APRIL PROMOS AND NEWS
Look for April 21st Easter promos. These are primarily for food specials – and lines will be long for non-reservation outlets. (This is one reason that Brad and I avoid eating in casinos on holidays!) However, a few casinos – but not as many as in past years – may offer multiple-point bonuses that day. Check Scot Krause’s Bonus Point list.
STATIONS
Some good news to report here. After months of decreasing promos, including the recent disappearance of any multiple-point days, the Palms has finally been folded into the Stations bonus-point program. This was not mentioned in the master chart of Multiplier Days listed in our April Palace Station mailer, and I didn’t see it the first time I checked the April 1st full-page Stations ad in the Review-Journal. (I always check for that early each month.) But I didn’t remember my own persistent advice to read all promotional details carefully and not assume everything will always be the same as in the past! But after a friend alerted me, I went back and there was the “PALMS” (in bigger print no less) that had been added to the “Guaranteed 10x/6x” for Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays in April!!
The Palms still does not participate in the “My Generation Senior 50+ Wednesday.” They still don’t “get” that we oldsters would still like to play there in spite of it going “pop art” – and I don’t think the youngsters would mind some gray-haired company if they happen to wander from clubbing to a machine. And besides, we probably have more discretionary money than they do to feed them. Let the kids have the evenings and the nights. We don’t like to drive after dark anyway. We could fill the casino in the mornings and afternoons when they are in bed recovering from a night of partying. Just saying…
The Palms also does not participate in the Monday Military promotion. At all the other properties, there are food and drink benefits you will see (if you have once registered at the players club) listed at the kiosk. Be aware that the 2-for-1 buffet will show up only once a month. Once you use it, it will not appear again until the next month.
If you are confused about which promos are offered at which casinos, go to the Stations website and click on “Promotions.” In most cases, there is a list (often in fine print) of participating properties for each promo. The only exception I found was that there was no list for the “My Generation Wednesday” so you would not find out there that it is NOT at the Palms. (There IS a list of casinos with this senior promo in my April mailer and it does not include the Palms.) Do be sure to check each Station promo monthly, including the senior Wednesdays, since some of the benefits (especially the food discounts) change from month to month.
BOYD PROPERTIES
We are still “blue” about the downgrades here – literally! Now having blue Sapphire players cards, we miss the green Emerald ones and those benefits we had for years. Brad never did like to wait in long lines, but now is unable to do so because of crippling hip pain. Most of the time we can use a shorter handicap line, but we found, for some unknown reason, the Orleans buffet doesn’t have a designated one. And since handicapped parking spaces are often full, we miss the closer location of Emerald parking.
We still play at the Gold Coast occasionally on 11x days since we live very close, but probably will not ever play often enough to get to Emerald again unless they revamp their tier system to be more appealing to the average local player, especially those who prefer VP to slots.
One negative about their new players club which you must keep aware of. Whenever you take your players card out of the machine, the tier count-down goes back to zero. This is especially a problem for VP players since it takes a lot of play to get one tier credit. If you like to jump around looking for hot machines, your tier credits may accumulate very slowly. This is also a problem if you need to take out your card often for a promo (like the Main Street scratcher) or qualifying for a drawing.
SOUTH POINT
No multiple-point days here this month, but they are running a pretty good food comp. especially if you earn it on the best VP paytables. You can earn free buffets every Monday thru Thursday. Check their website for the rules to earn a comped lunch and/or dinner. No redeeming of points – you keep the points you earn for this comp.
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Note: Brad and I don’t play at or get mailers from as many casinos as we used to – so I don’t cover as many. But I encourage readers here to use the “Comments” to share info about good promotions you are coming across and the little details that may help other players in their search for added value.
I am in Biloxi and love my host at Boyd’s IP. Love the property. Having said that, the property is older so it does have it’s issues. I have contacted Boyd directly and have opportunity to share my thoughts with management but have not gotten response.
Bottom line for Emerald players:
Spa monthly credit went from $150/mo to $100/mo
Weekly food comp went from $50/wk to $20/wk
No use of wet areas at the spa anymore pay entrance as anyone else.
No late check out.
Those were all my favorite comps and why I patronized there over 11 other casinos! Now that those items are gone I am taking my business to higher end casinos in the area. 🙁
Golden Nugget is out of control with all the extra charges. I have been going to Vegas since 1979 but this spring will be my last trip. I have friends I want to see but from now on if they want to see me they will have to come to Chicago.
Regarding Boyd’s tier credits I would like to add one thought for people like me that play multiple games on the same machine. When you switch games on one machine it restarts the counter. Since it takes about $125 of continuous play to receive one tier credit playing 9/6 Jacks or Better when you switch to a different game on the same machine the tier credit counter restarts. It does not matter how much coin in you play, if you pull your card or switch games before you reach the dollar in amount for one tier credit you will not get one.
No doubt readers are aware of certain situations in which one’s players card must be removed, e.g. jackpot win or machine malfunction. On these and other occasions an attendant or slot tech must insert their ID card in the slot while processing the transaction. Pretty much nothing one can do about that in terms of preserving accumulated points. But good hint if a situation only requires presentation of the players card number.
As for requiring one’s tier to be current for certain comps, e.g. meal or comped room, this is a reasonable business model. Imagine how many people would attain a tier level, enjoy the comps that come with it for that year, then not play enough (or at all) to maintain that tier yet attempt to redeem the comp they hadn’t earned in following years.
I have held onto past tier cards, since expired ones can still be used for machine or table play, but found myself presenting an expired card for a comp even though I had a card with current date someplace in my purse–had to dig for it while people behind me waited, etc. (Plus those cards make good ice scrappers in the winter.) Now I get rid of expired cards (or only keep one in my car, LOL.) It isn’t that difficult to get new cards if I don’t already have one.
For MSS and other casinos where you need to ‘pull’ card to show attendant and/or slot card is needed for information, why not have an extra one handy? I’ve done this for years, that way, i can leave the card still as ‘active’ in the card-reader. Slot clubs will still print out more than one card for you when you visit (as an out-of-towner, it seems like I’ve had to do this on more than one occaision, as another quirky thing about Boyd is now thay have the ‘expiration’ dates of your tier and for Buffet discount, the cashier can only honor your ‘tier’ color card level, if the card shows a non-expired date on the card…as I learned the hard way… So just have an extra slot card handy is my new way doing things..
It seems that they are trying to get rid of customers to their casinos
Got an email from South Point last night. Get extra free play Friday – Sunday, by playing “x” points. For example play 300 points and get $60 in free play.
You must have played eleventy squintillion dollars’ worth of coin-in at Boyd over the years–and now they’ve downgraded you??? That’s just stupid! One thing does occur to me, though–since you might have more pull than the average player, have you thought of asking to have your Emerald status reinstated? After all, Rule #73: don’t hesitate to ask, you never know.
The Palms changes don’t bother me one way or the other since their VP is now crapola anyway–and the few machines that existed in the past with positive paytables earned NO points. I like the buffet. I visit the buffet. I eat at the buffet. Then I leave.
South Point is one of the few places left that gives people a fighting chance. Their promos have always been among the best in town–now, they’re pretty much the ONLY ones in town! Their buffet is excellent (much better since the remodel), and so are their other restaurants, like Primarily Prime Rib and Zenshin. Plus, they have the most generous players’ club in town at 0.3%. Pretty much the only place where you can still go +EV on dozens of machines. And room comps are easy to get if you play a decent amount. Also, they frequently effectively double their points with month-long deals such as the gas card and WalMart card promos. No doubt, this place will go down the tubes sooner or later, but for now, it’s one of the last bastions of good VP play.
One benefit of everything going to hell with the locals’ players clubs is that you no longer have to run all over town to get the deals–there aren’t any!!!
Lest we forget…. the best games (eligible for multipliers) at the Palms pay back about .6% less than most other STN properties. I can’t speak to the return from the mailers from any STN properties.
G’luck all,
Gamb00ler
Regarding Main Street Station, and pulling your card to show a slot attendant filling out a scratcher, I learned years ago (when they still had FPDW) that all they need is your slot club number. I would write that down on a small sticky note (I carried a pad to block off glare points on the screens of slant-tops) and show it to the attendant, or even just hand him or her a previously-earned scratcher with the number already filled in, to be copied.