Identity Points at the Cosmopolitan will be absorbed into the MGM program February 1, 2024. Notices just came out. How will this affect loyal Cosmo customers? I assume we will get killed and be looking for a new place to stay.
As Jean Scott, long-time and astute observer of the slot/players club scene in Las Vegas and elsewhere, often says, "Whenever changes are made in players clubs, they're almost always worse for the players."
And we've often noticed that there's an inverse proportion: The more breathless the press releases and announcements of changes in players club benefits, the less they actually benefit the players.
At the Nevada Gaming Control Board meeting where the changeover was discussed, MGM's chief commercial officer told the Board, "The Cosmopolitan will add an entirely new set of ways for gaming and non-gaming customers to enjoy all the moments MGM Resorts and Las Vegas have to offer."
Not too bad hype-wise, though the lack of specifics is a bit worrying.
He also said that Identity members will retain their offers and benefits through January 31 and all Identity points will carry over to their membership with MGM Rewards.
That's a given, or at least it should be.
All in all, it looks to us like the usual transition, with a commensurate slide in benefits.
Is it too early to tell? Perhaps. But just yesterday, we reported in Vegas News that starting on September 20, people staying at the Cosmo will have to pay for self-parking. The Cosmo didn't start charging for self-parking until June 2021, but even then, guests parked for free. Now that MGM has taken over operations, that comp dog won't hunt. And it certainly doesn't bode well for changes in the players club.
We'll all have to see where everything stands come February 2. But if it's business as usual for MGM Resorts, we'll be experiencing Groundhog Day all over again.
A line from Esther Rolle ("Idella") in Driving Miss Daisy stuck with me for some reason. After Miss Daisy wrecked her car, her son (Dan Aykroid) hired "Hoke" (Morgan Freeman) to do her driving. She hated this as it represented her loss of independence, etc., didn't want Hoke around doing anything for her, especially the driving. On this morning she noticed one can of mackerel missing from her panty. She made a frantic call to her son; Hoke was 'stealing' from her! About the time the son arrived at Daisy's house, Hoke and Idella arrived a minute later. Sensing the beginning of trouble, Hoke said to Idella in a whispered tone "I wonder what's going on?" Idella said "It can't be good, I promise you that." Having been through several of these 'wonderful' casino comp changes, that is my mantra: "It can't be good, I promise you that." Candy