Not long ago, I received an oversized postcard in the mail from Eastside Cannery Casino Hotel (or E-Can, in LVA parlance). They want me to go to www.cannerycasinos.com and sign up for a players’ card. And what do I get for adding my personal info to Cannery’s database? Just you wait!
Woo-hoo! I get to motor down to E-Can and pick up a free commemorative grand opening T-shirt! I could practically “Squee!” from the excitement. It’s almost as thrilling as meeting Amanda Tapping.
Well, no, actually it isn’t.
I mean, how many free-tchotchke promos are out there? And haven’t you lost count of the free T-shirts you receive from charities (I get so many I have to donate them to charity; there’s irony for you) or at company events?
And, worst of all, other than having to actually be on-premises to get your freebie, there’s nothing in this promo to incentivize you to play. Nada. Squat. Bubkes, baby. How about … oh, I dunno … some free slot play? Five bucks matchplay on blackjack? A discount at the buffet?
Legend has it that, when Excalibur opened, Circus Circus execs (including the late Bill Bennett, of sainted memory) were nearly trampled by hordes of patrons bulldozing their way into the casino for one free slot pull. Imagine what E-Can* could do if it gave players’ club members a reason to plunk their fannies down and start, y’know, playing.
* — Is it just me or does Cannery Gal, in the logo, look like the twin sister of Casino Boy?
Wizard in Oz. One of HP’s favorite numbers-crunchers, Michael “Wizard of Odds” Shackleford, will be speaking next month at the Australasian Gaming Expo, in case we have any readers Down Under.
Shackleford played an important role in LVA history. After some exhaustive research, several years ago, he was able to quantify that the slots at George Maloof‘s The Palms were looser than those at Michael Gaughan‘s Coast Casinos properties.
Gaughan never forgave us. Even after Coast was devoured by Boyd Gaming, its casinos continued to boycott our Pocketbook of Values. Once Gaughan huffed off and left Boyd, taking South Coast, er, Point with him, the Coasts soon came onboard the PoV. But if you ever see an announcement that LVA is holding an event at South Point, you can be sure someone’s pulling your leg.
