Historically, casino offers have been sent to you based on your previous play. On occasion, offers would also exist where based on how much you played, you could qualify for an offer such as entry to a slot tournament, or picking up of a gift.
But increasingly, casinos are leveraging play and get offers in a variety of ways. This past summer, a local casino had a situation where for every $167 in wagers you made on slots, you received $25 in free play, up to 10 times per night. They ran this promotion on 8 separate days in July, meaning a player who was willing to put in the time and effort could scoop up $2,000.
I was one of those players – it was an offer too good to pass up, especially for my level of play, given that my casino offers from them that much consisted of $10 a week.
But play to earn for gifts, free buffets, and other elements, especially when they’re on top of standard offers, which most of the time they seem to be, is a fair trade-off. Casinos want to entice you to play a certain amount, and reward you for doing so. In turn, I can work towards something, and can decide upfront if I’m willing to play that amount to get the reward.
While in Vegas over the summer, the Palms was offering a free bag when you earned 1,000 points, and 2 free buffets at 500 points. Earning the 1,000 points yielded both, which meant I had a meal covered and a bag I actually found myself needing at the time. It was a great combo at the right time!
During my most recent Carnival cruise, I received a letter on the door stating that if I reached a certain amount of slot points, I’d receive free play – a number of players got these on their doors while on the cruise. But again, this was on top of other perks I already had available to me just for sailing to begin with.
Then there’s Ellis Island in Las Vegas, which when I was there in July had multiple pages of screens of various kiosk games based on the amount of play – they still had their basic offers for doing a certain amount of play, such as the $9.99 top sirloin special, but there was a lot more than there used to be.
And finally, one of my former local casinos in Connecticut, Mohegan Sun, had bonuses you could achieve such as daily personal achievement goals and tier level achievements that rewarded you as you earned tier credits.
When I heard the team at Acres declaring that free play was dead, and that bonusing features and other gamification techniques were the approach of the future (which is similarly based on play), I was dubious. I still think a traditional offer, done the right way, can be a great way to get players’ foots in the doors.
But more of us are also becoming aware of the kiosks and the various games they make available based on play. Casinos striking the right balance can get players in the door with the basic offers, and then get them to play a certain amount with the Play and Earn – it strikes me as the right combination that can encourage players to stick around.
For players who don’t have the budget, the basic offers will continue to do the heavy lifting. For those of us who may spread their play among a few competitors, this can help pick up incremental money that may have gone to a competitor. It’s a nice combination and I’m here for it.
HAVE YOUR BANK SET AUTOMATICALLY THE SET AMOUNT ONLY THAT DAY YOU CAN WITHDRAW MONEY FROM YOUR CHECKING ACCOUNT.
MINE IS $300..SO IM SAFE.
Good tip Paul, and something many players may not realize – they can set deposit limits either at the bank level or casino level, and many times both. This can be a great way to stay within your budget!