Averaging player card points = skewed comps?
May 19th, 2012 at 6:37:54 AM
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I'm a slot player and I go to casinos in Tunica, Mississippi.
I get coupons in the mail all the time but hadn't gotten any buffet coupons in a while from the Fitz (Fitzgerald's) even tho I got hotel rooms and cashback. I'm making a trip tomorrow and I'm bringing an extra friend so I need all the free meals I can get, so yesterday I spoke with a woman in Fitz's direct mail department and she was very nice and said that according to my play on my last trip she'd be happy to leave a couple of buffet coupons at the player's card desk for me.
I thanked her and hung up but just a second later something she said hit me and got me to thinking.
According to her, I averaged 3.5 hours of play on my 2-day visit last month, and that sounded very low to me. The way I usually do it is that I'll play from about 5pm until 1am on the day I get there (with time out for supper) and then maybe another hour or so at 8am before I leave to go home. The way I look at it, that's 7 hours one day and one hour the next day, but they're taking any play after midnight as another full day and averaging it out for comps.
This might explain why they don't send me all that much in free play. I might cycle a thousand bucks or more thru the machines in all that time yet they send me only $25 in freeplay coupons, whereas another casino, Sam's Town, will send me $40 for the one hour or so I spend there each trip, where I don't cycle anywhere near as much money thru the machines.
So I'm wondering if my player's card is causing skewed results for my direct mail comps. I'm wondering if tomorrow night when I'm playing at Fitz, should I stop using my player's card after midnight so that they see 7 hours of play for one day instead of 3.5 hours for 2 days? I'll only be losing less than 2 hours of play but it might be worth it to look make my play record look better.
What do you think?
I get coupons in the mail all the time but hadn't gotten any buffet coupons in a while from the Fitz (Fitzgerald's) even tho I got hotel rooms and cashback. I'm making a trip tomorrow and I'm bringing an extra friend so I need all the free meals I can get, so yesterday I spoke with a woman in Fitz's direct mail department and she was very nice and said that according to my play on my last trip she'd be happy to leave a couple of buffet coupons at the player's card desk for me.
I thanked her and hung up but just a second later something she said hit me and got me to thinking.
According to her, I averaged 3.5 hours of play on my 2-day visit last month, and that sounded very low to me. The way I usually do it is that I'll play from about 5pm until 1am on the day I get there (with time out for supper) and then maybe another hour or so at 8am before I leave to go home. The way I look at it, that's 7 hours one day and one hour the next day, but they're taking any play after midnight as another full day and averaging it out for comps.
This might explain why they don't send me all that much in free play. I might cycle a thousand bucks or more thru the machines in all that time yet they send me only $25 in freeplay coupons, whereas another casino, Sam's Town, will send me $40 for the one hour or so I spend there each trip, where I don't cycle anywhere near as much money thru the machines.
So I'm wondering if my player's card is causing skewed results for my direct mail comps. I'm wondering if tomorrow night when I'm playing at Fitz, should I stop using my player's card after midnight so that they see 7 hours of play for one day instead of 3.5 hours for 2 days? I'll only be losing less than 2 hours of play but it might be worth it to look make my play record look better.
What do you think?
May 19th, 2012 at 9:05:46 AM
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It's worth a shot and it can't hurt you as long as your total hours remain the same. The only thing I could forsee is that they "trigger" you for a second day since you are staying overnight at the hotel, and average it out over two days anyway. Harrah's I believe used to (or still does) do that.
"Dice, verily, are armed with goads and driving-hooks, deceiving and tormenting, causing grievous woe." -Rig Veda 10.34.4
May 19th, 2012 at 9:31:16 AM
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Quote: teddysThe only thing I could forsee is that they "trigger" you for a second day since you are staying overnight at the hotel, and average it out over two days anyway.
Are the player's cards hooked to the hotel registry that they can know that? Do they really care if you're staying at the same place where you're playing? They only reason they knew I was there for 2 days was that I used the card in 2 consecutive 24-hour periods.
I can see how they would send you room comps if you've stayed there before, and meal comps if you've used a coupon at their restaurants before, but I'm talking about freeplay direct mail comps. They should be based solely on how much you play, not where you sleep, shouldn't they?
August 5th, 2012 at 10:26:23 PM
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I thought I'd give an update on the results of my experiment.
The last two times I went to this casino and stayed overnight I stopped using my player's card at about 11:45pm so that all my play would be put towards that one day instead of being split between two days. I think it made a difference because after the first trip I got more in free slot play for the next month and they bumped me up to a suite. My host also left me a certificate at the hotel desk for 2 comped dinners at the steakhouse (I usually just get buffet coupons). After the second time I'm seeing a lot more direct mail offers and they're still giving me a suite.
Here's something interesting tho. On my last trip I went with a friend who gets hotel room coupons, but her level of play is not as high as mine so she qualifies only for the standard room whereas I was getting the upgraded single room (a little bit bigger, nicer decor, flat screen TV, fridge). We had planned to share my room (I was going to ask for my regular room instead of the suite so that we would have 2 beds) but she booked a room for herself too, in order to keep her direct mail offers coming, even tho she wasn't planning on using the room.
Anyway, on the drive there we came up with the idea of asking if we could get adjoining rooms so that we wouldn't have to share the bathroom the next morning. The worst they could do was say no and we wouldn't be any worse off, but since I qualified for a suite the desk clerk said it would be easier to get adjoining rooms and my friend ended up with the upgraded single that she normally would not have been able to get.
Would they have been so accommodating if my player's card showed 3 hours played over two days instead of 6 hours all on one day? I don't know, but from now on I'm going to stop using my card just before midnight because I think that strategy is working pretty good.
The last two times I went to this casino and stayed overnight I stopped using my player's card at about 11:45pm so that all my play would be put towards that one day instead of being split between two days. I think it made a difference because after the first trip I got more in free slot play for the next month and they bumped me up to a suite. My host also left me a certificate at the hotel desk for 2 comped dinners at the steakhouse (I usually just get buffet coupons). After the second time I'm seeing a lot more direct mail offers and they're still giving me a suite.
Here's something interesting tho. On my last trip I went with a friend who gets hotel room coupons, but her level of play is not as high as mine so she qualifies only for the standard room whereas I was getting the upgraded single room (a little bit bigger, nicer decor, flat screen TV, fridge). We had planned to share my room (I was going to ask for my regular room instead of the suite so that we would have 2 beds) but she booked a room for herself too, in order to keep her direct mail offers coming, even tho she wasn't planning on using the room.
Anyway, on the drive there we came up with the idea of asking if we could get adjoining rooms so that we wouldn't have to share the bathroom the next morning. The worst they could do was say no and we wouldn't be any worse off, but since I qualified for a suite the desk clerk said it would be easier to get adjoining rooms and my friend ended up with the upgraded single that she normally would not have been able to get.
Would they have been so accommodating if my player's card showed 3 hours played over two days instead of 6 hours all on one day? I don't know, but from now on I'm going to stop using my card just before midnight because I think that strategy is working pretty good.
