I had several trips where MB gave me $10k in Macy's cards. Once the B gave me $16k in promos but they were in part for fast pay (RIP), discount, and my offer. Probably the most was when Aria was failing early I got a $10k shopping spree at Crystals and $6k in promo chips.

Damn, much like Packer's post last night, it makes me want to shed a tear for the good ole days.

Things have changed a lot, and they are quickly making me rethink my number of trips and amount of risk I am willing to accept. Maybe time for more blue water...

 

You also have to to remember Vegas was pretty desperate back then, even Wynn gave 2 free nights to anyone with an Amex platinum card.

 

13k promos at the Beau.

But hell I got 5k promos and a Skyloft with hardly any play.

 

Tellafriend, when you and I first started communicating because we shared the same host at the B, there was a private charter jet every Friday out of our local regional airport that MGM leased. 16 seats, and we had permanant reservations for every Friday. Returns were Sunday afternoon. I think at one point we went like 16 weekends in a row. There were no stipulations, you just had to be the first to sign up (hence the permanant reservation). That and consistent promo chips around $5-$6k every weekend, and those were the days. Mr. B actually took really good care of me. I stayed in some of the higher end rooms at the B that are usually unobtainable (can't remember the name of the room, Shifter might remember) and never a peep about how much RFB came to. I actually learned all about comps, promos, freebies etc from EB following him from TI - mirage - B. Those were the days. Never heard a thing about how much you gambled, didn't gamble, etc. He would say outright that he knows that some trips are just for relaxing and taking it easy. Try getting a host to say that nowadays, lol

 

Had never gambled at the Venetian/Palazzo and got an offer in 2009 for 3 nights and $7500 in promo chips, as well as Gold status for a year. My name was slightly misspelled on the mailer and I was worried they wouldn't honor the offer but there were no issues. I turned those promo chips into $8k or so playing BJ, walked across the bridge to the Wynn where I lost it all and more and for some reason have never gambled again at the V/P. For some reason I never received any further offers from them.

 

No doubt those were the days; and they aren't coming back.

 

Grand Lakeview

 

Still my favorite room on the strip.

 

Guys keep the faith. We could always go into another global recession!

 

What's going on in casinos right now reminds me of what loyalty programs with the airlines are doing. Stripping away perks, eliminating upgrades, etc. I was a UA Platinum for years until I just stopped getting upgrades 95% of the time and they let credit card members board at the same time as me.

I will say this, at LEAST the casinos were always based on spend and not on something silly like number of night's stayed.

But even as a low, low-roller when I first started (poker room only) we got way better offers than we do now. Even free rooms and some decent free-play offers. I haven't seen the offers that will come from my last three trips yet, where I gambled more in the casino proper playing VP, BJ and 3-card with increasing, but still small, compared to y'all, bankrolls, but I'll be surprised if they even match what we used to get when I was playing poker and my wife was just wasting time on penny slots between spa and shopping trips.

As is usual for me, I hopped to the comp casino game just as it's turning to shit.

Oh well, I'll still go to Vegas because I love the damn city, they know this, which is why they can do it I guess.