My Borgata Rewards to MGM Mlife – Transition Day (June 7th, 2017)
It’s customary to buy pizza and beer when people help you move. Well, Borgata decided to ignore custom, during the transition from My Borgata Rewards to Mlife yesterday. A beer (voucher for a cocktail up to $10) was only given out to some guests who waited in the slot club line for a long time. One might think that with all these exciting new changes, Mlife would plan some extra niceties on the actual day of the changeover. As it was, Mlife relied on the patience and good nature of both their patrons and their employees to save the day.
Related: My Borgata Rewards to MGM Mlife – It Begins!
Even though I received an Mlife card in the mail, I went to the slot club to get a second card and ask some questions. There was a security guard standing next to a sea of people, snaking to the desk (no elite lines). After a few minutes, a gentleman came around to inform people that the system was completely down again and the line would be shut down. So, I went to the B Bar to see if my card would work and to try to get an earnings rate.
It was a Wednesday afternoon, so I probably could have gotten a seat, even without the transition underway. My card registered the correct amount of comps and free play that I had. I counted 800 hands of video poker ($1000 coin in at $1.25 a hand) and pulled out my card and reinserted it to see what I had earned. Nothing. I was under the impression that the Express Comps and Points would show immediately, but I couldn’t be certain whether they just weren’t showing today, or I hadn’t played enough. (In My Borgata Rewards, you had to earn $5 in comps to earn any at all.)
Getting to Work – Video Poker and Mlife at Borgata
So, I got to work, playing at my normal speed and figured I would estimate my coin in. After 2 more hours of play (and a $300 loss at quarters) I had earned $7 in Express Comps but no Slot Dollars or Points.
The buttons on my machine were sticky, so after a break, I got on a faster machine, earned another $5 in Express Comps and lost another $100. I sat next to a gentleman playing video poker with no card. He had tried to wait in line several times. He dabbles at video poker in-between playing craps, and wanted to make sure he could get a card before he went over to the tables.
After some more play and writing a few expletives in my notes, when I had logged a $500 loss (half a royal flush) I decided to take a break and see what the line was like at the slot club. By this time there were elite status lines and I was able to ask about Tier Credit for Spend. “There will be no Tier Credits earned for Spend at the Borgata, during this phase, but you will earn Tier Credits for live poker and the racebook. You will receive Tier Credits for Spend at other Mlife properties.” Bummer.
So, I took my sulking self down to the Marketplace, feeling completely justified in eating french fries for dinner. ($5 for a generous portion which are fresh and may be made with peanut oil. Yum.) By the time I got back to the B Bar, it was packed. I think a conference may have let out.
Even though the slant tops in non- smoking were available, I went to the uprights in smoking that have Super Double Bonus (which is also available at the B Bar). SDB has double the variance of Jacks or Better but it pays out .15% more and a bonus quad could help me recover some of my losses. So I’ve got $40 in and hit quad queens for 600 coins or $150, but then give it all back. Oh, what the heck, I put another $20 in and hit this beauty!
OMG. A Recovery Royal. Joy and relief.
I packed up and figured I’d ask about my play at the slot desk, which was still open, despite it being 11:30p.
Loyalty Rewards Club Desk Visit
A very patient and informative supervisor explained the new program to me, until I understood it. This is what I gathered, though some numbers are going to need further clarification.
For every 10 Express Comps earned you get 4 Slot Dollars and one Point. She equated this with the old system. For every 10 Comp Dollars earned, you got $5 in Slot Dollars. The difference with Mlife is that the Slot Dollars are broken down into 4 Slot Dollars and one Point.
For every Point earned, you get 750 Tier Credits. If, like the old system, 10 Express Comps on video poker is earned at .2% of coin in, then it would be $5000 for a Point. If you need 75000 Points for Mlife Gold (which replaces Borgata Black Label) then it will continue to take $500,000 coin in at video poker to earn Gold Status, just like it took earning $1000 comp dollars to earn Black Label.
Related: My Borgata Rewards Black Label to Borgata Mlife Gold
I was concerned after reading about how Mlife operates in Las Vegas, that for video poker, you would earn at .1% for both Express Comps and Slot Dollars, thus reducing the current comp rate of .2% by .1% but that doesn’t seem to be the case. It seems that in a very complicated way, elite status players, will actually earn a little more Points as they rise in Tier Level. These Points can be used at a machine like Slot Dollars or converted to Express Comps.
The Express Comps and Points can be used immediately, but like the old system, Slot Dollars cannot be used until your next trip.
By the end of the night, I had earned 20 Express Comps and had 48 Points. I am Mlife Gold so I should have received a 20% bonus on Points but at this time, I have no idea exactly how those Points were earned and if they were earned in one gaming day or are a total of my play for the Mlife year of Oct 1 to Sept 30. I will get that information on my next visit.
For now, it’s business as usual at the Borgata, with no downgrades, but we shall see what the future holds.
