Does Using a Players Card Trigger a "Trip" in Las Vegas casinos?

Does using my players card for free parking in Vegas affect my Average Daily Theoretical (ADT) if I don’t plan on gaming that day?

This is an excellent question, as easy to wonder about as it is nearly impossible to answer.

We went direct to Jean Scott who, even after turning 80 late last December, still stays up to the minute on these questions. Here’s what she had to say:

There has always been a lot of discussion on this subject, but as usual, the answer is, "It depends."

Every company — and many a property under the same corporate umbrella — has its own policy. Some are very strict: You can trigger a "trip" if you merely put your card in a machine to check your balance.

Most players, even the ones with long experience, don’t fully understand the major role Big Data plays in determining how casinos work these days. For example, I posed this question on vpFREE and got very little input about it. But you have to assume, without having specific knowledge otherwise, that anytime you use or show your players card, that bit of information goes into that giant big-data mixer.

I may be a little more informed about this subject than most players. Because of my constant need for blog fodder, I read a lot of material — articles, newsletters, Web pages, etc. — written for the casino side of the business as opposed to the customer side. The talk there is constantly about data gathering and analyzing.

At this time, it seems there’s a fairly wide chasm in how casinos are using this data. Experts often offer their services to casinos that gather all this data, but don’t seem to know how to maximize its use in their marketing programs. However, enough casinos are mining this data to an extent that it makes it impossible, in most cases, for even experienced gamblers to figure out the marketing system, so that we can maximize its benefits. Making educated guesses about marketing factors, such as trip triggering, is no longer the viable technique that it was in the good ol' days.

So I’m sorry, but speaking for myself, I just don't know what swiping your card for free parking will do at any particular property these days.

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Dave Apr-14-2019

Similarly...

What about pulling an all nighter?

Most casinos have a ‘day’ that begins and ends sometime after midnight. But is it 2:00, 3:00, 6:00?

And what happens if you’re still at it on the new day and don’t return late in the day? Does that count as two days visits? 

Sadly, I’m pretty sure the answer is the same as above... It depends. 😕

Straski Apr-14-2019

No data on me

The only gambling I do anymore is the sports book. I can't see that they have any data on me since it is always a cash transaction under $500.

Kevin Lewis Apr-14-2019

They know what you've had for breakfast

...for the last fifteen years. What they do with this information no doubt varies, but they definitely collect it. The first era of data collection was when data were gathered for targeted marketing efforts. They, they realized that that data could be used for identifying and crushing advantage players. Then, they took a further step in that direction and used the data to identify which of the losing players were the juiciest morsels and which ones were just nutritious snacks. The latest phase has been to determine how much various gouges (resort fees paid parking players' club benefit slashing etc. etc.) cost them in terms of play (so far, "not at all"). By now, they know whether you hit hard 16 against a 10, bet the hardways, hold AJ suited, order the Spanish omelet, use two or three squares of toilet paper, and watch Sean Hannity or Rachel Maddow. And they use that information to determine whether you should be wooed or spurned. You can't escape it.

O2bnVegas Apr-14-2019

theo-another buzz kill

All that yada yada about the trip theo...checking points, playing after the magic hour..."I'm melting, melting"..., brass to tin.  THE HORROR!!  

I dismissed it from consideration years ago.  File this under casino comp anxiety, not worth the co-pay for a session with your shrink.   Marketing be damned!  LOL.

Kevin Lewis Apr-14-2019

Well, it depends on what your goals are

Candy, it's true that keeping track of how the casino perceives you might not be worth the hassle. But these days, comps and goodies are usually the dividing line between winning and losing. Any info that helps us get into the evil, scheming minds of the robotic casino marketing overlords is potentially valuable. Using "free" parking--hell, they know how often you fart (expressed in FPH, or Farts Per Hour) and factor that into whatever you get offered. 

Oddly enough, they don't seem to have figured out or implemented any reliable metric to measure how well we play the games. They just go by wins, which means that Dum Dum, who hit seven royals last trip while playing 8/5 Double Dumbass Poker (and badly), won't get invited, while Mr. Penalty Card Sharpie, who despite his skill, got waxed last trip, will. So the strategy for maximizing comps is clear:

Lose your ass!

O2bnVegas Apr-14-2019

What me worry?

Roger that, Kevin.

James Mason Apr-14-2019

AIRBNB

Latest numbers show Air BNB hosts have taken almost $150 million in room revenue just in the last 6 months from the  casinos. Parking fees and resort fees seem to be having an impact :)

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