Harrah's Summer Promotion: The Salesman Problem (POLL: How many will you get to??)

First of all, if you're not familiar with the Caesars promotion going on this summer, here it is in a nutshell.

*You must visit at least 3 separate Caesars property destinations. For example, Las Vegas is considered one destination, despite having 6 casinos. If you vist 3 between July 1 and October 31, log at least one base reward credit at each destination and check in at the appropriate place, you will get 15,000 bonus reward credits, awarded on October 31. 4 or more gets you more points, with the maximum of 6 destinations rewarded 60,000 RCs. Based on their point system, that's equivalent to $600 in comps or $300 in cash.

The poll is intended to find out how many people are going to attempt the travel necessary to get the maximum value. I'll be the first to admit that midwest gamblers will have an easier time achieving this.

Now, the fun part. What would be the easiest way to get to 6 destinations. You have any kind of transportation available to you, but factor in those costs before getting too crazy. I'll get you started, with mapquest details to boot.

D1: Horseshoe Council Bluffs, IA: Start at 8:00am. Play some Pai Gow Poker (1 hour), with favorable banking options. Ask for a buffet (they'll give it you without deducting RCs), and eat at the buffet. Leave by 9:30am.
D2: Harrah's Kansas City: Arrive at 12:30pm (182 mi.) Try to hit this casino during their favorable multiplier days (usually Wed.) Play some Double-deck BJ in the high-limit room (decent rules), and leave by 2:00pm.
D3: Harrah's St Louis: Arrive by 6:00pm (235 mi.) [includes a stop for gas and traffic] Get a hotel room (usually comped and very nice) and eat at Charlie Gitto's. Play the favorable 9/6 JoB on the Island side (possibly on a multiplier day). Get to bed no later than 9pm, but be sure to see the iBar dancers. Leave no later than 6:00 am the next morning to avoid rush hour.
D4: Harrah's Metropolis, IL: Arrive in Metropolis by 9:15am (186 mi.). Not sure what games are good there, I've only been once. Let's say BJ, since you haven't played that yet. Eat a light breakfast there, and check out the Superman statue downtown. Leave Metropolis no later than 11am.
D5: Horseshoe Southern Indiana: Arrive at 4:00pm (now EST) (244 mi.) Check into the hotel (usually free), and walk the mile to the Paula Deen Buffet. Eat up good, since the food is rich. Play some craps (pass line w/100x odds). After an hour, be sure to get your comp (no RCs needed to be used). Take that with you, and get breakfast with it in the morning. Leave by 8:00am.
D6: Horseshoe Hammond: Arrive by noon (CST again). (292 mi.) Check out the Asian themed room and play some tiles or BJ (S17).

edit: apparently the map doesn't work... sorry

That's a three-day tour that would be easily accomplished. Let's hear some of your ideas!!

This Traveling Salesman or Bridges of Kohninsberg problem is usually posed with travel time or travel cost metrics and a prohibition on the same hub twice or something. I don't know why you are seeking a minimum time at the casino and requiring High Limit Room play at one.

Walk a mile to Paula Deen buffet. Walk?? A mile?? LOL.

Well, I hope you get whatever the prize for all this travel is. Get your 600 points and use them in Pepto Bismal comps and Podiatry Care comps.

Good luck.

There are a couple people on this board who would be crazy enough to complete this. Okay, I am one of them.

The route you suggested is probably the best. For those out west, you could do Rincon-Tahoe-Reno-Vegas-Laughlin-Maricopa and see some absolutely MAGNIFICENT scenery along the way. (Death Valley/Yosemite/Mojave/Grand Canyon and tons of other stuff).

What does CET call this? I poked around at caesars.com and didn't find it.

Vegas/Laughlin and Reno/Tahoe are both easy for me without going to much extra (if any) extra effort, so I'd probably get to four.

Quote: FleaStiff

This Traveling Salesman or Bridges of Kohninsberg problem is usually posed with travel time or travel cost metrics and a prohibition on the same hub twice or something. I don't know why you are seeking a minimum time at the casino and requiring High Limit Room play at one.

I could figure out the exact costs, but for the purpose of trying to fall asleep last night, I just stuck to the number of miles traveled. And the only reason I put suggested games on there was based on knowledge of what games are the best at those particular casinos. I also tried to get a variety of games in, to keep it interesting. I believe (with the exception of Metropolis, as I only played there once, and for a few minutes at that) that my suggested games are the ones that provide the lowest house edge. And the time frames are designed to get you enough play for 1) a comp at Horseshoes where they still write them the old fashioned way and 2) to walk around and take everything in. The spirit of the promotion is designed so you see all the sites, but I'm trying to make it as fast as possible too.

Quote: FleaStiff

Walk a mile to Paula Deen buffet. Walk?? A mile?? LOL.

Have you ever been to HSI? The hotel is a ridiculously long walk from the main pavillion. It's not a mile, but it sure feels that way.

Quote: FleaStiff

Well, I hope you get whatever the prize for all this travel is. Get your 600 points and use them in Pepto Bismal comps and Podiatry Care comps.

Good luck.

LoL... now that's funny. Most of the gift shops sell Pepto Bismol, so I may pick some up on my journey...



By the way, this isn't the route that I, personally, will be taking. My journey begins Saturday in Las Vegas (a trip planned long before I knew about this). [D1] I get back to Ohio for a week, and then I'm going to visit family in Omaha, where undoubtedly I will play at both Horseshoe and Harrah's Council Bluffs [D2]. On Thursday, river permitting (I guess it's high on I-29, the interstate between Omaha and KC), I plan on visiting a friend in KC who just had a baby, so Harrah's North Kansas City it is [D3]. HSI is my favorite casino, so I'm sure I'll go there in August [D4]. That leaves two more to visit. The logical option is Chicago and St Louis. I think I may go to a neighborhood festival in Chicago, and I like Horseshoe there (although it's my least favorite of the Shoes). Harrah's St Louis has a nice hotel, some good VP and an easy poker room, though it's a 7 hour drive with a time change. I've never been to Chester, PA, and though it's an 8-hour drive, AC is only 2 hours from there. If I took a 4-day weekend, those would be easy to knock out. Obviously, I still have some decisions to make.

Quote: fivespot

What does CET call this? I poked around at caesars.com and didn't find it.

Vegas/Laughlin and Reno/Tahoe are both easy for me without going to much extra (if any) extra effort, so I'd probably get to four.

It's called the Great Race to Total Rewards Giveaway. Here (I hope) is the link to the site: Great' rel='nofollow' target='_blank'>http://www.harrahsjoliet.com/EventsDetail.do?detailName=great-race-to-total-rewards-giveaway-detail&displayCode=&locationCode=JOL&eventTitle=THE+GREAT+RACE+TO+TOTAL+REWARDS+GIVEAWAY&searchDate=07-02-2011&categoryName=Nightlife&subcategoryName=ALL_SUBCATEGORIES&startDay=30&startMonthYear=06-2011&endDay=06&endMonthYear=07-2011]Great Race

It's kind of disappointing to me that this starts July 1. From March to June, I visited:

Harrah's Chester PA
AC
Saint Louis
Metropolis
Kansas City
Southern Indiana
Joliet
Hammond
Vegas
Laughlin
Rincon
Bossier City
Council Bluffs
Windsor

From July to October, I will visit:
Reno/Tahoe
Cherokee
Ak-Chin
Vegas

I guess I'll probably create a long layover at some point and visit Hammond while I'm at O'Hare. And I'll probably drive down to Laughlin again when I'm in Vegas for G2E.

Why drive? http://www.keytourslv.com/ They go mon wed and fri for just $5 round trip and you get a buffet.! I went back in 08' forget the buffet!!! the driver was nice. If you plan on staying over I remember it costing $50 round trip and its reliable.

Quote: whatme

Why drive? http://www.keytourslv.com/ They go mon wed and fri for just $5 round trip and you get a buffet.! I went back in 08' forget the buffet!!! the driver was nice. If you plan on staying over I remember it costing $50 round trip and its reliable.

That is awesome. $5 is about 1/4 the cost of the gas to make the trip, plus there's free food.

The food was BAD. My friends ate there and it was barely edibale. I tried the salad but couldnt put it in my mouth. I don't remember which casino it was and from then to know it might be better good luck!

Quote: whatme

I don't remember which casino it was . . .

The photo on their Laughlin Tours page provides the answer:


According to Google Maps, it's about a 2 hour ride from Vegas. The entire tour is 10 hours.

4+ hours of a 10 hour tour, stuck on a bus, just getting there? I'll pass.

It's actually a very dramatic, scenic drive and doesn't take nearly two hours. It's 93 miles from Vegas but that is on empty, four lane roads and you can make it in an hour and change easily.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

4+ hours of a 10 hour tour, stuck on a bus, just getting there? I'll pass.

Depends on the context. I think going to Laughlin will get me $150 ($75 cash) from Caesars in the "crazy tour of our properties" promotion. So I'm net positive for taking the trip either way. Given that, is it better to drive or piggy-back on the tour?

OOOOH, looking at this, they've made some interesting distinctions. Reno and Tahoe are two areas, same with New Orleans and Biloxi, and Chester and AC. I think most of us lump those together.

I slept on the bus, long night. The bus pickes you up and I was the last or seconed to last pickup so the drive was shorter then 2 hrs. Its not for everyone just another option. I personally like gambling and drinking by taking the bus I can do it longer.

What happens if I visit more than 6 locations? The top level of the promotion just says "...6 locations" not "6 or more locations." So if I go to 9 locations between now and October 3rd, do I get 75,000 reward credits?

.....

Quote: gofaster87

Wow I didn't realize so many people liked Harrahs properties. I hope the ones outside of Vegas are decent because anything Harrahs owned in Vegas has some pretty crappy gaming. There are a few exemptions with some of the table games. They were great years back but I think things have went downhill lately.

I think the Harrah's gambling options are about the same in and out of Vegas. But they look relatively better outside of Vegas because the competition is weaker. Also, Harrah's hotels are relatively nice and relatively cheap, so they make good stops while traveling.

Quote: rdw4potus

Also, Harrah's hotels are relatively nice and relatively cheap, so they make good stops while traveling.

And they don't charge resort fees.

.....

Well, I can mail my card to my sister in Chicago, and she can get me some points at Harrah's in Joliet. Then I can send it to my sister in Ocean City NJ, and she can get me some points at Caesar's AC. Then, if I win the sales award here at work I get a few days in Vegas, I can stop in a property there. Or I can give the card to my brother in law and he can use it when he is in Vegas, if I don't win.

Huh. All from the privacy of my own home. Question: are these like, Diamond Club type points? Would doing this get me the Diamond card? Not that I'd want it, but if I had a top-tier card from any other system I could get a black card at Borgata.

I figured a round-trip route from South Bend, IN going to: (1)Joliet, (2)Council Bluffs, (3)N. Kansas City, (4)St. Louis, (5)Metropolis, (6)Elizabeth & back to S. Bend. Approx. 1700 miles and 27 hours. 2 really long days (stay one night in Kansas City) or more likely 3 (stay at Council Bluffs & Metropolis). Figure gas would cost around $300 however @ 22mpg x $3.60/gal.

If I cut out KC & St. Louis, I get 4 destinations in 1100 miles, 20 hours (one night in Metropolis). Gas would be around $180.

Poor gas mileage hurts my EV from the promotion too much to make it worth it. :(

Quote: Mosca

Well, I can mail my card to my sister in Chicago, and she can get me some points at Harrah's in Joliet. Then I can send it to my sister in Ocean City NJ, and she can get me some points at Caesar's AC. Then, if I win the sales award here at work I get a few days in Vegas, I can stop in a property there. Or I can give the card to my brother in law and he can use it when he is in Vegas, if I don't win.

Huh. All from the privacy of my own home. Question: are these like, Diamond Club type points? Would doing this get me the Diamond card? Not that I'd want it, but if I had a top-tier card from any other system I could get a black card at Borgata.

Why don't we get some sort of network of posters here who we can mail our cards to and get check-ins for us? I know we have people in Vegas and nearish to AC. I am in Phoenix--can do Ak-Chin. I think there is a St. Louisian here too. Who wants to bother with all that gas and driving?

Or I'm I thinking too much in bad faith here?

Quote: Tiltpoul

log at least one base reward credit at each destination and check in at the appropriate place, you will get 15,000 bonus reward credits, awarded on October 31. !!

I don't think I've ever played much at a Harrah's property, so how much play is required to get "one base reward credit" at VP ?

Also, by "check-in" what do you mean ? Do you mean check-in at the players club or check-in to the hotel ?

thanks

Quote: JohnnyQ

so how much play is required to get "one base reward credit" at VP ?

5 dollar coin in slot, 10 for VP.

Quote: JohnnyQ

Also, by "check-in" what do you mean ? Do you mean check-in at the players club or check-in to the hotel ?

thanks

It looks like you have to swipe your card at one of the kiosks by the Total Rewards desk to check in, then play at least 1 point in order to qualify.

Quote: gofaster87

Id rather pay the resort fees at a place like palms and play full pay vp. The 15 minutes alone on full pay vp would more than make up for a $12-20 resort fee. Most of the Harrahs properties also have 6/5 bj with mediocre rules as their mainstay, a decent bj game would also make up for any resort fees. I do know that some of the out of NV Harrahs actually have better VP options than Vegas.

I guess you're right about the VP - St. Louis, KC, Joliet, Hammond, Metropolis, and Southern Indiana all have full pay games (9/6 JoB).

I'd rather stay at Rio for free and walk across the street to Gold Coast or the Palms. I can handle the short walk to save on the room fees.

Also, Harrah's does charge resort fees outside Vegas. 4 "free" nights in AC cost me $70 that I couldn't even pay for with points.

•Atlantic City, New Jersey (Harrah's, Showboat, Bally's & Caesars)
•Maricopa, Arizona (Harrah's Ak Chin)
•Shreveport/Bossier City, Louisiana (Harrah's and Horseshoe)
•Chester, Pennsylvania (Harrah's)
•Cherokee, North Carolina (Harrah's)
•Chicago area (Harrah's Joliet and Horseshoe Hammond)
•Biloxi, Mississippi (Grand)
•Counsel Bluffs, Iowa (Harrah's and Horseshoe)
•Laughlin, Nevada (Harrah's)
•Las Vegas, Nevada (Paris, Bally's, Rio, Caesars Palace, Flamingo, Harrah's, Imperial Palace and Planet Hollywood)
•Metropolis, Illinois (Harrah's)
•North Kansas City, Missouri (Harrah's)
•Tunica, Mississippi (Harrah's, Roadhouse and Horseshoe)
•Lake Tahoe area, Nevada (Harrah's and Harvey's)
•New Orleans, Louisiana (Harrah's)
•Reno, Nevada (Harrah's)
•San Diego area, California (Harrah's Rincon)
•St. Louis, Missouri (Harrah's)
•Elizabeth, Indiana (Horseshoe Southern Indiana)
•Windsor, Ontario Canada (Caesars Windsor)

Are the regions.

For me, I've got a trip scheduled to Reno/Tahoe for work, and I'll be heading to Vegas in September so I'll get 15,000. At that point, it's going to cost me money to see any more. Windsor or Laughlin might be a possibility. But there's a good potential for abuse here by mailing cards back and forth.

So, for example, you can exchange 60,000 Reward Points for 30,000 Hawaiian miles, which is a round trip. Also a Wii. So, there is very nice EV on this for the cost of a SASE. Hmmmm.... anyone thinking what I'm thinking.

Quote: boymimbo

So, there is very nice EV on this for the cost of a SASE. Hmmmm.... anyone thinking what I'm thinking.

You mean like they'll cancel the promotion because of wide scale abuse ? I'm not above
bending the rules slightly, BUT.....

ALSO, if anyone is making the trip to Chicago-land, you should definitely check out the
loss rebate at Fourwinds in New Buffalo MI.

ps:

Thanks to everyone for all the info on this. I might try to get to 3 or 4.

Quote: JohnnyQ

ALSO, if anyone is making the trip to Chicago-land, you should definitely check out the
loss rebate at Fourwinds in New Buffalo MI.

It is AWESOME. The only drawback is that an out-of-towner would have to visit town twice to get the benefit.

Quote: rdw4potus

It is AWESOME. The only drawback is that an out-of-towner would have to visit town twice to get the benefit.

Yep, to collect the rebate requires a return trip. I think we got the mailing about 3 weeks later
and we had maybe another 5 or 6 weeks of time to use it. This past winter, the mailing
included a free room night based on availability.

All the promo details are at their website.

I decided to jump into this one. I live in Orange County, CA, so Rincon San Diego is easy. Next Wed-Friday I will be driving 9 hours each way and spending the night at Harrah's Reno for Reno/Tahoe. This will be the worst part of the excursion as I will be leaving after work on Wednesday and probably won't get to Reno until 3:00 am. It will be fun though as this is my first time ever going to Reno. I love seeing casinos I have not seen before and have never quite been able to justify the trip to Reno so I am happy to have the excuse of $300 in Harrah's comps. I have also been wondering if the Bowling Stadium could possibly look as rediculous as the pictures suggest...It looks like something from Planet SpaceBall. The next Week I will be going to Vegas with my brother, but it is a one nighter and I won't have time to go to Laughlin.
So in a few weeks after that I will have to get Phoenix/Laughlin. My plan is to get a comped room on a Wed. night. at either Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio or Agua Caliente Casino in Palm Springs and that will get me 100 miles closer to Phoenix. I can then get up early Thursday, do the 5 hour drive to Harrah's Ak-chin which looks kind of shabby (but perhaps I will be pleasantly suprised!) Play 10 minutes, grab lunch, and then another 4-5 hours to Harrah's Laughlin for a comped night, Then back to Orange County the next day.

Thank God I don't have a life!

Quote: bigfoot66

I decided to jump into this one. I live in Orange County, CA, so Rincon San Diego is easy. Next Wed-Friday I will be driving 9 hours each way and spending the night at Harrah's Reno for Reno/Tahoe. This will be the worst part of the excursion as I will be leaving after work on Wednesday and probably won't get to Reno until 3:00 am. It will be fun though as this is my first time ever going to Reno. I love seeing casinos I have not seen before and have never quite been able to justify the trip to Reno so I am happy to have the excuse of $300 in Harrah's comps. I have also been wondering if the Bowling Stadium could possibly look as rediculous as the pictures suggest...It looks like something from Planet SpaceBall. The next Week I will be going to Vegas with my brother, but it is a one nighter and I won't have time to go to Laughlin.
So in a few weeks after that I will have to get Phoenix/Laughlin. My plan is to get a comped room on a Wed. night. at either Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio or Agua Caliente Casino in Palm Springs and that will get me 100 miles closer to Phoenix. I can then get up early Thursday, do the 5 hour drive to Harrah's Ak-chin which looks kind of shabby (but perhaps I will be pleasantly suprised!) Play 10 minutes, grab lunch, and then another 4-5 hours to Harrah's Laughlin for a comped night, Then back to Orange County the next day.

Thank God I don't have a life!

I get Rincon, Reno, Tahoe, Ak-Chin, and Laughlin. For a total of 5 locations & $450 in comps (note: Reno and Tahoe are separate "locations" - so make sure you visit both). You could easily add Vegas on the return from Laughlin. It's only a couple hours out of the way, and you'd get another $150 in comp dollars for the 6th location.

First of all, it's interesting to see the various responses to this promotion. I was a little surprised that when I went to Vegas the lady at the counter couldn't answer my question: she relied on somebody else to help her through the process.

Quote: Mosca

Well, I can mail my card to my sister in Chicago, and she can get me some points at Harrah's in Joliet. Then I can send it to my sister in Ocean City NJ, and she can get me some points at Caesar's AC. Then, if I win the sales award here at work I get a few days in Vegas, I can stop in a property there. Or I can give the card to my brother in law and he can use it when he is in Vegas, if I don't win.

Unfortunately, that doesn't work, because you have to check in at the Total Rewards desk. I would guess they would check your ID as a measure of protection.

Quote: rdw4potus

I guess you're right about the VP - St. Louis, KC, Joliet, Hammond, Metropolis, and Southern Indiana all have full pay games (9/6 JoB).

I probably will be going down to KC this weekend, but when I lived there, I never could find a 9/6 machine, in .25 at least. St Louis for sure has it, as does HSI (9/6 is ALL over the casino, only a few 8/5). Hammond probably has it in high denom. and I would be surprised if Metropolis has it. I've only been there once though.

Okay, flight is leaving... I will add some more later.

I might try this. I live in Kansas City, so that one's easy; I'm visiting some friends in St. Louis in August, so that's number two right there. The Horseshoe in Council Bluffs is really nice, and I like betting on dogs anyway, so there's three!

More than three probably wouldn't be worth the gas to get there. I think the next closest would be Chicago, which is like an eight hour drive for me...

Quote: ElectricDreams

I might try this. I live in Kansas City, so that one's easy; I'm visiting some friends in St. Louis in August, so that's number two right there. The Horseshoe in Council Bluffs is really nice, and I like betting on dogs anyway, so there's three!

More than three probably wouldn't be worth the gas to get there. I think the next closest would be Chicago, which is like an eight hour drive for me...

Metropolis is only about 2.5 hours from St. Louis, but there's NOTHING else there unless you like Superman...

I called the customer relations department at Harrah's and you can register online for the promotion, you dont have to go do it in person, ACCORDING TO WHAT SHE TOLD ME. Sorry but I had to make sure everyone notices this disclaimer. She said go to totalrewards.com and you can sign up for it there and it is even retroactive from what she said. So I had no clue about this and I was in Tahoe July 7th, if I sign up now, the point(s) I got from that trip should count as one destination. To Go's point, Harrah's has sucked me in with their hotel and other offers. Last year the wife and I had two seperate trips to New Orleans, stayed at the beautiful downtown Marriott for five free nights each time. You can't beat that. Not to mention free rooms in Vegas the last four New Years Eve trips, including one for this year again.

The promotion ends Oct 03 or Sep 30 depending on the literature that came in the mail, or the sign at Harrah's NKC. You have it running thru Oct 31

The link on the first page takes you to a Harrah's site that says this:

Here's your chance to rack up bonus Reward Credits. Swipe your Total Rewards® card between Friday, July 1 - Friday, October 3 at select Harrah's Total Rewards Centers during hours of operations and earn bonus Reward Credits. Visit at least 3 different destinations and earn bonus Reward Credits. You could win up to 60,000 bonus Reward Credits!


Bonus Reward Credits will be deposited into qualified guests' Total Reward accounts by October 31, 2011.

So I touched down in Omaha on Wednesday to visit my family as I flew over what now looks like Lake Missouri (if you haven't heard, Missouri River flooding is at an epic level). It's hard to believe so much water is just all over the place, and it's taking out roads that are frequently traveled (this will be important in a minute).

D1: Caesars Las Vegas a couple weekends ago. Had terrible run of luck on cards, but had a good time.

D2: Horseshoe Council Bluffs. I like this property, generally. The poker room does take a ridiculous rake and does have some silly rules, but overall, this is a nice property. They have combined their cashiers and players club booth, which they do at Ameristar. Personally, I'm not a fan of this approach. They don't seem to STAFF both appropriately. The only advantage is in the middle of the night, when the player's club is usually closed, now it can be open.

D3: Harrah's Kansas City. The drive took an extra hour, due to the flooding on I-29. I came down to see some friends I used to work with. I had a $55 promo play and $5 coupon that I took advantage of on a USA (American) Poker machine upstairs. Generally, I find the VP pay tables very stingy, but USA poker is probably the best option. Actually, there's a hidden gem downstairs in the bar area by the table games. They have some VP, Keno, BJ machines where JoB is 6/5. However, the coin-in rate is the slot rate ($5=1pt). Combined with their VERY generous multiplier days (10x or more), the BJ game I would think would be close to break-even. I stayed in the Las Vegas tower, although checking-in was quite a hassle, as you now MUST use a credit or debit card for the deposit. I only travel with cash, so I had to have this waived.

A few more to go for 6 destinations...

People are so clever ...
I saw this thread awhile ago and while I'm mildly interested in the Traveling Salesman Problem I wasn't too concerned about the Evil Empire and so did not keep reading the thread.

Now it seems that they've closed a loophole by making participants show identification at each casino and have the Players Club clerk swipe the card. This wrinkle was added because gamblers were simply mailing their cards to geographically remote friends. Strange. It seems such a simple thing to have overlooked.

On-edit: Ooops, it seems you've already thought of such things:

"...Quote:
Well, I can mail my card to Chicago then I can send it to Ocean City NJ,

Why don't we get some sort of network of posters here who we can mail our cards to and get check-ins for us? Who wants to bother with all that gas and driving? Or I'm I thinking too much in bad faith here? ..."

Anyway, its now a requirement for showing full identification, not just the players card. So this six hundred dollars in comp dollars is back to being a Traveling Salesman Problem rather than a Traveling Player'sClub Card problem, but congratulations to our "sharpies" for being alert.

Quote: FleaStiff

Anyway, its now a requirement for showing full identification, not just the players card. So this six hundred dollars in comp dollars is back to being a Traveling Salesman Problem rather than a Traveling Player'sClub Card problem, but congratulations to our "sharpies" for being alert.

I visited Omaha and KC this weekend (Tiltpoul: D'oh!), and wasn't asked for identification at any property. Harrah's North KC had a kiosk set up for the promotion, and checking in wouldn't have required employee interaction at all if I hadn't had to ask where the kiosk was.

Also, I received confirmation that the promotion does not "wrap around." If I visit 9 destinations, I get credit for 6, not 6 + 3. Bummer.

I was in AC this weekend and noone asked for identification. Also, when I sent an email to Harrah's they said if you log in online and play thier little daily game, you are automatically registered so anywhere you play you will automatically be included for the contest.

Quote: hook3670

I was in AC this weekend and noone asked for identification. Also, when I sent an email to Harrah's they said if you log in online and play thier little daily game, you are automatically registered so anywhere you play you will automatically be included for the contest.

That's conveneint, and I believe you. But heed this warning: go to the club desk and sign in or swipe the card or whatever it is required. Don't assume they'll count you otherwise, even if they said they would.

Years ago Microsoft ran a promo where you'd get Office 97 free if you bought Office 95. I called to ask how it worked, and they told me "just buy Office 95 and register it, either online, by phone or by postage, and when the new version comes out call us to get it free." I did. months later they said, "Oh, the promotion only applied to specially marked packages with a coupon. Sorry!" I then emailed MS corporate and got a call from MS Mex three days later telling me I could pick up my free Office 97 at my convenience.

So ti worked out well, but don't ever believe a corporation when it makes thigns too easy on a promotion.

Nareed you are right. I agree with you. I am very suspicious that it sounds too easy to just register online. I have called corperate office like I wrote in this thread before and I went and asked at the counter at all the properties I have been to Harrah's related. I even emailed their 7 star newsletter guy. The email I received and the person I talked were the only advice I have been given. Everybody else looked at me like a deer in the headlights. I honestly, short of flying 2500 miles and 7 hours back to Lake Tahoe, do not know what else to do. I do have the email in writing at least from Harrah's corperate headquarters saying about registering online, for what that is worth.

The Great Race game is a fraud. When you play it, the object is to stop the highlighter as it flies around from square to square and hopefully landing on a prize. If you watch the movement of the highlighter long enough, you will notice that it will stop for almost 2 seconds periodically on one of the squares. This will give you enough time to quickly click on "STOP" and end the game. Instead of winning the prize or bonus listed in the square you obviously clicked on, you will automatically be moved to "SORRY" and will be deemed a loser. I was able to do this on 8 consecutive plays and instead of winning something, I "lost" every game. I sent an email to Caesars to complain, but I doubt anything will happen.

Quote: VegasVic14

The Great Race game is a fraud. When you play it, the object is to stop the highlighter as it flies around from square to square and hopefully landing on a prize. If you watch the movement of the highlighter long enough, you will notice that it will stop for almost 2 seconds periodically on one of the squares. This will give you enough time to quickly click on "STOP" and end the game. Instead of winning the prize or bonus listed in the square you obviously clicked on, you will automatically be moved to "SORRY" and will be deemed a loser. I was able to do this on 8 consecutive plays and instead of winning something, I "lost" every game. I sent an email to Caesars to complain, but I doubt anything will happen.

I've done the online thing too, and I got "Sorry" every time. I didn't really take much stock in the online promotion anyways. I figure they have millions of people doing it, and probably pay out one person, so much like playing the lottery, your odds are stacked way against you.

However, I don't think the Great Race promotion is a fraud from the traveling to casinos is a fraud. Caesars would be unlikely to risk their name on a promotion they had no intention of paying out. We'll find out on October 31, when they make the payouts to the account, but I've never had a problem earning extra RCs on multiplier days and sometimes, I think they have made errors in my favor, unless my math was wrong.

Yesterday, I finally got an email fro Caesars telling me about this promotion.

To make a very long story short, I did the major portion of this this past weekend. From my home base in Michigan, I swung through Joliet, St. Louis, Metropolis, and Elizabeth in 34 1/2 hours (including one overnight). I spent lots. I risked little. I won a bit.

For those who like very long stories, you can read this.