What is a casino offer? Earning casino marketing offers (and continuing to receive them) from a large casino loyalty program is a very complicated endeavor.
The more you play, the more offers you may get, or if you haven’t ever played, you probably won’t get any offers, so give it a whirl
There are numerous variables to consider, such as which property you are playing at and the casino property’s popularity. Other considerations include how badly that casino property wants to drum up business and what games, amenities, and restaurants they offer. But, before I launch into specifics, let me define what a casino marketing offer is.
What is a Casino Offer?
A casino marketing offer is an enticement that a casino directs to a customer, based upon that customer’s gaming activity, to try to lure them into playing more at the property.
The casino marketing offer is usually delivered in a letter, brochure (mailer) or email that lists extra benefits available to that customer to use during a future trip to a casino.
Offers can include comped hotel rooms and shows, free food and beverage, and free play. Free play is gaming credit usually available to download onto a slot of video poker machine. For table games, it will often be paper coupons for match play or free bets.
Offers Can Be Casino Market Specific
These custom offers can be property or market (region) specific. Some casino loyalty programs have casinos all over the country, and sometimes your play in one destination (such as Atlantic City) will trigger offers for other destinations in the US (such as Las Vegas). Free gifts, cruises, giveaways, and drawings may also be offered.
What’s in it for the casino?
Marketing offers are a money-making tool for the casino. Most casino loyalty programs use sophisticated mathematical formulas to tailor the offers to your gaming habits and lure you back into a casino. These extra niceties will ply you away from your cash and maximize the casino’s profit in many cases.
Casinos do a lot of market research and they know that by giving you all these extra perks, it is more likely that you will be beguiled away from your funds!
That—is why—we counter their strategy by coming up with a plan to appear more profitable. If you appear “more profitable,” you are more likely to generate better offers. Now, the casino always has the upper hand. Still, if we enjoy the casino experience and are willing to gather information and develop a play strategy, we can have fun, but less expensively.
How is this done? How Do You Get An Offer?
Getting casino offers is based on when and how much we play in relation to when we take advantage of these marketing offers. The discipline and strategies you need to employ to maximize your offers can seem like a job, which is no small point. You really have to enjoy both the gaming and learning the system to make it all worthwhile.
You can extract maximum value from your bankroll, but you are always at a disadvantage to the casino loyalty program, even when you have a theoretical gaming advantage! You are a human, going up against a computer system, “Lady Luck,” and the whims of the program.
Gather Information – Experiment – Educated Guesses
What determines marketing offers isn’t specifically defined, like tier status benefits or promotions. You’ve got to gather information, experiment, and make educated guesses to try to trigger offers.
Don’t “Mess Up” Your First Date
Don’t forget, your first time playing at a new casino property is a great opportunity. Look at it like a first date; you don’t want to “blow it.” The Big Play Casino Gambling Day provides a lot of perspective about how you should approach this “first date.”
You’ll Want To Understand The Concept Of ADT
A common narrative at TravelZork is “It’s All About The THEO.” Briefly, your theoretical loss to the casino (your casino theo or average daily theoretical – ADT) is the way the casino calculates what you are worth to them. Learn this, live this, embrace this. You can never escape your ADT, and you want to “protect” your ADT.
Unlike other travel loyalty programs, the concept of ADT is unique to casino programs. It’s not just a matter of earning every point you can earn. This is especially true with regard to how a casino views your “action,” or casino play (gambling).
It’s Still A Gamble
You can invest a lot of time and money for probable rewards that for whatever reason, you do not receive. Just like the play (“gambling”), you are making an informed decision, but it’s still a gamble.
Also, once you establish yourself and the casino loyalty program has data-points on your gaming habits, it becomes more and more difficult to earn the comps you want.
Wait, Back Up A Moment, You Said What?
“once you establish yourself and the casino loyalty program has data-points on your gaming habits, it becomes more and more difficult to earn the comps you want”
Ponder this quote from TravelZork a “bit.”
Once again, casino loyalty programs are not really equivalent to travel loyalty programs. Casinos want to offer you “just enough” to visit, but not too much. Once they know you want to visit, they will adjust the offers to a level that rewards players “just enough” to visit, but not too much.
Casino Loyalty Versus Travel Loyalty
Some things are similar. Things similar to casino loyalty programs and travel loyalty programs include redeemable points and status tier levels.
Both travel loyalty programs and casino loyalty programs in almost all cases provide status tier benefits. These benefits can include priority lines and lounge access. Fundamentally, a casino loyalty program is like a travel loyalty program, but with the added feature that rewards you for your gambling action.
Many travel loyalty peeps really “mess up” things when they dive into casino loyalty. Broad concept, with casino loyalty, it’s not all about earning every single point. Or, shall we say, sometimes you sacrifice some earnings to protect your ADT. This topic really deserves its own article (or two).
Can’t Some Players BEAT THE CASINO?
YES, absolutely. But that’s the exception and far from the rule. Just like some people can hit baseballs out of Fenway Park. These folks in the casino world are called Advantage Players (“APs”). But, even the advantage players can lose playing a “perfect” game. This article does NOT touch on anything remotely close to advantage play. Today’s focus is all about the recreational gambler.
Comp Chasing – DON’T DO IT!
An obsession with comps and offers can lead to comp chasing. Comp chasing is desperately playing, maybe even above your means, to keep getting the same level of perks. Most programs exist to establish loyalty to the brand. A casino’s goal is to make you believe that your losses are worth the total casino experience.
What Are My Losses Worth?
It is up to you to decide exactly what your losses are worth because unless you put winnings aside without parlaying them, you will eventually lose. Getting more comps via marketing offers will limit those losses. Remember, comps are still not cash. Can you maximize your comps and minimize your losses? Yes, but that’s the trickiest part of the “game” of gambling.
FAQ – Casino Offers
A casino marketing offer is an enticement that a casino directs to a customer, based upon that customer’s gaming activity, to try to lure them into playing or spending more at a property.
Comp chasing is desperately playing, maybe even above your means, to keep getting the same level of perks.
Free play is gaming credit usually available to download onto a slot of video poker machine. For table games, it will often be paper coupons for match play or free bets.
It’s really another name for a casino marketing offer. A “player’s club” really references a casino loyalty program, such as Caesars Rewards Loyalty Program or MGM Mlife.
Note: This article has some major portions originally written by CoachKitty. The TravelZork editorial staff modified some of the elements to provide additional clarity for less experienced gamblers.
