Argosy Kansas City $500 Rebate

Has anyone played this? http://www.argosykansascity.com/Promotions

I can't find any additional information, specifically what the 'up to' is a qualifier of in the 'Play up to $500 on us".

Quote: Actuarial

Has anyone played this? http://www.argosykansascity.com/Promotions

I can't find any additional information, specifically what the 'up to' is a qualifier of in the 'Play up to $500 on us".

I could be wrong, but the promo says "up to $500 in reimbursement" for new players, or those who haven't been there for a while. So I assume a new sign-up can lose up to $500 in some initial period of time (like 24 hours) and get free play equivalent to that (who knows how it's parsed, though; could be 1/2 immediately, 1/2 in a month, or perhaps only on certain future dates, or many other ways they do it. Or it could be with no qualifiers.)

The "haven't been here awhile" portion probably applies to those who played at Argosy before they became part of Penn Gaming's Marquee Rewards. If you are already a Marquee Rewards member, I'd assume you wouldn't be applicable (i.e. me :().

As for how they divvy the freeplay up, yeah, that is property dependent. I would expect that you would have to return a different day at least twice, possibly more. Unfortunately a call or a personal visit is probably necessary to figure out the exact regulations.

Current Marquee members are not excluded. I got a whopping $5 rebate :-)

Quote: Ibeatyouraces

Current Marquee members are not excluded. I got a whopping $5 rebate :-)

Really...then what decides it? never played at Argosy KC with a card? Do you know the maximum amount of installments of free play that can be awarded? Obviously you only got one installment...which I'm assuming you forfeited.

I might bother to do this if it's not too broken up in installments. G/f and I are overdue to visit KC anyway.

I don't know and never asked. All I got was a postcard in the mail stating the $5 as a rebate from them as part of the promo.

Also, I could not find the 8/5 BP listed on VPfree2.

Quote: Ibeatyouraces

I don't know and never asked. All I got was a postcard in the mail stating the $5 as a rebate from them as part of the promo.

Also, I could not find the 8/5 BP listed on VPfree2.

Things probably have changed. That whole list is basically my reporting when I spent a bunch of time updating places.
And I guess the quick quads was gone too when you played there? Someone reported that missing 8 days ago. That was full pay. :( Hit and ran them my last trip there in June 2014.

Quote: tringlomane

The "haven't been here awhile" portion probably applies to those who played at Argosy before they became part of Penn Gaming's Marquee Rewards. If you are already a Marquee Rewards member, I'd assume you wouldn't be applicable (i.e. me :().

As for how they divvy the freeplay up, yeah, that is property dependent. I would expect that you would have to return a different day at least twice, possibly more. Unfortunately a call or a personal visit is probably necessary to figure out the exact regulations.

Yeah, I have never been there nor signed up for a Marquee rewards. It sounds like it's based on your theoretical losses though.

Quote: Actuarial

Yeah, I have never been there nor signed up for a Marquee rewards. It sounds like it's based on your theoretical losses though.

It does? From the info I've read I don't get that impression. If you win though, you won't get anything other than the standard marketing offer which would be theo based. I've always lost on loss rebates though. :(

Quote: tringlomane

It does? From the info I've read I don't get that impression. If you win though, you won't get anything other than the standard marketing offer which would be theo based. I've always lost on loss rebates though. :(

I was just going off of 'Ibeatyouraces' story. It just seems like it's not going to be that much due to the severe lack of details, but since I'll already be staying at the Ameristar I might as well check it out on my way over there.

Quote: Actuarial

I was just going off of 'Ibeatyouraces' story. It just seems like it's not going to be that much due to the severe lack of details, but since I'll already be staying at the Ameristar I might as well check it out on my way over there.

I knew about it but never really looked into it. I'm not a big fan of loss rebates.

I just looked for the post card but remembered throwing it out a while back.

Okay, I called Argosy KC twenty minutes prior to making this post and got the following information, but first:

DISCLAIMER: This information is based on information given to me by a Player's Club Representative. I accept no personal responsibility whatsoever if any of this does not end up being the case. Wizard of Vegas, nor any affiliated websites or companies accept any responsibility if any of this does not end up being accurate. This information is based solely on a conversation with the PC Rep.

1.) This promotion applies to first day losses of up to $500 on either Slots, Video Poker or Table Games.

2.) In terms of being a Marquee Rewards Players Club Member, you must either:

A.) Be a new Marquee Rewards Member

Or

B.) Be a current Member, but have not played at any Penn National Gaming or Gaming and Leisure Properties Casino in either the states of Kansas or Missouri in the last year.

3a.) Table Games losses are reimbursed on a $10 for $10 basis, up to $500 in Promotional Chips. If you lose less than $500, then your reimbursement will be rounded down to the nearest $10.

NOTE: These are Promotional Chips rather than Non-Negotiable chips. Promotional Chips do not stay up on a win, therefore, are worth slightly less than half of face value on Even Money bets. If they can be used on Blackjack, then slightly more than half. If they can be used on long-shots; then generally, the longer the shot, the better the value.

3b.) On Slots or Video Poker, the player will be reimbursed only $5 on a loss of $1-$49, but everything after is a $50 for $50 basis once you have lost fifty up to $500. If you lose less than $500, but more than $49, any losses that are not a multiple of $50 will result in the FP being rounded down to the nearest $50.

4.) The player will receive a mailer within 3-6 weeks of incurring the loss with the Promo chip coupons or thing to take to the PC to collect the FP. There will be a date range, but the rep does not know what it is. If you are not local, however, she said that they would probably increase your date range if you cannot make it by talking to a supervisor.

That's all I've got for now.

How cool. We'll get you your rebate after your loss when we feel like it. What a joke. Is this even legal?

Quote: MaxPen

How cool. We'll get you your rebate after your loss when we feel like it. What a joke. Is this even legal?

I don't know why that's a joke, that's basically how it usually works. Need time for the mail to process.

I've only encountered a handful of loss rebates where they knew exactly when you would get it ahead of time. Amongst those, you got half over each of the next two days and another where you got half immediately and the other half a week later.

But, for it to come in a mailer is hardly unusual and certainly legal. It's a promotional mailer like any other, only difference is you know exactly what you'll be getting.

They should be able to state at the start of the promotion when you are eligible to have the rebate available to you. Not doing that definitively is ludicrous in my opinion, and should be illegal.
Would it be funny if after losing $500 and received a mailer stating to see us next year same time same channel for your $500 in FP. The timeline should be preestablished or it is nothing more than an open ended promise of something undefined.
Not trying to argue but I find it rediculous that people accept terms such as these.
What if you're offer is lost in the mail? You check back and they tell you,"Sir, you were sent that but unfortunately it has expired now. Better luck next time."

B.) Be a current Member, but have not played at any Penn National Gaming or Gaming and Leisure Properties Casino in either the states of Kansas or Missouri in the last year.

dgjsgkdgkgktsxktktktskfsjfltsuldlkszrakrl,rsllt....dammit

Thanks for calling Mission. Saves me a trip.

Quote: MaxPen

They should be able to state at the start of the promotion when you are eligible to have the rebate available to you. Not doing that definitively is ludicrous in my opinion, and should be illegal. ."

They do, I think you're jumping to conclusions. Mission was talking to a $10-13/hr slot boothling, it is extremely common for them to not know details about a lot of things or give misinformation simply because they don't know, and they're not going to be directly involved with marketing/mailers so its going to be common for this to be one of the details they're unsure of. Frustrating when you need to know those details to decide if it's worthwhile for you, but again you need to consider the pay grade of the employees your dealing with and that it's not part of some big conspiracy.
When I was there the boothling had to ask her manager about pretty simple details about the promotion, including if VP was eligible.

Quote: Mission146

Okay, I called Argosy KC twenty minutes prior to making this post and got the following information, but first:

DISCLAIMER: This information is based on information given to me by a Player's Club Representative. I accept no personal responsibility whatsoever if any of this does not end up being the case. Wizard of Vegas, nor any affiliated websites or companies accept any responsibility if any of this does not end up being accurate. This information is based solely on a conversation with the PC Rep.

1.) This promotion applies to first day losses of up to $500 on either Slots, Video Poker or Table Games.

2.) In terms of being a Marquee Rewards Players Club Member, you must either:

A.) Be a new Marquee Rewards Member

Or

B.) Be a current Member, but have not played at any Penn National Gaming or Gaming and Leisure Properties Casino in either the states of Kansas or Missouri in the last year.

3a.) Table Games losses are reimbursed on a $10 for $10 basis, up to $500 in Promotional Chips. If you lose less than $500, then your reimbursement will be rounded down to the nearest $10.

NOTE: These are Promotional Chips rather than Non-Negotiable chips. Promotional Chips do not stay up on a win, therefore, are worth slightly less than half of face value on Even Money bets. If they can be used on Blackjack, then slightly more than half. If they can be used on long-shots; then generally, the longer the shot, the better the value.

3b.) On Slots or Video Poker, the player will be reimbursed only $5 on a loss of $1-$49, but everything after is a $50 for $50 basis once you have lost fifty up to $500. If you lose less than $500, but more than $49, any losses that are not a multiple of $50 will result in the FP being rounded down to the nearest $50.

4.) The player will receive a mailer within 3-6 weeks of incurring the loss with the Promo chip coupons or thing to take to the PC to collect the FP. There will be a date range, but the rep does not know what it is. If you are not local, however, she said that they would probably increase your date range if you cannot make it by talking to a supervisor.

That's all I've got for now.

So seems like the right play is VP for a 100% loss rebate vs. 50% for table games

Quote: Avincow

So seems like the right play is VP for a 100% loss rebate vs. 50% for table games

It depends on what you are trying to accomplish, really, but generally yes.

I mean, if you wanted a 97.2% chance of achieving slightly under $250 in value ($125 each) you could take a friend and do a $500 doey-don't on Craps. If they would let you, anyway. You would theoretically lose slightly more than $250 2.8% of the time, but ultimately, the value would be within $5 of $230...the rough estimate is because I did it in my head.

Aside from something like that, though, then VP is good if you can get a high denomination. If high denomination VP is not available, then high denomination Slots are often better. There are actually a great number of ways it could be played on machines, but I'd have no way of even guessing the best way without actually being there.

Anyway, volatility is your biggest ally because you are not playing for initial value. Technically, you only realize the value of the promotion by losing. Let's say that you had a single line slot machine for $100/play, now let's say there is a Video Poker game with a 98% return....If you ultimately lose $500 on the slot machine, by expectation on the rebate, you got to take x $100 pulls at an actual expected cash loss of $10.

The above paragraph describes a pretty standard attack, though. There are other ways, but I'd have to be there to determine if there was a better idea and any full-time AP would likely have even better ideas than I would. Also, if you had a machine that you had good reason to believe was positive, then the Loss Rebate would function kind of like a safety net...even if you ended up winning an amount you consider unsatisfactory, that would not prevent you from ultimately losing $500 with some other approach.

Quote: mcallister3200

Mission was talking to a $10-13/hr slot boothling, it is extremely common for them to not know details about a lot of things or give misinformation simply because they don't know....

When I wanted to know the specifics of a recent loss rebate promo at a different casino, I just e-mailed them and got a nice item by item PDF back a couple days later.

Why would anyone play a loss rebate it's such a "loser" mentality. Great if I lose I get my money back

Quote: Wizardofnothing

Why would anyone play a loss rebate it's such a "loser" mentality. Great if I lose I get my money back

You don't even get that much back. FP is worth less than face value.

Quote: Wizardofnothing

Why would anyone play a loss rebate it's such a "loser" mentality. Great if I lose I get my money back

What's your point?

Looks like this is good once a year so I'll be making a return trip to KC. Wound up winning last time I did this promo - anyone got any update with their experience?

Quote: Actuarial

Looks like this is good once a year so I'll be making a return trip to KC. Wound up winning last time I did this promo - anyone got any update with their experience?

Wow really? But I wonder if I would be ineligible since I play at Hollywood St. Louis. (Reading old parts of thread, yes and ineligible for nearly 12 months now due to STL play on 6/30, ugh). I was at Argosy KC last week. :(

99 Hops House is a must for a craft beer lover. They offer over 90 taps, 28 of which are self serve by the ounce. Great if you want to try new things.

Quote: Wizardofnothing

Why would anyone play a loss rebate it's such a "loser" mentality. Great if I lose I get my money back

wow!

Seems very generous, the LV Trop used to do something similar for $200 but locals were excluded from participating.

Stranger: "WoN, I'm going to freeroll you here, buddy!"

WoN: "Fffft. That bet loses all the time. Forget it!"

Sorry, that jab was to wake you up in case you weren't just kidding. And, yeah, there are things to object to usually in the deal and in fact it isn't quite a full freeroll. I decided to decline a rebate offer myself recently, the conditions didn't much suit me and worst of all, they made it clear they would make up the rules as they went along.

Quote: Wizardofnothing

[SARCASM]Why would anyone play a loss rebate it's such a "loser" mentality. Great if I lose I get my money back[/SARCASM]

There, I fixed your post so others would get it =).

I think he's right and that's why more casinos should do a 150% loss rebate.

Quote: odiousgambit

Stranger: "WoN, I'm going to freeroll you here, buddy!"

WoN: "Fffft. That bet loses all the time. Forget it!"

Sorry, that jab was to wake you up in case you weren't just kidding. And, yeah, there are things to object to usually in the deal and in fact it isn't quite a full freeroll. I decided to decline a rebate offer myself recently, the conditions didn't much suit me and worst of all, they made it clear they would make up the rules as they went along.

I e-mailed the player's club supervisor there and this is her response:

"You can be reimbursed on your losses at the tables and or at the slot machines up to $500. Total. It does round down to the nearest $50. It does take 3-6 weeks to be notified of when to come back and play. The reimbursement will be in the form of free slot play and or free bets for the table games."

I'm really not seeing the downside. It's only a 2.5 hour drive for me to get there and happens to be home to my favorite restaurant. The only ambiguity I see is whether the free bets are play-til-you-lose or one-time only - which is why I will play higher denom VP instead of blackjack. I figure it won't take long to play $2-denom DDB - play til I'm busto or hit quads, then head out. Have the wife do the same - then come back in a few months for a free shot at round 2.

Loss rebates for the average person are a scam because they're often not followed through on, the check is in the mail kind of thing. Vague terms are a huge red flag. Mission's experience for example, seemed from his article, he had to put in about ten hours of pulling teeth to get his free play.

If you're a new member, or a noncustomer for some time, you'll get good free play offers from many casinos anyways win or lose, without a loss rebate. I suppose that is another fine point, a person may get a loss rebate, but best as I can tell, not get free play besides that like the regular customers do.

Vagueness is the key, if a casino clearly stated when the rebate is applied and in how many installments upfront, that's a good offer. People don't have time sending 40 emails, calling ten times, talking to twenty people.

Quote: Actuarial

I e-mailed the player's club supervisor there and this is her response:

"You can be reimbursed on your losses at the tables and or at the slot machines up to $500. Total. It does round down to the nearest $50. It does take 3-6 weeks to be notified of when to come back and play. The reimbursement will be in the form of free slot play and or free bets for the table games."

I'm really not seeing the downside. It's only a 2.5 hour drive for me to get there and happens to be home to my favorite restaurant. The only ambiguity I see is whether the free bets are play-til-you-lose or one-time only - which is why I will play higher denom VP instead of blackjack. I figure it won't take long to play $2-denom DDB - play til I'm busto or hit quads, then head out. Have the wife do the same - then come back in a few months for a free shot at round 2.

Redemption times can be inconvenient sometimes. If they send you emails on Monday, telling you to come in Tuesday, you might not be able to redeem. You just don't know what these places will do. They may give you weeks to redeem in one shot, they may ask you to come back 20 times, or they may never follow through, even claiming you won when you lost. That's the downside and those things happen and things aren't always uniform for everyone everywhere everytime.

Quote: Actuarial

I e-mailed the player's club supervisor there and this is her response:

"You can be reimbursed on your losses at the tables and or at the slot machines up to $500. Total. It does round down to the nearest $50. It does take 3-6 weeks to be notified of when to come back and play. The reimbursement will be in the form of free slot play and or free bets for the table games."

no mention of how many times you have to come back.

Quote:

I'm really not seeing the downside. It's only a 2.5 hour drive for me

Only? if that's 150 miles or so then the 300 mile round-trip would cost maybe $30-40 in gas alone. AAA would say it costs in total $171 each trip, see link, and you are going to have to go at least twice. You don't have it in writing that it would only be twice.

Quote:

to get there and happens to be home to my favorite restaurant.

It helps to have other reasons to go of course.

Quote:

The only ambiguity I see is whether the free bets are play-til-you-lose or one-time only - which is why I will play higher denom VP instead of blackjack. I figure it won't take long to play $2-denom DDB - play til I'm busto or hit quads, then head out. Have the wife do the same - then come back in a few months for a free shot at round 2.

Having 2 people on the deal helps too.

Another bummer is that 95% of the time [in one thing I've seen] you don't win anything and are stuck with getting your money back, rules to be made up by the payer as things go along.

http://newsroom.aaa.com/auto/your-driving-costs/

PS: you may have to do slots, with VP excluded.

I'm not sure how many loss rebates you guys have played, but for the most part they work just fine. Yes, everything you mentioned has happened at one time or another, but I really think they are the exceptions, not the rule.

For the record, they don't just make up stories and say you won when you lost. That's usually due to a card reader error, I have had it happen a few times. I was able to get paid one time because I proved their card reader was miscalculating, so they went to the cameras and seen how much I put in and cashed out. Usually, they just claim you didn't have your card properly inserted. There's not much you can do to convince them otherwise.

I'm usually the first person to call something a scam, but as far as loss rebates go, I don't think I would go so far as calling them a scam, not even for the ploppys.

Even the average person must realize there has to be a catch. They can't really believe the casinos are going to let you gamble, lose and just give you all your money back without some kind of catch. They need to ask questions just like anything else that seems too good to be true.

Overall I think loss rebates are good for both the players and the casino.

Wow, thanks axel, i should check these out.... you really opened my eyes to something.!!!!!!

Oh, come on now. We don't want the average person thinking LR's are a scam, nor do we want the casinos thinking their customers think they are a scam. We want everyone complaining to the casino they don't have one like the other casinos they have been to.

Casinos get new customers, some who eventually lose everything plus significantly more. The players enjoy playing much more when they have an insurance policy. It's a win win for everyone.

deleted... peer pressure... nobody like a wise ass lol

Quote: AxelWolf

I was able to get paid one time because I proved their card reader was miscalculating

you've just described what you don't seem to mind having to do, but what would have me hating life. The damage it would do to my soul would even be worse; I'd be waking up in the morning plotting how I could get even - that's after they agreed with me too.

How??

Quote: odiousgambit

you've just described what you don't seem to mind having to do, but what would have me hating life. The damage it would do to my soul would even be worse; I'd be waking up in the morning plotting how I could get even - that's after they agreed with me too.

Oh, trust me it wasn't fun, but it was a significant amount, anything less and I probably would have just let it go. They basically said I was lying about how much I lost, even after I showed them how their machine was miscalculating. If not for the camera I would have been SOL. They did apologize and hooked me up with some nice food comps and free rooms.

Most people probably wouldn't have noticed the card reader was acting funny, only to find out later when they didn't get anything. I doubt they would go to the cameras at that point.

Quote: AxelWolf

Even the average person must realize there has to be a catch. They can't really believe the casinos are going to let you gamble, lose and just give you all your money back without some kind of catch

Quote: Actuarial

I e-mailed the player's club supervisor there and this is her response:

"You can be reimbursed on your losses at the tables and or at the slot machines up to $500. Total. It does round down to the nearest $50. It does take 3-6 weeks to be notified of when to come back and play. The reimbursement will be in the form of free slot play and or free bets for the table games."

I don't see where it says the reimbursement comes all at once, so I wouldn't assume that, because it typically doesn't.

Quote: Mission146

I don't see where it says the reimbursement comes all at once, so I wouldn't assume that, because it typically doesn't.

I believe it is in two installments.

Quote: DRich

I believe it is in two installments.

You can't get that in writing I bet. If you live near the casino it doesn't matter so much.

I would say two installments makes sense if they round down to the nearest multiple of $50 if less than $500 is lost.

That's why I couldn't figure it out on one I did (that also happened to be $500) when they told me three installments. How the Hell does that work out? $166.66, $166.66 + $166.67? Of course not, it was four installments, someone else told me two. I got it all at once anyway after several phone calls made after the fact that it didn't hit when it was supposed to, and then REALLY didn't hit when it was supposed to. That took some minor griping to get, but nothing too over the top.

Mileage will vary. I've seen it work exactly how they said it would at other places.

I do say only believe what's in writing, ask two people, get two different answers...almost invariably. Ask five people and, if three of them agree, there's probably about a 50% chance that is what it is.

Quote: onenickelmiracle

Loss rebates for the average person are a scam because they're often not followed through on, the check is in the mail kind of thing. Vague terms are a huge red flag. Mission's experience for example, seemed from his article, he had to put in about ten hours of pulling teeth to get his free play.

Was it only ten?

I don't know that they are a scam, I think some casinos just do them better than others. I've talked to multiple people who did it at the same casino I did and none of them had the same extent of problems that I did. I think there were a couple of people for whom the free play started hitting later than it was supposed to, but it was nothing too egregious.

Quote:

If you're a new member, or a noncustomer for some time, you'll get good free play offers from many casinos anyways win or lose, without a loss rebate. I suppose that is another fine point, a person may get a loss rebate, but best as I can tell, not get free play besides that like the regular customers do.

Vagueness is the key, if a casino clearly stated when the rebate is applied and in how many installments upfront, that's a good offer. People don't have time sending 40 emails, calling ten times, talking to twenty people.

I agree with your first paragraph, especially if one intends to play the Loss Rebate close to optimally. Generally speaking, you're not going to run a bunch of coin-in when doing a Loss Rebate (if you're doing it right), so you won't get that much in the way of offers if the location is generally based on coin-in. I guess my question would be what is the value of comps that you expect to get with your normal amount of coin-in? Does the expectation on that (in terms of value) exceed the value that you are going to get on the loss rebate? Do you know whether or not it does for sure?

Loss Rebates are generally going to result in a high proportion of Free Play as compared to your coin-in if you lose on the rebate, so yeah, don't be expecting to see any offers for awhile. Your ADT is going to be in the toilet.

What they, "Clearly state," and what actually happens can still be two different things, but yes, that improves the likelihood of a favorable experience.

For those wondering - the terms seem pretty straight-forward on the website:

http://www.argosykansascity.com/Promotions/Play-500-On-Us

2 offers with separate dates, rounded down to the nearest $50

Here are a few tips I have for Loss Rebates:

1a.) The absolute best way to play a Loss Rebate is (redacted).

1b.) The second best way to play a Loss Rebate is (redacted).

1c.) If you are not aware of 1a or 1b, then I would say that you want to make Variance your friend. Make the biggest bets that you can in the hopes of hitting something huge (relative to bet level). You can look at what Wizard has for Double Diamond:

https://wizardofodds.com/games/slots/loss-rebate/

I would say that you could just go with pragmatic considerations if you're not generally an AP, which is to say, "How much do you want to win?" And, when you've won a certain amount, do you really want to lose it back?

You'll notice, on the 98% return Double Diamond games Wizard discusses, that the win goal can be as high as 600% of bankroll if you have a 25-Credit bankroll. If the game sucks, it's barely over 100% of bankroll.

I could see where pragmatic things could be a consideration, though. If someone gets ahead $1,000 on a $500 Loss Rebate, then do you want to lose $1,500 (compared to where you are now) to get $500 back in two installments? Are you happy to just take the $1,000 and call it a day? That's going to vary from person to person.

Here's some WoO information about VP win goals:

https://wizardofodds.com/games/video-poker/loss-rebate/

And, again, when you convert the Win Goals to actual dollars, I could see why someone would be satisfied to walk away with less than that if they get to a certain point.

2.) Make SURE your card is in.

-This one seems obvious, but it becomes even more important if your bet is going to be a high percentage of the amount to be rebated. If you can play at $25 denomination on VP, then a Max Bet is going to be $125. That's four bets. You don't want to have to potentially lose $125 and not have your card properly inserted just to have to lose $500 AFTER THAT to get the full rebate.

-Make sure the screen shows your name, card level, and everything like that. If you want to be really careful, check something on there that would require you to put in your PIN, now you know it's working.

3.) Remember, the rebate is variable.

But...it's $500...how is that variable?

It's variable until the point that you've already won. If you find yourself +$1,000, then that's your $1,000, you can walk away ahead $1,000 if you like. If you choose to risk it, you now have to lose $1,500 to get the $500 rebate. That's no longer a 100% loss rebate, it's a 33% Loss Rebate. It was 100% when you started, but now you have to lose more than $500 to get the rebate.

4.) Check your losses.

After you play and have lost, if that's what happens, wait five or ten minutes and then go ask the players club what they show you as losing. This is ALWAYS important, but even more important if you are not betting very much relative to the rebate.

Imagine if you are not terribly concerned with value and are just playing something at a $5 total bet, now the players club shows you at a $495 loss. You're going to lose $50 in Free Play because of that! Factoring in the house edge (and the fact that you actually have to lose another $5) that mistake is going to cost you just under $45 in expectation, so make sure to check! Besides that, the $5 gives you another shot.

5.) Free Play Counts

Even when doing loss rebates, some casinos may still give you Free Play for new members or for giving an E-Mail address, or something along those lines. Make sure to check your losses, of course, but also realize that any winnings from the Free Play are going to count as money won, so that's going to work against your rebate. If you win $20 off of any Free Play, then you need to lose $520 to get the $500 rebate. If you just lose $500 then you will show a loss of $480 giving you Free Play of $450 which has an actual cost on you.

6.) The pragmatics matter.

There's a difference between living right next to the casino and having a substantial drive, unless you would be going anyway. If you have a 2.5 hour drive each way, then on two pick-ups, you're going to spend 10 hours just driving for $500 in free play. That's going to be $50/hour in free play just on the driving, less when you count playing it off, even less when you look at expenses to get to and from the casino.

In that sense, if it's going to cost you substantial time to go back that you might not want to spend, then you might want to set your win goal lower than what may be considered optimal.

7.) (Try To) Know When the Free Play Will Hit and for How Long

The information anyone gives you will often be incorrect, but as much as possible, try to figure out how long after the day you play the free play will hit and how long each increment will be good for. If you're going to be out of town and don't have any other means of getting a pick up done, then you are effectively playing a 50% loss rebate if you're going to miss a pickup.

NOTE

Pretty much nothing I have said above is an advanced tactic of any kind. The post above is mainly for recreational players who are not necessarily all that familiar with loss rebates. There are some more advanced tactics I could talk about, but won't, because I will be hunted and killed if I do.

Quote: Actuarial

For those wondering - the terms seem pretty straight-forward on the website:

http://www.argosykansascity.com/Promotions/Play-500-On-Us

2 offers with separate dates, rounded down to the nearest $50

Good, take a screenshot and E-Mail it to yourself. You might need it.