like offers could be dropping.

As the the LOVE offer - they are in a damned if they do, damned if they do not. They try to book their high end folks, who then drag their asses in response. They then send out an email to xxx number assuming only xxx will actually reply. How many, and how quick? If you can figure that out, you can also figure out how to beat the tables. Good luck with that.

With the rescinding of offers, they sound more like the Venetian than CET

I hear your pain~~~
I have no words of wisdom
but you ain't wrong in any of this.
they are bonesheads indeed

I agree with everytyhing you said.
I transitioned from HET about the same time and have been a fan of MGM properties for about 4 years.
There website is worthless with fewer offers than ever,at least for me.I have definitely seen comps tighten up in the last couple years also.
I have found that calliing a host has has given better results than their website.
That being said,if I had offers sent and then rescinded,I might be donw with them also.

Have you read any of my Ven/Pal rants Dan? lol

I agree..........they sound much more along the lines of Ven/Pal, than CE.

CE is luvin' me these days, as I haven't been splitting funds with V/P this year. (I'm still at 0 points)

Come back to the dark side Dan...........may the force be with you.

MGM's web site has always been pretty much on the useless side, and as mentioned still is.

CET has a very good web site. Point for them on that.
AS CLV alluded to, their offers are better than most for the non whale. I get excellent Host response by e-mailing her what I want. The gambling...well, yeah, that could be better.

mLife, one good part is all of a sudden I have a surprising amount of their Express Comps which can be spent in lots of ways. I was really bummed when MGM d/c'd the cash back, so this is at least something better than what they had for a while i.e. nothing. Yeah, it's more fun when the host just gives us stuff, but ya can't always count on that, as you have seen.