Going to start regularly hitting Vegas - best casino for comps/rewards? (1 Viewer)

[pipdenny]

Hi all,

I live in LA and every time I go to Vegas I never use rewards cards or regularly play at any one casino.

I even made a trip once where I went to every single casino within a 30 miles radius of the strip. That was before I cared about chips and it pains me to think now that I did not come home with even a single chip

Anyway, I want to start going every few months or so and play some low stakes poker and various other games. I want to choose a property (or family of properties) that will yield the best value in terms of comps and rewards.

Any suggestions? My wife likes the Wynn but I’m not sure if I have the bankroll to play the usual stakes I see at table games there.

Also, I’ve been playing home game poker for about 12-15 years now and not once have I played in a casino or poker room. This is something I want to start doing, and I’ll be sticking to the lowest stakes I can find for now, probably 1/3. Will I even be on the casino’s radar playing low stakes? I don’t like playing blackjack, but when I do I play at most $10 tables, lol. I want to also dip my toes into craps and baccarat.

Thanks everyone as always!!

 

[Silver_Fiend]

You wont get crap for comps at any poker room or table games. Comps are based on how much you "spend" with the casino, especially at slot machines.

 

[utgtrash]

at the wynn/encore, you have to play 4 hours of bacc/bj at avg $200/hand i think to get one night of comp room, at lowest tier. one year i tried to make it a goal to get a salon suite (1100/nt) comped for a weekend. i think i lost 20k but room and meals were comped!

 

[buzzmonkey]

Any reason you don't want to play in the rooms in LA?

 

[pipdenny]

I guess my main goal isn't necessarily to play to get comps. I just want to choose a solid go-to spot with the potential for decent rewards over time, or if I decide to get wild one trip. I'd at least have my losings committed to one establishment lol, at least that's how I imagine rewards systems work. Again, of all the times I've been to Vegas, I never really payed attention to these things.

During the daytime I would be playing slots with my wife, as that's the only thing she enjoys. Probably $1-2 spins for a few hours.
In the evening I would play poker, baccarat, craps, maybe roulette and random table games (pai gow, 3-card poker, etc)

 

[pipdenny]

Any reason you don't want to play in the rooms in LA?

Not sure tbh. I hear the card rooms in LA are not as enjoyable and have more regular/good players.
That's not to say I won't try

I also want to try to build some sound cash game fundamentals, as all I'm used to is tourneys with the same friends over a decade or so. Maybe card rooms in LA would be best for this? Fewer people playing poorly?

 

[BukNaked36]

Your main choices are MGM or Caesars. Play at any casino counts towards points in that group.

MGM owns Bellagio, Aria, Vdara, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, Delano, Park, Mirage, NYNY, Luxor and Excalibur. Mlife is their rewards program. They also have a free online game called MyVegas that you can earn points towards comps - I've received some free rooms, buffets, etc from this.

Caesars owns Caesars, Ballys, Cromwell, Flamingo, Harrahs, Linq, Paris, Planet Hollywood. Total Rewards is their rewards program.

Others are individual and don't belong to big Vegas groups - like Wynn/Encore, Venetian/Palazzo, Resorts World, TI

So most likely you'll want to choose between MGM and Caesars as they provide a variety of places, but obviously this is up to you.

 

[utgtrash]

i don't know for sure, but i think venetian has the best poker player rewards.i just don't like playing there as much as bellagio/aria/wynn

 

[trigs]

@moose tends to have a good idea of the best comps/rewards.

 

[moose]

Your main choices are MGM or Caesars. Play at any casino counts towards points in that group.

MGM owns Bellagio, Aria, Vdara, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, Delano, Park, Mirage, NYNY, Luxor and Excalibur. Mlife is their rewards program. They also have a free online game called MyVegas that you can earn points towards comps - I've received some free rooms, buffets, etc from this.

Caesars owns Caesars, Ballys, Cromwell, Flamingo, Harrahs, Linq, Paris, Planet Hollywood. Total Rewards is their rewards program.

Others are individual and don't belong to big Vegas groups - like Wynn/Encore, Venetian/Palazzo, Resorts World, TI

So most likely you'll want to choose between MGM and Caesars as they provide a variety of places, but obviously this is up to you.

Pretty much this. Rewards are pretty much the same at either. The myvegas is useful because it costs nothing but your time to play and earn rewards. I too have cashed in for free rooms, free buffets and even free shows like 'O'. It is not connected to mlife. Ie earning comps on myvegas does not get any status in mlife, though you have to get an mlife card to redeem any comps.

Personally I find the Ceasars rewards to be better. Poker is raked the same in either set of casinos and both comp $1/hour in addition to any player program benefits earned. However Caesars is better than mlife in that any rewards can be spent in any of their casinos, but mlife rewards can only be spent at the casino you earned them at. So for me, I earn all my comp $ in Canada at Caesars Windsor in cdn$ and spent them all in Vegas in us$.

If I sit in Bellagio for a few hours then I usually stop at the snack bar and pick up a donut or something because unlikely I would play there enough to get anything else.

But if I play at the Flamingo, the comps earned there are pooled with the comps I earned at Bally's etc and can go spend them at Paris, which doesn't even have a poker room. I also look at where their other casinos are, and Caesars has more locations at places I want to go like Atlantic city, Tunica, New Orleans etc.

Whichever you choose dedicate your play to that program to maximize your benefits. And get two cards and give one to your wife so your play/spend is pooled. Ie have her play on your card when she sits on the slots. Obv would not work if you decide to play BJ together or something.

 

[moose]

Also if your wife gets her own card, even if doesn't play much on it, I know Caesars hotels will give much better pricing/comps on hotels if they know two players are coming instead of one. You enter both player numbers on their website when booking.

 

[chrismurda]

Caesars diamond in a day. Then tier match to the other properties: mlife, Cosmo, Wynn etc

 

[pipdenny]

Caesars diamond in a day. Then tier match to the other properties: mlife, Cosmo, Wynn etc

Heyohh this sounds good. Can you elaborate?

I just did some googling, and it looks like if I earn 5000 'points' at Caesars in 1 day, then I get diamond status. It looks like 1 point for each $5 on slots. Oh boy, that's $25k in a day!

Is there a better way to do this? It looks like if I use a Caesars credit card, I get 5 points for every $1 spent at the resort and casino. Not sure how I would spend $1000 using a credit card at a casino, or if this method would even work. Am I missing something?

 

[dkellerd]

I also want to try to build some sound cash game fundamentals, as all I'm used to is tourneys with the same friends over a decade or so. Maybe card rooms in LA would be best for this? Fewer people playing poorly?

When I went from home tourneys to live casino cash games, I learned that buying in for the minimum only put a target on my back. The big stacks easily pushed me around and took my $100. No one that knows what they’re doing buys in for table minimum.

Buy in for more than the minimum, ie $300, to give you some breathing room. Only play premium hands. Fold 80% of the time…and rarely, if ever, limp in.

 

[chrismurda]

Correct, the bonus feature for accumulating a certain amount of tier credits gets you to diamond in handful of dedicated hours at Caesars properties. The most efficient way is video poker (certain machines). Many casinos now will tier match you. Although you won’t get the same comps as you would if you earned the tier credits for those hotels, you would still be eligible for certain discounts, priority reservations, & birthday celebration credits.

 

[moose]

Heyohh this sounds good. Can you elaborate?

I just did some googling, and it looks like if I earn 5000 'points' at Caesars in 1 day, then I get diamond status. It looks like 1 point for each $5 on slots. Oh boy, that's $25k in a day!

Is there a better way to do this? It looks like if I use a Caesars credit card, I get 5 points for every $1 spent at the resort and casino. Not sure how I would spend $1000 using a credit card at a casino, or if this method would even work. Am I missing something?

A Caesars CC automatically gets you platinum for one year. Since they are apparently not reopening their diamond lounges where you get free food/drinks, the value of diamond status is questionable. Platinum and up get you free parking, priority lines at check in/buffets/restaurants. You should review the tier status chart to see if Diamond is worth it for you. Diamond is worth more in other locations, but in Vegas platinum is treated pretty well. Other cities have better parking for Diamond, access to better drinks. eg in Atlantic city, you have to be Diamond to get anything better than well drinks and domestic beer.

Another way to get Diamond is tier matching. If you have tier status with a hotel program like Starwood or others Caesars will match it. Google how to get Diamond status with tier matching. Some high end CC give you free tier status at hotels, which you can then use to match at Caesars to get Diamond.

 

[BukNaked36]

A Caesars CC automatically gets you platinum for one year. Since they are apparently not reopening their diamond lounges where you get free food/drinks, the value of diamond status is questionable. Platinum and up get you free parking, priority lines at check in/buffets/restaurants. You should review the tier status chart to see if Diamond is worth it for you. Diamond is worth more in other locations, but in Vegas platinum is treated pretty well. Other cities have better parking for Diamond, access to better drinks. eg in Atlantic city, you have to be Diamond to get anything better than well drinks and domestic beer.

Another way to get Diamond is tier matching. If you have tier status with a hotel program like Starwood or others Caesars will match it. Google how to get Diamond status with tier matching. Some high end CC give you free tier status at hotels, which you can then use to match at Caesars to get Diamond.

Regarding tier matching, the easiest diamond tier match that I've seen is getting the Wyndham business card (link below). Of course, you're supposed to own a business. Although, I've read where people get them just claiming eBay buying/selling as a sole proprietorship business.

Diamond eliminates resort fees so getting there saves you $50 per night at Caesars properties.

https://www.wyndhamrewardscreditcar...YYYOhT8gELQfskTrkDRoCluQQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds