You’ve heard me talk about Las Vegas and the time I’ve spent in Galveston, TX. What I haven’t spent a lot of time reminiscing on is my upbringing in New England. It makes sense, as we’re here to ruminate about gambling, talk about the friends we’ve made along the way, and share helpful tips about the casino world as a whole. A couple decades back, casinos didn’t really exist on the East Coast.
With that being said, there were a handful of places that those legal to gamble could make the pilgrimage to try their luck. I however, was under 21.
There were two standard options at the time: Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut and Mohegan Sun Casino Resort in Uncasville, Connecticut. I mentioned I wasn’t legal to gamble when I lived out there. Fortunately, both then and now, both properties have a whole lot more to offer than just slots and tables. In addition to the time I went to see Ke$ha as a graduation present to myself, I have also seen Huey Lewis and The News at least a dozen times, split between the properties, with my parents over the years.
All this to say, when Brian announced he’d be going back to Foxwoods this September, I jumped on the opportunity to head back east, soak up some cooler fall weather, and hopefully land at least one jackpot.
Because I’ve never actually played at Foxwoods, though, I ran into an interesting problem that I haven’t faced in quite some time – I had no comps! When I am deciding where to stay, comps for me are vital. If you’re anything like me, you struggle with the idea of paying for a room when you’re pretty confident in the amount of coin-in you’re going to play through the machine.
Always one to save a dollar (to instead be able to put in a machine), I decided to contact Foxwoods and see if they could work some magic and hook me up with a place to stay while out there for the weekend.
Normally, I would just email my host and send over the dates I want to come and try my luck. Obviously, if you don’t have any play at a specific property, you don’t have a host. My next move was to check out URComped.com. This is a website that allows you to leverage your offers to visit new properties or book casino cruise offers.
This will only work if there is an established relationship between URComped and the property you want to visit. You’ll either see an offer in your specific offer area or you can message your URComped host to reach out to the casino team on your behalf to arrange a stay.
Unfortunately for this trip, Foxwoods was not listed as an option on the site. I did sign up for alerts if offers for the property become available later on.
Without a direct line to a host team member or a successful third-party work around, I decided to reach out on Facebook Messenger to Foxwoods’ page. This doesn’t need to be complicated when you make your ask; just be polite and to the point. This was my message:
“Hey there! My name is Courtney, I am coming to Foxwoods to gamble for the first time at the end of September. I am hosted at a few properties in Las Vegas and was wondering if there was a host I could talk to? Thank you!”
My hope was I would be provided with a general host number to ask some questions more on par with my play level than a typical player’s club agent could assist with. For what it’s worth, most casinos will have a host desk that you can ask to speak with. The host desk is typically for players that are not directly assigned to a specific host. Hosts, whether a generalist like someone at the desk or your assigned team member, have a better understanding of what can be offered and can normally tell what type of player you are based on the questions you ask.
Unfortunately, this was another dead end on my hunt to speak to a host. The FB message was answered, however, the number I was provided was the main phone tree number. The phone tree had no idea where to send me and I got bounced around a few times before landing at the player’s club. Because I was after a little more information than just the new player sign up offer, my hunt for a host was back on.
From there, I took to good ol’ fashioned Google. I googled “Foxwoods host” and found a webpage that listed every host on property. Mission accomplished. I grabbed the first email I saw and sent over a message explaining my play, what I was looking for, and included an example of one of my current offers.
Thankfully for both myself (and Foxwoods), I was able to get in touch with a host and he answered within minutes. Because I had some pretty nice offers and explained my situation, I was able to secure a room and am looking forward to visiting the property for the first time as a player. I’ll be sure to report back about how the trip goes. If you want to join us, get the details here, and if it’s sold out, check back as tickets sometimes become available with cancellations.
Now, back to talking about how you can attempt this sort of ask at a property you’re interested in.
When you are trying to leverage offers, always present your best offer for what you are currently after. If you want free play, look for your offer with the most generous amount and send it over. I was looking for rooms, so I made sure to include my better room offers for consideration and proof of play. Casinos can get a sense of your relative play level based on the offers you’re being extended, and by which casinos.
It is important to manage expectations too. When asking for something, it is very important to understand that casinos can and will say “no.” With very few exceptions, nearly everything a host offers up to a player is preapproved either by a formula (hey, ADW – average daily worth) or by department standards that vary by property.
What flies at one property won’t always fly at another. I have worked with properties where it is nearly impossible to get a comped room for a player, and inversely, worked with some where rooms are absolutely no problem at all and are treated more like an Oprah car giveaway (you get a room, you get a room, you get a room, EVERYBODY GETS A ROOM!).
Most properties view the rooms themselves as a soft cost, given the spaces already exist and are available to be used. There is a slight hard cost to cover the team member that services that space, but it is marginal, especially when you think about how much money a property could make off that player.
Making money off a player is the reality – that is the goal of the casino after all, to make money. If someone stays on property, they will be more inclined to gamble on propertyc. By requiring people to walk through your floor to get to their room, you’re creating more opportunity for a slot to play their siren song to that player. When players stay at other properties, you lose that opportunity to capture their play anytime they want to freshen up or go to sleep.
You can also bet that if a player stays on property, they’ll spend some more money on everything else the casino may have to offer including restaurants, bars, shops, shows, and spa services.
Next time you want to visit a new casino with no recorded play, don’t be afraid to shoot your shot!
