Choosing to Play at a CZR Property
My recent 6-part blog series about a visit to Harrah’s Cherokee Casino generated many questions, not just about this property but general CZR play all over the country. In this post, I’ll try to describe and explain the many factors that need to be considered before a player chooses this large casino company.
It depends on what game you want to play – slots, video poker, or tables. It depends on your bankroll size and whether you’re a low or high roller. It also depends on your primary goal, i.e, whether you’re a purely recreational gambler, a strict advantage player, or somewhere in between those two. Finally, it depends on whether you’re looking for mostly local opportunities or you’re able to travel to other parts of the country.
One caveat here: Casino conditions are changing so quickly these days that it’s difficult to keep up. I’ve visited only one CZR casino, Cherokee, since the pandemic started. I do read extensively to stay abreast of what’s happening in casinos all over the country, especially from players reporting on their current personal experiences. This helps me to be aware of conditions and factors that impact all types of players at all levels.
I don’t want to spend a lot of time here giving you the basics of the Caesars Rewards players club, but I will point you to the place where you can find the nuts and bolts you need to build your understanding of this very complex program. Once you’re at this website, click on the “Benefits” and “Earn and Redeem” tabs, which will give you a wealth of details.
One of the most important is the clear explanation about the difference between reward credits and tier status credits, a concept that can be hard to understand at first. You’ll also learn the many ways to earn reward credits and to redeem them. It pays to read all this carefully, even if you’re already a CZR player. I must confess that although we’d played at CZR properties for many years, I needed to review this detailed discussion, which reminded me of some of the benefits I’d forgotten. It was my main go-to resource when, after being out of action for some time, I needed to review things like tier categories and bonus options, checking that they hadn’t changed after the merger with Eldorado.
Speaking about this merger, if you were a former Eldorado casino player, you may have many questions about how to transition your players club account to Caesars Rewards, which became the one players club program for all the casinos in the new company. You will need to check the “FAQ” tab at that same link I gave above for instructions how to do this.
Then, staying on that same main homepage, you’ll certainly want to check out “Promotions.” If you’ve read most anything I’ve ever written, you know I live and die for these. I think I can say with assurance that Brad and I have made more money and enjoyed more benefits by taking advantage of promotions than by actually playing the base games. Ignoring them is like driving to and from a casino and throwing hundred-dollar bills out the window both ways!
The last tab I want to recommend on that homepage is “Partners.” That’s really connected to or often could be considered a promotion, something of value you can add to whatever game you like to play.
In my next post, I’ll give some examples of and personal experiences about how we used the material from the resources I just described to become more successful gamblers. Hopefully, it will show you how to put general website information into action, not only in CZR casinos, but in any casino. I’ll also explain how a casino website isn’t the end-all. There are certainly many additional ways to educate yourself. But it is the place to start, especially if you’re considering a new casino. Never go into a casino blind; it’s full of stumbling blocks for the unknowledgeable.
And something for even long-time CZR players, I want to give you another resource that can help you after you’re familiar with the basics, one I found to be a continuing well of information that I visited often while we were playing at CZR properties. It is the Seven Star Insider. Don’t be misled by the name and think it’s just for the higher tier-level players at CZR. Although it does discuss the benefits for them, there are monthly updates that keep players at all levels informed of important news from CZR casinos all over the country. And it’s a valuable resource for players of all games, especially slots and video poker.
I disagree with Kevin. I KNOW that Caesars’ properties ha e given us way more than we deserve.. hope it continues for my 60th birthday trip in November! Thanks for everything, Jean.
I checked n c Cherokee and found NSUD only at 5 dollar level. That means a big bankroll. How many people play at that level and thus how many does the article really apply to. – not many. Obviously when you factor in comps of various types you could break even or maybe get ahead. Maybe I play better than I thought. I play at Boyd properties and sometimes go home with a profit , sometime bring even and sometime lose couple of hundred. Cost of food is zero as I use points. I have a 5 day offer for July. Is it really worth the hassle to know all details of the Botd program to milk a couple of hundred dollars. You are able to because you prob play at 5 dollar level. I don’t. I am playing with Dane bankroll for the past 15 years playing 1 dollar or less. Too me just not worth the effort. Full pay games are basically hx. Is it worth the extra time studying probmotions and running from one casino to the other. For high roller prob yes. Ordinary players prob no.
Just to clear up any misconceptions: EV, or expected value, is expressed either as a percentage or in relation to 100 percent. For instance, fullpay deuces wild has an EV of +0.76, and returns 100.76%. 9/6 Jacks has an EV of -0.46%, and returns 99.54%. (Those figures assume perfect play.)
Theo is (the total amount you play) x (the EV of your play). It’s usually expressed as a negative number; thus the term, “theoretical loss.” For instance, you play the abovementioned 9/6 Jacks for a weekend, ultimately with a coin-in of $25,000. Multiply that by the EV of -0.46% and you get a theo of -$115 (any such figures should be expressed as a negative number if the EV is negative). Using the standard calculation used by many casinos, you could expect to earn $23 to $46 in comps.
Therefore, if you’re going to play a -EV game, you need to calculate your theo (expected loss) and after the fact, compare it to the value of the comps and offers you receive as a result of your play. If you don’t get back more than your theo, you’re playing a losing game.
Don’t confuse theo with EV. It is still possible to find opportunities where the two are not in sync. As a representative example would you rather play 9/6 Jacks with 0.8% Theo or 7/5 Super Aces with 5.2% Theo?
Thanks Jean,
Anthony Curtis has quite a bit to say in his latest update on “people flocking to LV’ and the gambler attitude about the tightening of comps etc.
We will see how these trends will develop over the summer, and I will definitely have time to carefully read the links and your suggested reading list… (Vegas in September)
LOL I reminded my granddaughter that back in the day, we would have a summer reading list sent home with our final report card……. Thanks for the summer reading info !!
CZR (in its present and past incarnations) is exquisitely skilled at figuring out what a player is worth to them and then carefully modulating what that player receives in return, making sure that the transaction is profitable. They were the first in the industry to use accurate player (and game) metrics. With CZR, there are no “Turning the Tables on Las Vegas”–style incidences of a player giving tons of action, but with a very low theoretical loss, and then being lavishly rewarded. If you put $10 million through the machines or tables at a CZR property, but the reality is that your expectation is only -$20, you’ll get a comped doughnut–maybe. No free rooms, no lavish meals, no sedan chair to carry you from the airport.
Other casinos large and small are catching up to CZR in this regard, and the overall tightening of comps is happening everywhere, but CZR is still the pro at not giving you any more than you’re worth to them. In fact, the research I’ve done–admittedly incomplete–shows that they’ve fine-tuned things so that you get back 20-40% of your theoretical losses–“theo”–in comps: no more than that. You can’t game the system at CZR.