Question of the Day - 09 June 2023

Useless crap for Numbskulls, Fools, and Twits.

Stations can go funge themselves.

Here Kevin opines (rather crudely) regarding any/every player who might enjoy the charms/charms promotion.  And for the company that offers it.  

I have rarely played at a Stations casino, in recent times at least, but I am a sucker for charmy-type collectables.  I wouldn't make a special effort to play their machines for that reason, though.

Candy

I've been in the casino industry at the executive level for almost 20 years, have worked in a half-dozen states and Macau, and have seen quite a few illogical and poorly thought out promotions.  This, by far, exceeds them all in the level of stupidity.  Who wants to play for a little image on your screen, instead of a dinner comp, event tickets,or something that has actual value?

After the destruction of their player's club benefits several years ago (playing VP used to get you 3 points per dollar, now it's 2 dollars per point, 1/6 the value), Stations has now illustrated that their slogan has changed from "We Love Locals!" to "We Think Locals Are Morons!"...

There's a reason why, at Green Valley Ranch, we used to have to park far away from the entrance on the second floor of the garage...now we can park within a few feet from the entrance.

Good luck to whatever genius came up with this promo, I wouldn't hire them.  And I expect he/she will be looking for a job before too long...

More so good luck to the person who approved this promotion imho.

Sort of like finding and collecting little rubber duckies on Carnival Cruise Lines.  Pointless.

"Non-fungible" does not mean "intangible." Not even close.

That's not to say that NFTs are a great idea. They are almost universally (1) a scam or (2) a money laundering device.

But that's not what non-fungible means.

The thing to keep in mind is that everything associated with blockchain, including cryptocurrency and NFT, is a giant scam.  Of course, if you want to participant in a scam, that's your prerogative, but go in clear eyed, knowing that what you're participating in is not in any way a legitimate investment.

The problem with NFTs is how to display them in your home. 
I remember lining up, showing my out of state (country) drivers license and receiving my souvenir sands mug. I have various casino mugs along with some slot themed mugs (Triple diamond) from the G2E convention when this theme was first introduced - along with various coin cups. They all proudly collect dust ion a shelf in my basement 

To show off a NFT you need a screen, a computer and a internet connection.
This comes with a cost - energy, internet fees, and time to keep your computer up to date. Who here runs Windows98 ? We laugh but in 7 years we will look at windows 11 in the same way. That 1080p monitor will be as obsolete as the 640x480 display. 

Now if I have 10 NFTs do I hang 10 screens (systems) like I would my kids pictures throughout the years. What if the block chain is retired by the provider and no longer accessible.

While a NFT might be mine and unique - it will never replace good old fashioned junk

What is Blockchain?  What is non-fungible token?  The first thing these scam artists do is invent new words and phrases that nobody understands.  They then use them in normal conversations to try to make you feel stupid, so that you will just follow along.  

Brent, thank you for the dictionary lead. The definition of the term non-fungible in the answer has been corrected. 

This stuff is some of the most useless junk I've ever seen promoted.

I'm not a local, and I rarely rent a car to go to "outlying" areas, so the odds of my patronizing a Stations casino, small to begin with, are even smaller now.

Makes about as much sense to me as pet rocks, except at least the rocks could be used as a paper weight.  sounds like some 22 year old marketing genius came up with the idea after a bad night on a controlled substance.  The good side, for the casino, is that it probably costs Station next to nothing to set this up and gives the something to talk about in the absence of offering real value to the player.

That said, I am sure that some people / players will be attracted by the hype.

I was once told that very few people go out of business by underestimating the intelligence of the people.  It will be interesting to see the "post-mortem" on results once the promotion is over.  If it actually is successful, (unknown what Station's definition of "Success" is) it will be imitated, if not, it will be quickly forgotten.

Alex Acuna, VP of public relations, addressed it.  
“The value of each digital, collectible, good-luck Charm, like other collectibles, is inherently subjective and may be based on a variety of factors unique to that Charm and to interested buyers, based on the different characteristics of the Charm."

In much fewer words I will "bottom line" the mouthpiece's statement: ZERO...NOTHING....USELESS CRAP.

I think some of you are underestimating the average gambler. There's a Pavlov's Dog element here. From the hope of winning money, big or small of course, work to the next level up no matter the cost, here a sound, watch an Oompa Loompa dance sequence. It's clearly seen in their marketing here: 'Back to Acuna, "You level up Charms by playing with a Charm on a slot machine.' Level up, yay! Lots of people get off on that stuff. Watch people playing slots especially, wanting to get so bad to that bonus round, spin a wheel, whatever. It's not all about winning money directly. In the end, it seems silly, frankly stupid to me, as is the concept of mining cyber currency. But I think George Carlin said it best, people are largely stupid as a whole. I think he's spot on. From gambling to politics, people arguing their corrupt team is 'the best!' on this forum like a naïve 19 yo college student despite the bought off/self serving nature of it all, expect anything from the not so bright herd.   

We used to frequent Stations all the time, but haven't been back since they shuttered their buffets.

Way back in college my roommate was a mushroom. He was a pretty fungi. 

I prefer full pay video poker tables; comps for food and rooms; free parking, no resort fees, and a safe environment over silly promotions like the Station Casino charms. 

As a professor in marketing, these icons, charms and in other industries "badges," are supposed to invigorate interest. Yes, many of us older folk don't see the inherent value (including myself personally). Out of a burgeoning digital market where there is so much "noise," many marketing professionals are always "trying" to come up with a method that would appeal to people. So, in looking at the station casino promotion--okay, we can give them some credit for trying something different that no one lese is doing. However, the proof is in the fact if the charm promotion is making headway. I guess as the old saying goes, "something is better than nothing" and coming back to the younger slot players who grew up collecting Pokémon cards that really have no real value (except in the case that you keep them in mint condition and sell decades later). These millennials are gamers and it's all about enjoying the chase of levelling up!