Ballys new version bar rules

I am staying at Ballys when I was at the there yesterday they have instituted new VP rules for drinks. You must put in at least $20 you must play Max credits for several hands before the bartender will come over and offer you a drink. The back of the machines have lights blue means you have money in there green means it's okay to get you a drink and red means no cocktail or soda or pop service.

they are slowly (or quickly) killing the Vegas that we all know and love. If I cant get a comped drink, it is time for me to take my $$ elsewhere and let the bartender stand there and look at a bunch of empty bar stools. traditionally, the big shot bosses have understood that keeping the drinks flowing freely will keep the players from leaving, and it will separate the players from their money more easily. isn't that the goal? oh well, I have not been to a CET property in years. BTW, thx for reporting.

The big winner will be the guy who invented the red, green, blue light system. This won't be the last bar to use it, that's for sure.

On the other hand, freeloaders expecting endless free drinks while playing 25 cents every ten minutes...can probably be thanked for this.

Thanks for the update. I was recently in Reno. It took forever for cocktail server to return with drinks. It was less expensive to go to the bar and pay for one.

Candy is right on. Many times we have not been able to find a space at the bar when the party crowd is playing a quarter at a time and taking all the chairs. When we sit at a bar we put in money and play for real and get good service.

As usual, it is the cheapskate freeloaders who ruin things....

Reports are as long as you play 1.25+/spin you will have no worries--and you don't need to pound it out--even visiting with a neighbor or bartender for a few minutes won't turn your green light off.
Apparently it is LESS about the freeloading customers (although that is certainly is a nice side benefit), and more about bartender skimming. It is only at bars where customers can come up & buy drinks and/or get comps if they are playing. Apparently too many bartenders "charge" the customer but then call it a comp when they ring it in...we know that all bartenders don't do this, but apparently the loss is enough to get them to invest in this system.

that is typical of employers these days. they wont punish or deal with the cheating workers. so they spend a lot of money making changes that EVERYONE has to deal with.

I was in Vegas this past week and it is in all of the harass properties that I visited, flamingo, harrahs, link, balls. No problem getting drinks at tables or slots

When my hubby and I were in Vegas last month, we stayed at Ballys. I have a favorite bar I love to play VP on and have a draft. It's the bar that is closer to the side doors and Indigo tower. It always has the greatest bartenders. My first day I sat down, put in my money and ordered a draft. Bartender smiled, welcomed me back and got me a draft. I had two drafts and played max credits for an hour. I forgot the name of this particular bartender. Very nice guy...remembers you...very pleasant. The next day I did the same....sat down, put in a hundred, started playing max and ordered a draft. Different bartender this time. He poured it but did not give it to me. Told me my light needed to turn green first. He took a shiny bottle opener and showed me the reflection of my blue light and told me he could not give me my draft until it turned green. I played for quite a while before he gave me my by now not so cold and fresh draft beer. I told him I thought that took quite a while and he asked me none to nicely how much I had put in the machine and if I was playing max. I told him I always do and had no problem getting a draft the day before. But what I hated was that every couple of minutes he would swing by and show me the reflection of my light that was STILL blue with his bottle opener. No smile, no pleasantries,.........no nothing but a sour face. At first I felt very offended as I always play enough and max and never stiff on the tips. Then I remembered why this new system was in place. When he had a moment, I said to him that this new drink comp system must be kind of a pain for him. And he told me he HATED it and it was making all their jobs hell. I then apologized for my surprise and irritation at not getting my draft when it was fresh. It was a definite bummer for all involved.