I have been putting off writing this blog. Many of you know that in my writings about casinos I like to emphasize the positive rather than ranting and raving about the negative that I can’t change. I also stress that we players must remember that casinos are a for-profit business, not a charity.
However, the casino business – just like many other businesses we deal with in our everyday life, like banks, grocery stores, drug stores, restaurants, airlines – sometimes make changes that we just can’t understand. And that describes many players reactions to the brand new players club being introduced by Boyd Gaming.
Let’s think about what we need if a business changes its rules, regulations, or policy. First, we need a clear explanation of all the changes, especially the basic ones. This is where so many players are feeling frustrated about the new Boyd players club. I looked everywhere this last week to find the two basic facts someone needs to initially analyze any player club system: How much coin-in does it take to earn a point and then how much is a point worth for whatever benefits this casino offers – cash, free play, or comps. I went to the kick-off party and absolutely no specific facts were given. I checked online and looked for brochures and signs in the casino. Nothing!
I finally did find the facts of the second point on their website: You can redeem for FastPlay, for dining, shopping, or hotel stays. Save 40% on the dollar value of your B Connected Points when you redeem for food at 600 B Connected Points = $1.00. FastPlay and retail purchases are 1,000 B Connected Points = $1.00.
However, nowhere could I find in writing how much you had to play to earn a point, the other piece of information we needed. Finally, just yesterday I went to the players club at the Gold Coast and asked this question and I was given a little credit-card-size cardboard with a point-earning chart:
$1 of coin-in Reel, Video Reel, and Keno (must be all Keno box) = 1 Base B Connected Point
$2 of coin-in Poker and Multi-Games = 1 Base B Connected Point
Bonus B Connected Points are now earned based on type of game, average bet, and length of play
Table Games – B Connected Points are earned based on the type of game, average bet and length of play (Table Game Points are not earned in Las Vegas or Diamond Jo Worth)
For Race, Sports, and Bingo please see B Connected.
Although some of the details above aren’t very clear or complete, why wasn’t this basic information put somewhere in writing online so anyone could access it? Not everyone will be able to visit one of their casinos right away, and many won’t think about asking. I am wondering if this information I got was for Las Vegas only – and it will be different for properties in other areas of the country??? This means each player probably needs to research information for each specific casino where they plan to play. Although this club is supposed to be company-wide, I am thinking there might be individual property-specific details.
After I found the basic-point facts, I began to analyze the tier system. This has been an area of confusion for many, but it helps if you understand there are two different separate systems. The first system is the “point” system I discussed above. The other system is the tier one in which you earn “credits.” There are different earning charts for each of these systems with much different benefits! However, the two systems do “mix” with each other at times. For example, players in the lowest tier, Ruby, do not earn the above-mentioned points and thus earn no benefits. That chart does not kick in until you reach Sapphire.
Boyd was much more forthright in talking about the new tier system and the new luxury benefits they were offering to the top tiers – they talked about nothing but that at the launch party and they put a lot of hyped-up information about it on their website and in other written sources. On that same little credit-size cardboard I referred to above they gave this information about how to earn tier credits: Reel, video reel, and keno players would earn 1 tier credit for each $5 coin-in, Bingo players needed $6 buy-in for 1 tier credit. For video poker players it was to be “based on the game played, average bet, and time played.”
In this blog I have just touched on some of the basics of this new players club so far, but this information may have brought up more questions than answers for readers here. I will be talking about this subject in my blog probably for weeks, even months, tackling some of the problems these changes are causing. In the meantime, here are some online resources for you to check that will give more information although they certainly will not answer every question you might have since the details of many parts of the program are either missing or very confusing.
- An overall view of the program
- The rules and regulations:
- The details of the Vegas Young at Heart program
You can get more insight into these new major changes by reading posts in the forum at vpFREE. (Subscribe at [email protected] if you are not already a member). There has been a very lively – even fiery – discussion there for the last week or so, which could help both slot and video players decide what kind of a relationship – if any – they might have with Boyd properties in the future in light of all these new changes.
I have not yet been able to confirm every future ramification for Brad’s and my own play decisions. I know we are going to play at the Gold Coast tomorrow – Labor Day – because we can still play our favorite good-EV video poker machine at 11x points – a fairly okay play for us. That’s about as far we can plan right now.
Stayed tuned!
Maybe this explains why Santa Fe Station is so crowded lately. I had attributed it to the start of football season, but maybe not. I was there last Thursday afternoon and the place was packed.
my b-connected site, shows a Sapphire card at the top and a conversion to Ruby on the tier points. I assume I will have Sapphire benefits to the end of the year and if I don’t get the tier points to achieve Sapphire level, I will be Ruby in 19.
Looks like the handwriting is on the wall and many formerly loyal VP players will be leaving the Boyd system soon, saying, “Thanks for the memories.” Moving forward… For players like me who prefer to give all play to one system; who still want to stay downtown and to play Deuces Wild downtown – what’s the now-recommended best loyalty program, all things considered?
I will never make emerald. I lost a ton of points like everyone else. But I was sapphire before the change and am still sapphire. I was told by a Sam’s Town host that my points and tier credits are based only on my play this year in 2018 now. I was also told that the free rooms, dining food money and free play monthly offers will remain no matter what the card does. Those comps are from the casinos and dependent on my play, separate from the card. In fact I havent lost my monthly offers at all. This begs the question, why the cards points tier credits and all the hype? For me though, I play all the reels and also VP, Keno, and Bingo. I go to Vegas 2 times a year.
My points were converted at a rate of $30 in for 1 point. I just finished my trip to Fremont down my whole bankroll of $3000 and I earned less than 500 points for my video poker play and that is a really bad investment of not only $$ but also time. The misdeeds of Boyd for not explaining this new hyped up program to us loyal visitors and the lack of clearness is unscrupulous. Charlie B you are correct in saying that it is so wrong because a spade is a spade. Next trips anywhere else but Boyd properties.
So wrong. Only good for Boyd. Why change the program right now when we worked hard to get points only to see them all converted to nearly nothing. What a slap in the face. If certain people like to go to Boyd properties so be it, but for the knowledgable ones who want something for all the $$ they put into the tight machines – go somewhere else and run there! Boyd has not reached out to patrons to explain and slot players are cheated at $5 to 1 point and don’t even get started on how inhumanely low they have stooped to slam video poker players to the point of stupidity. Who is their right minds would play video poker to get points based on factors that cannot even be disclosed. Ludicrous! Be warned! Get out now!
I was at a high Sapphire level (over 170,000) tier credits the day before the change. I am now at a low Emerald level with a little over 5,000 tier credits. How does this happen? I finally talked to someone who explained this new system to me. I only play slots so this does not apply to video poker players. The new tier credits you see are only based on this years play starting January 1, 2018 to the present time at the ratio of $5.00 played equals 1 tier credit. According to the new play table, that would make me Sapphire. The reason I’m Emerald is they took into account my play the previous year (2017) and decided to be nice and give me Emerald (as a curtesy) instead of Sapphire. This will only last until the end of this year unless I earn another 10,000 tier credits before January 1, 2019, since “technically” I did not earn enough tier credits yet to be Emerald. It will end this year and I will have to start from scratch in 2019. If I earn the 15,000 tier credits needed to be Emerald playing in 2019, that status will carry over to the following year and so on from there. I hope this helps to explain what’s going on in this new system. As far as I can see, nowhere does Boyd explain that the current tier credits that you see are only from 2018 play. In the old system, your tier credits carried over and thus you were able to accumulate tier credits from year to year. It makes a big difference!!!!
We’ve been staying at Orleans and Gold Coast for many years. Orleans made a good first impression on us in 2007 when we went there with my mother, who was then 90 and mobility impaired. We were very impressed with the place–complimentary wheelchair, very nice handicapped room, etc.–and we’ve been going back regularly since then. Usually we stay at Gold Coast when playing in the WSOP at the Rio.
A few years ago I made Sapphire and have managed to maintain it, just barely. I enjoy the video poker at both places, although I don’t go at it as intensely as some others on this site. I rationalize that at least it maintains Sapphire status and keeps the comp offers coming. We also like the Orleans Poker Room and Ping Pang Pong at Gold Coast.
Now all that may be about to change. I haven’t analyzed the new point system in detail, and indeed for a VP player a complete analysis may not be possible at this time. I logged on to BConnected, and read some of the documentation linked here, and couldn’t figure it out even with a math major and two Masters’ degrees. But I agree with other posters that it doesn’t look good.
I think the simple solution is that as long as the comp offers keep coming, we’ll keep coming. If they stop, we might switch operations to South Point–which also has a nice poker room–or the Stations. The Palms might be a good alternative to Gold Coast for the WSOP.
We’ve enjoyed the Boyd properties, but if they no longer want our business, we can live with it. And if all of Vegas continues its long-term downhill slide, then there’s still Laughlin, the Phoenix-area casinos, and the California card rooms.
I’ve been going and staying at Sam’s Town since 1975…that’s over 40 years, long before there were points, ticket in-ticket out, and player’s clubs. Up until now, every trip (about four per year) would have a Sam’s visit to maintain Sapphire. I agree with Jean that these are businesses that want to make money…fine. We, the customer, want to find the better deals. It’s such a simple solution. When I return to Las Vegas in October, I will cash in my bonus credits, and walk out for the very final time.
I will go downtown where the D offers 8/5 BP with progressives (and now the Golden Gate as well). If I play 300 points on these machines (3K); I am given three free off-nights, $25 per month food credit, $20 per month free play and NO resort fee. Yesterday, I just received my first mailer from the Golden Gate (where I only played those new 8/5 BP machines) with the same offer for there place.
The Four Queens also have generous comps and cash for play on their 9/6 JOB machines, and now I understand it doesn’t take much play to get free rooms at the Grand (I hear they’re terrific rooms–Golden Gate not so much).
I will now focus my play at these casinos and Boyd..well…it’s been nice…
I find it hard to believe the ineptitude in rolling out this program. All the shouting about the all “new and better” but not being upfront about how the points were changing. Just look one morning and your points are slashed to smithereens with no explanation. Really bad marketing. Invite me to an Emerald party (we’ve been emerald for years now) and hype up the new levels only to make me a sapphire 3 days later. It was like a slap in the face as I don’t see how I’ll ever be emerald again.