Reaching for the Stars – Chapter 1
This is going to be a running commentary about being a 7 Stars card holder with Caesar’s Corp. I’ve been a Diamond member for the past four or five years and the changes that I’ve observed that have taken place for Diamond members during this time have been substantial. I’ll discuss those changes and now that I’m a 7 Stars member, I plan on looking closely as to what changes will happen here as well. One thing is clear: Caesars constantly changes their benefits, requirements, rules, and attitudes toward the tier levels. Consistence is not a word in the Caesars lexicon.
In order to become a member of the 7 Stars club, you’re required to accrue 150,000 tier points. To be a Diamond member, you need 15,000 tier points. This means you must play 10 times as much as a Diamond member (supposedly considered an elite player). So, the question most people ask is whether or not the benefits are worth 10 times what a Diamond member receives. This has always been bothering me, which explains why I went out of my way to make this level—call it a check off on my bucket list.
My plan for this journal is to note and discuss all the differences between what I experience as a 7 Star card holder and as being Diamond member. Of course, I’ll also look at the other tier levels Gold and Platinum. Anyone can read Caesars point of view from their website, but I’m going to relate what really happens not just in the benefits I receive, but I intend to make special note of the attitudes and service by the staff and the hosts. I want to give the reader my first hand experiences so that by end of my membership, which will be March 1, 2015, this journal can serve as a tool for others to evaluate if it’s “worth it” for them.
Allow me to begin with a little history. Caesars (at the time called Harrah’s Corp) was never on my radar. In my view, all their casinos had poor video poker schedules, and presumably equally bad percentage returns on their slots and penny games. If you were at their lowest tier level, Gold, you were pretty much treated like cattle sent to the back of all the lines, given little to no discounts on food or show tickets and rarely any comp rooms. I chose to give most my play to the local casinos such as the Stations, Coast, and Boyd properties, which seemed to appreciate the lower level player.
I’ve always been a member of the Las Vegas Advisor going all the way back to when the “coupon book” consisted of four or five sheets of coupons and the newsletter was only available by mail. When the LVA began its website, I immediately began following people’s trip reports and reviews of shows and restaurants. In 2001, I began contributing as well and for the past 12 years have become known within LVA circles as “that guy who does the daily summer trip reports.” Around 2005 or 6, I met up with another frequent contributor who’s moniker was JustMare. She invited me to join her at Caesars Palace at the Diamond Lounge along with other members. I remember that day vividly. I was so impressed with the free food items and the free drinks, but I was particularly impressed with the service. It was my first experience feeling (at least for an hour or so) like a VIP. It was at that moment I decided I would become a Diamond Player.
It just so happened that I had read in the LVA blogs that Harrah’s Laughlin had a bank of 50-play video poker machines that had 9/6 Jacks or Better in nickel and dime denominations. Harrah’s also had a program called Diamond-in-a-Day (DIAD), which allowed you to make Diamond tier status if you earned 3000 points in one 24-hour period. I saved up my money and preparing for the worst set out to get my DIAD. As it still is today, if you play video poker you earn 1 point for every $10 gambled. That would mean I’d have to run $30,000 through the machine to reach my goal. I got up early and with $1000 in my pocket sat down. It took me about six hours of playing, but I reached DIAD with only losing $250—a bargain considering all the benefits I was soon to enjoy. I fully expected to only keep my Diamond status for one year because I knew that DIAD was only good for one time and that to re-new it, you’d have to earn 10,000 tier points ($100,000), which was way out of my comfort zone. Those amounts soon changed to 11,000 points per year and now is 15,000 points today (as I said, Caesars constantly changes things).
My first two years of being a Diamond member was wonderful. I was offered free rooms every month. At Laughlin, I was always given a suite, if one was available, and every night there’d be a treat delivered to my room usually gourmet cookies or candies. I’d receive $100 free play coupons every month along with comp show tickets to concerts. Most of the trips came with some kind of swag such as glassware, logo shirts, and the occasional Tiffany crystal ware. The diamond lounges offered premium liquors, a carving station with the other foods and on the weekends, served breakfast items along with mimosas. I enjoyed it so much I made an effort to renew my Diamond status every year.
Then things began to change. Harrah’s Corporation became Caesars Corp (feeling the Caesars name was more cool and hip). Many of the premium brands of alcohol in the diamond lounges began to disappear. Then the carving stations were gone, and then the hours were narrowed again and then again. (It’s important to note that I’m referring to the Las Vegas and Laughlin properties. Atlantic City is a completely different story) Today, the diamond lounge hours are generally 4PM to 9PM and on weekends 12PM to 9PM. Hot food is only served within a one hour window making the lines to get it long as everyone has to hurry before the food is taken away. It’s very un-VIP-like. I was recently at the Harrah’s in Reno and their hours of operation are even worse: 5 to 8.
To be fair, I can see the company’s point of view. If you’re feeding them complete meals, who’s going to eat in the restaurants, what else are they going to use their reward points on? Perhaps new members having never experienced the good life simply won’t know any better. To my knowledge, the casino business is the only one in the world that gives their customers free rooms, food, and show tickets for simply giving them their business. Yes, many companies buy goodies for the premier clients, but nothing on the scale of what casinos do. Occasionally, even the smallest players can score a couple of free nights or a free buffet simply for signing up to their club.
Reward credits are another level of comps that the Caesars Corp takes to a higher level compared to other casinos. For the Diamond and 7 Star card holders, you’re already getting free room offers and coupons for free food and free play. As a Diamond member I’ve received free tickets to see many bands, singers, and magicians. I also regularly get coupons for free buffets and at Rincon every week $25 in food. So, just what and how do I use my reward credits? Normally one reward credit is given for each dollar of play; however, more often than not, you’re given 2x and 3x that depending on the game you’re playing. I’m one who waits to do my major play on days that are Multiple Point days where Diamond members received 4x reward points on video poker and 7x on slots. As a 7 Star holder, that will increase to 5x for video poker and 10x for slots. In the old days, if you wanted to see a major show at a Harrah’s property, you’d buy your tickets, charge them to your room and at the end of your stay, find a host and ask to have the show removed from your bill depending on how much play you gave them. This is still the practice of other casino companies, but no longer at Caesars. Now, they expect you to use your reward credits to cover those costs. I’ve heard of some who have run out of reward credits and got this, but have never seen it.
Using the multiple point day strategy, I had over $1100 in reward credits (10 reward credit equal $1 value). I spent those on extra rooms for friends, a couple of tickets to Donnie and Marie and other assorted things like Internet charges, water ferry tickets, and food. By the end of the summer, I was down to around $350. After this last push for 7 Stars playing only on multiple point days, I’m back again over $1000 in reward credits. Anyone who knows me or has followed my posts in the past know I am NOT a big Caesars fan; but I do give credit where it’s due and Caesars has the most transparent reward credit system in the business. You always know who much you have, and how much more you need on any given day at time you’re playing as the display is always on every machine. I get very frustrated at other casinos where you put in your slot card and the reader simply says, “Accepted.” You have no way of knowing how much you’ve played, how much more you need, or even if it’s registering you play.
This past year, Caesars announced AGAIN that they were changing their reward card formulas. “Because you have spoken and we have listened” is their usual marketing rhetoric explaining why they make changes. Through their surveys which are sent to me after almost every visit to a Caesars property, I have spoken and they have NEVER listened. They announced that in order to renew Diamond it would now require 15,000 tier points ($150,000 in video poker) and 7 Stars would now have to make 150,000 tier points ($1.5 million in video poker). It was then and there I announced to all my friends that I have had it. I will not be renewing my Diamond and will go back to giving my business to the local casinos.
About two weeks later I received a mailer from Caesars announcing the new program. There was a new bent I had not been aware of before. Yes, they were increasing the tier point requirements for all card levels, BUT they were offering something new: Bonus Tier Points. This was a first. If within a 24 hour period you play 500 tier points, they give you an extra 150 tier points (not reward credits; tier points). If you play 1000, they award you an extra 1000 and if you play 2,500 points in one day, they give a whopping 5000 extra tier points. Even as an English teacher, the arithmetic was easy enough for me to figure out that it would only take two days of serious play to renew Diamond (2500 + 5000 x 2 = 15,000). On January 2, I played 2500 points. On January 3, I played 2500 points. On January 4, I had renewed my Diamond status for the entire year. It was here that the seeds were sewn for the remote possibility I could finally achieve the 7 Star level.
On the surface, this all sounds so easy. But let me warn you here. Running $25,000 through a machine takes a LONG time, especially if you’re playing at quarter or even at the dollar level. The first thing I did was find multi-play machines that had a playable video poker schedule (I play 98% video poker simply because, in my opinion, slots guarantee losing. At least video poker gives you a decent chance of not losing too much). The one thing Caesars does a little consistency is their video poker schedules—miserable. My best play came from the 50-plays at Harrah’s Laughlin, which has 8/5 Super Double Bonus and Harrah’s Rincon which has 8/5 Bonus poker in every denomination. The majority of my play was at Rincon. I was playing 5-play for quarters and 3-play for $.50. At $6.25 per deal, it took me about six to seven hours of play per day to reach my 2,500 tier points (and I’m an above average speed player). Yes, I could have played single line at the $5.00 level but I simply don’t have the bankroll for the swings that it would require to maintain playing for long periods of time.
I knew that I would have to hit my fair share of Royal Flushes to pull this off. Playing 5-play consistently was my best shot at this. When I finally reached 7 Star, which started back on January 2, I have had a total of 9 Royal Flushes (two were at the $.50 levels) for a total of $11,000. Had I not caught these, there was no way I would have been able to continue (as a retired school teacher, I’m no Donald Trump). I honestly don’t know how it all washed out and won’t know until next year when I get my year-end tax summary from Caesars, but I’m sure I’m in the hole, but perhaps by just a couple thousand—more than made up by all the free rooms, food, and show tickets I’ve already used this year. There were times I felt like I was at a job—sitting at a machine for hours on end maintaining a high level of concentration to not make errors while playing. I always had my Iphone handy, which has the WinPoker app if I wasn’t sure how to play a certain hand (four high cards to a straight continue to baffle me). By the end of the day, I was SO sick of playing. I have friends who love to play video poker and can happily sit for hour after hour playing—that’s not me. I play for the end game, not for the enjoyment.
Most people think that reaching 7 Stars is the end of the climb. But that’s not true. There are SIX levels of 7 Stars: Level 1 – 150,000 to 200,000; Level 2 – 200,000 to 300,000; Level 3 – 300,000 to 700,000; Level 4 – 700,00 to 1,500,000; Level 5 – 1,500,000 to 3,500,000; and Level 6 – 3,500,000 +. There are special extras when you reach each of these levels just like there are three levels of Diamond and benefits for each of these levels as well. Just for the record, I have NO intention of moving up to the next level—but I should “never say never”. I’d have to manage another 40,000 tier points before December 31 and I just don’t see it. There’s some odd benefits added to this level: $500 gift card, two tickets to a Memphis Basketball game (?), and a New Orleans festival.
I finished my climb to the 7 Stars level on Monday, September 9. I waited until Tuesday for the bonus 5000 points to be added and checked on a machine to make sure they were there—they were. I went to the Rewards Center booth to announce I was ready to move up. The boothling looked it up, smiled and congratulated me. She said, however, that I wouldn’t be issued a card just yet. She’d give my file to a supervisor who would then send it in to the corporate office. The corporate office would then confirm the advancement (this is only done at this level) and then get back to them to authorize the promotion and would notify a host, who would be assigned to me, and a card would be issued. She asked if I would be on the property the rest of day. I said I wouldn’t but left my phone number and email address so the host could notify me. Strangely enough, I was told that my “home” property is Laughlin (I’m guessing this has always been the case as I made my Diamond there so many years ago) and that the host would be from there.
As I write this on Thursday, September 12, I’ve yet to be contacted by a host or has there been any confirmation by email. However, I checked my status on the Caesars’ website and am indeed listed as a 7 Stars card holder. It appears to me that corporate signed off but the host has not contacted me nor have I been given any confirmation other than what I see on the website. This, to me, is a questionable beginning. If I’m told that I’d be contacted that day, I expect to be contacted that day. I’ll be curious to see when this happens, if it happens at all.
I will continue to add chapters to this running journal as the events transpire. I promise they won’t all be seven pages in length; however, I do hope to unlock some of the mystery of 7 Stars and will be happy to address any questions any of you might have in the future.
More later.
This is going to be a running commentary about being a 7 Stars card holder with Caesar’s Corp. I’ve been a Diamond member for the past four or five years and the changes that I’ve observed that have taken place for Diamond members during this time have been substantial. I’ll discuss those changes and now that I’m a 7 Stars member, I plan on looking closely as to what changes will happen here as well. One thing is clear: Caesars constantly changes their benefits, requirements, rules, and attitudes toward the tier levels. Consistence is not a word in the Caesars lexicon.
In order to become a member of the 7 Stars club, you’re required to accrue 150,000 tier points. To be a Diamond member, you need 15,000 tier points. This means you must play 10 times as much as a Diamond member (supposedly considered an elite player). So, the question most people ask is whether or not the benefits are worth 10 times what a Diamond member receives. This has always been bothering me, which explains why I went out of my way to make this level—call it a check off on my bucket list.
My plan for this journal is to note and discuss all the differences between what I experience as a 7 Star card holder and as being Diamond member. Of course, I’ll also look at the other tier levels Gold and Platinum. Anyone can read Caesars point of view from their website, but I’m going to relate what really happens not just in the benefits I receive, but I intend to make special note of the attitudes and service by the staff and the hosts. I want to give the reader my first hand experiences so that by end of my membership, which will be March 1, 2015, this journal can serve as a tool for others to evaluate if it’s “worth it” for them.
Allow me to begin with a little history. Caesars (at the time called Harrah’s Corp) was never on my radar. In my view, all their casinos had poor video poker schedules, and presumably equally bad percentage returns on their slots and penny games. If you were at their lowest tier level, Gold, you were pretty much treated like cattle sent to the back of all the lines, given little to no discounts on food or show tickets and rarely any comp rooms. I chose to give most my play to the local casinos such as the Stations, Coast, and Boyd properties, which seemed to appreciate the lower level player.
I’ve always been a member of the Las Vegas Advisor going all the way back to when the “coupon book” consisted of four or five sheets of coupons and the newsletter was only available by mail. When the LVA began its website, I immediately began following people’s trip reports and reviews of shows and restaurants. In 2001, I began contributing as well and for the past 12 years have become known within LVA circles as “that guy who does the daily summer trip reports.” Around 2005 or 6, I met up with another frequent contributor who’s moniker was JustMare. She invited me to join her at Caesars Palace at the Diamond Lounge along with other members. I remember that day vividly. I was so impressed with the free food items and the free drinks, but I was particularly impressed with the service. It was my first experience feeling (at least for an hour or so) like a VIP. It was at that moment I decided I would become a Diamond Player.
It just so happened that I had read in the LVA blogs that Harrah’s Laughlin had a bank of 50-play video poker machines that had 9/6 Jacks or Better in nickel and dime denominations. Harrah’s also had a program called Diamond-in-a-Day (DIAD), which allowed you to make Diamond tier status if you earned 3000 points in one 24-hour period. I saved up my money and preparing for the worst set out to get my DIAD. As it still is today, if you play video poker you earn 1 point for every $10 gambled. That would mean I’d have to run $30,000 through the machine to reach my goal. I got up early and with $1000 in my pocket sat down. It took me about six hours of playing, but I reached DIAD with only losing $250—a bargain considering all the benefits I was soon to enjoy. I fully expected to only keep my Diamond status for one year because I knew that DIAD was only good for one time and that to re-new it, you’d have to earn 10,000 tier points ($100,000), which was way out of my comfort zone. Those amounts soon changed to 11,000 points per year and now is 15,000 points today (as I said, Caesars constantly changes things).
My first two years of being a Diamond member was wonderful. I was offered free rooms every month. At Laughlin, I was always given a suite, if one was available, and every night there’d be a treat delivered to my room usually gourmet cookies or candies. I’d receive $100 free play coupons every month along with comp show tickets to concerts. Most of the trips came with some kind of swag such as glassware, logo shirts, and the occasional Tiffany crystal ware. The diamond lounges offered premium liquors, a carving station with the other foods and on the weekends, served breakfast items along with mimosas. I enjoyed it so much I made an effort to renew my Diamond status every year.
Then things began to change. Harrah’s Corporation became Caesars Corp (feeling the Caesars name was more cool and hip). Many of the premium brands of alcohol in the diamond lounges began to disappear. Then the carving stations were gone, and then the hours were narrowed again and then again. (It’s important to note that I’m referring to the Las Vegas and Laughlin properties. Atlantic City is a completely different story) Today, the diamond lounge hours are generally 4PM to 9PM and on weekends 12PM to 9PM. Hot food is only served within a one hour window making the lines to get it long as everyone has to hurry before the food is taken away. It’s very un-VIP-like. I was recently at the Harrah’s in Reno and their hours of operation are even worse: 5 to 8.
To be fair, I can see the company’s point of view. If you’re feeding them complete meals, who’s going to eat in the restaurants, what else are they going to use their reward points on? Perhaps new members having never experienced the good life simply won’t know any better. To my knowledge, the casino business is the only one in the world that gives their customers free rooms, food, and show tickets for simply giving them their business. Yes, many companies buy goodies for the premier clients, but nothing on the scale of what casinos do. Occasionally, even the smallest players can score a couple of free nights or a free buffet simply for signing up to their club.
Reward credits are another level of comps that the Caesars Corp takes to a higher level compared to other casinos. For the Diamond and 7 Star card holders, you’re already getting free room offers and coupons for free food and free play. As a Diamond member I’ve received free tickets to see many bands, singers, and magicians. I also regularly get coupons for free buffets and at Rincon every week $25 in food. So, just what and how do I use my reward credits? Normally one reward credit is given for each dollar of play; however, more often than not, you’re given 2x and 3x that depending on the game you’re playing. I’m one who waits to do my major play on days that are Multiple Point days where Diamond members received 4x reward points on video poker and 7x on slots. As a 7 Star holder, that will increase to 5x for video poker and 10x for slots. In the old days, if you wanted to see a major show at a Harrah’s property, you’d buy your tickets, charge them to your room and at the end of your stay, find a host and ask to have the show removed from your bill depending on how much play you gave them. This is still the practice of other casino companies, but no longer at Caesars. Now, they expect you to use your reward credits to cover those costs. I’ve heard of some who have run out of reward credits and got this, but have never seen it.
Using the multiple point day strategy, I had over $1100 in reward credits (10 reward credit equal $1 value). I spent those on extra rooms for friends, a couple of tickets to Donnie and Marie and other assorted things like Internet charges, water ferry tickets, and food. By the end of the summer, I was down to around $350. After this last push for 7 Stars playing only on multiple point days, I’m back again over $1000 in reward credits. Anyone who knows me or has followed my posts in the past know I am NOT a big Caesars fan; but I do give credit where it’s due and Caesars has the most transparent reward credit system in the business. You always know who much you have, and how much more you need on any given day at time you’re playing as the display is always on every machine. I get very frustrated at other casinos where you put in your slot card and the reader simply says, “Accepted.” You have no way of knowing how much you’ve played, how much more you need, or even if it’s registering you play.
This past year, Caesars announced AGAIN that they were changing their reward card formulas. “Because you have spoken and we have listened” is their usual marketing rhetoric explaining why they make changes. Through their surveys which are sent to me after almost every visit to a Caesars property, I have spoken and they have NEVER listened. They announced that in order to renew Diamond it would now require 15,000 tier points ($150,000 in video poker) and 7 Stars would now have to make 150,000 tier points ($1.5 million in video poker). It was then and there I announced to all my friends that I have had it. I will not be renewing my Diamond and will go back to giving my business to the local casinos.
About two weeks later I received a mailer from Caesars announcing the new program. There was a new bent I had not been aware of before. Yes, they were increasing the tier point requirements for all card levels, BUT they were offering something new: Bonus Tier Points. This was a first. If within a 24 hour period you play 500 tier points, they give you an extra 150 tier points (not reward credits; tier points). If you play 1000, they award you an extra 1000 and if you play 2,500 points in one day, they give a whopping 5000 extra tier points. Even as an English teacher, the arithmetic was easy enough for me to figure out that it would only take two days of serious play to renew Diamond (2500 + 5000 x 2 = 15,000). On January 2, I played 2500 points. On January 3, I played 2500 points. On January 4, I had renewed my Diamond status for the entire year. It was here that the seeds were sewn for the remote possibility I could finally achieve the 7 Star level.
On the surface, this all sounds so easy. But let me warn you here. Running $25,000 through a machine takes a LONG time, especially if you’re playing at quarter or even at the dollar level. The first thing I did was find multi-play machines that had a playable video poker schedule (I play 98% video poker simply because, in my opinion, slots guarantee losing. At least video poker gives you a decent chance of not losing too much). The one thing Caesars does a little consistency is their video poker schedules—miserable. My best play came from the 50-plays at Harrah’s Laughlin, which has 8/5 Super Double Bonus and Harrah’s Rincon which has 8/5 Bonus poker in every denomination. The majority of my play was at Rincon. I was playing 5-play for quarters and 3-play for $.50. At $6.25 per deal, it took me about six to seven hours of play per day to reach my 2,500 tier points (and I’m an above average speed player). Yes, I could have played single line at the $5.00 level but I simply don’t have the bankroll for the swings that it would require to maintain playing for long periods of time.
I knew that I would have to hit my fair share of Royal Flushes to pull this off. Playing 5-play consistently was my best shot at this. When I finally reached 7 Star, which started back on January 2, I have had a total of 9 Royal Flushes (two were at the $.50 levels) for a total of $11,000. Had I not caught these, there was no way I would have been able to continue (as a retired school teacher, I’m no Donald Trump). I honestly don’t know how it all washed out and won’t know until next year when I get my year-end tax summary from Caesars, but I’m sure I’m in the hole, but perhaps by just a couple thousand—more than made up by all the free rooms, food, and show tickets I’ve already used this year. There were times I felt like I was at a job—sitting at a machine for hours on end maintaining a high level of concentration to not make errors while playing. I always had my Iphone handy, which has the WinPoker app if I wasn’t sure how to play a certain hand (four high cards to a straight continue to baffle me). By the end of the day, I was SO sick of playing. I have friends who love to play video poker and can happily sit for hour after hour playing—that’s not me. I play for the end game, not for the enjoyment.
Most people think that reaching 7 Stars is the end of the climb. But that’s not true. There are SIX levels of 7 Stars: Level 1 – 150,000 to 200,000; Level 2 – 200,000 to 300,000; Level 3 – 300,000 to 700,000; Level 4 – 700,00 to 1,500,000; Level 5 – 1,500,000 to 3,500,000; and Level 6 – 3,500,000 +. There are special extras when you reach each of these levels just like there are three levels of Diamond and benefits for each of these levels as well. Just for the record, I have NO intention of moving up to the next level—but I should “never say never”. I’d have to manage another 40,000 tier points before December 31 and I just don’t see it. There’s some odd benefits added to this level: $500 gift card, two tickets to a Memphis Basketball game (?), and a New Orleans festival.
I finished my climb to the 7 Stars level on Monday, September 9. I waited until Tuesday for the bonus 5000 points to be added and checked on a machine to make sure they were there—they were. I went to the Rewards Center booth to announce I was ready to move up. The boothling looked it up, smiled and congratulated me. She said, however, that I wouldn’t be issued a card just yet. She’d give my file to a supervisor who would then send it in to the corporate office. The corporate office would then confirm the advancement (this is only done at this level) and then get back to them to authorize the promotion and would notify a host, who would be assigned to me, and a card would be issued. She asked if I would be on the property the rest of day. I said I wouldn’t but left my phone number and email address so the host could notify me. Strangely enough, I was told that my “home” property is Laughlin (I’m guessing this has always been the case as I made my Diamond there so many years ago) and that the host would be from there.
As I write this on Thursday, September 12, I’ve yet to be contacted by a host or has there been any confirmation by email. However, I checked my status on the Caesars’ website and am indeed listed as a 7 Stars card holder. It appears to me that corporate signed off but the host has not contacted me nor have I been given any confirmation other than what I see on the website. This, to me, is a questionable beginning. If I’m told that I’d be contacted that day, I expect to be contacted that day. I’ll be curious to see when this happens, if it happens at all.
I will continue to add chapters to this running journal as the events transpire. I promise they won’t all be seven pages in length; however, I do hope to unlock some of the mystery of 7 Stars and will be happy to address any questions any of you might have in the future.
More later.
