Does non-gambling activity affect your ADT?

If you use your players club card for some activity other than gambling (e.g., use credits to buy something in the gift shop, visit the Diamond Lounge, etc.), does that somehow "activate" your average daily theoretical (ADT)?

For example, let's say you go to Caesars Palace and you use your Total Rewards card to get into the Diamond Lounge. But on that same day, you don't do any gambling at a Caesars property. Would you generate a zero ADT for that day?

Yes, if you are at the property they expect you to play.

Quote: YouCanBetOnThat

Would you generate a zero ADT for that day?

Sort of. You generate a 0 daily theo (because you're on-property and used your card), which then gets averaged with the other daily theos to get an average daily theo.

You only get an ADT of 0 if all your daily theos for the averaging period are 0.

Quote: Dieter

Sort of. You generate a 0 daily theo (because you're on-property and used your card), which then gets averaged with the other daily theos to get an average daily theo.

You only get an ADT of 0 if all your daily theos for the averaging period are 0.

Yes, that's what I was getting at. 0 ADT for that day that then gets averaged in with other days.

If I am going to play poker for a few hours at a Caesars property and then go home, should I play unrated?

Quote: Avincow

If I am going to play poker for a few hours at a Caesars property and then go home, should I play unrated?

If that's your usual play, yes.

If you normally put through $1.5 M coin in on slots....then no.

Quote: Avincow

If I am going to play poker for a few hours at a Caesars property and then go home, should I play unrated?

Quote: RS

If that's your usual play, yes.

If you normally put through $1.5 M coin in on slots....then no.

Wait don't you have it backwards?

Playing poker only for a day on a card with someone with a high ADT is a bad idea. But if you usually just play poker on the card and little else, then it's fine because your ADT is garbage anyway.

Quote: tringlomane

Wait don't you have it backwards?

Playing poker only for a day on a card with someone with a high ADT is a bad idea. But if you usually just play poker on the card and little else, then it's fine because your ADT is garbage anyway.

I thought that's what he said. Maybe you have interpreted it backwards? ;-)

Quote: DRich

Yes, if you are at the property they expect you to play.

One of our listeners just got the opposite information from his Caesars host. He asked his host, "Ok, so if I was in AC and spent 1000 RC to enter Diamond Lounge but did not gamble at all, it would have zero effect on my ADT, not count as a 'trip' and have no effect at all on comps or rating?"

His host responded, "It would not generate another trip and lower your ADT – it would deduct the reward credits only."

Quote: YouCanBetOnThat

One of our listeners just got the opposite information from his Caesars host. He asked his host, "Ok, so if I was in AC and spent 1000 RC to enter Diamond Lounge but did not gamble at all, it would have zero effect on my ADT, not count as a 'trip' and have no effect at all on comps or rating?"

His host responded, "It would not generate another trip and lower your ADT – it would deduct the reward credits only."

Historically anytime you used your TR card it constituted a day. It is possible that they changed it, but I doubt it. My experience says it is more likely the host is mistaken or misinformed.

Quote: YouCanBetOnThat

One of our listeners just got the opposite information from his Caesars host. He asked his host, "Ok, so if I was in AC and spent 1000 RC to enter Diamond Lounge but did not gamble at all, it would have zero effect on my ADT, not count as a 'trip' and have no effect at all on comps or rating?"

His host responded, "It would not generate another trip and lower your ADT – it would deduct the reward credits only."

Quote: DRich

Historically anytime you used your TR card it constituted a day. It is possible that they changed it, but I doubt it. My experience says it is more likely the host is mistaken or misinformed.

And my experience is that casino hosts don't know any more about it than a random taxi driver or cocktail waitress. The TR system uses a proprietary computer algorithm which Caesars casino hosts have nothing to do with controlling or seeing. Their job may involve doing many different useful things; this is really not one of them.

But I've found this does not not deter them from providing an "answer." Try this: after getting an "answer" from Ms. Information the casino host about a formula that resides in a computer server at the nationwide corporate level that he/she has never seen and wouldn't be able to decipher if she/he ever did, pose an identical question about that automated system to three other Caesars casino hosts. See how many different "answers" you get. I have done this. Easy to do on the Las Vegas Strip. My result was: all "answered" the precise question posed to them about it with none responding "I don't know; I don't write the company's computer code." And the number of different "answers" was exactly equal to the number of them that were asked about the system. The reason I ended up going to several is that some things served on the Chinese menu of "answers" were obvious made-up howlers that I knew couldn't possibly be true. In my opinion, with some direct experience to back it up, asking a casino host about this (speaking solely about the highly centralized automated system at Caesars) is almost as useful as asking a poker dealer about playing strategy. Not their job, not in the same solar system as their job, but eager to "help" nonetheless.

From a combination of some years of discussion about the anecdotal experiences of others, some deductions from my own similar experiences with it, and some casual conversations I had some years ago with a computer consultant fellow who was previously involved in developing parts of the TR system, I strongly believe the answer is: "Yes, if a card is swiped a 'trip' has occurred on that day in the TR system, and ADT is affected accordingly." But I have no concrete current inside knowledge of their computer code to provide as proof of that. Neither does Ms. Information the casino host, and neither do the nice helpful Total Rewards boothlings at the properties for that matter.

I do not have the definitive answer to this. However, I think there's at least a strong possibility the radio guest/Host is correct. TR has really changed a lot about RC's recently (within the last 1-2 years, and a couple times within that), where you can do online shopping with them, redeem them for a bunch of other things, as well as using them for restaurants/onsite purchasing/room credits. They even advertise these opportunities separately from coming to play to earn them, and they can be earned in other ways than gambling B&M. To be able to do this, they would have almost had to revamp them where a charge against them did not generate a "trip" and affect your ADT.

Perhaps someone can get a definitive answer, but the host could easily be correct.

I was told by MGM that MLife points no longer only come from gambling. You now earn reward points from other activities like going to shows, shopping, restaurants and concerts.

Quote: MissEye

I was told by MGM that MLife points no longer only come from gambling. You now earn reward points from other activities like going to shows, shopping, restaurants and concerts.

Here in Detroit, can can earn point from buying beer.

Quote: MissEye

I was told by MGM that MLife points no longer only come from gambling. You now earn reward points from other activities like going to shows, shopping, restaurants and concerts.

Wonderful, now back to the question.

Unless something has recently changed and you're concerned about being tripped. DON'T do anything with your card. I wouldn't even use it to park.