Are Comps Dead In Las Vegas?

Comps have been a long staple in Las Vegas but some recent events at two big resort companies may mean they are threatened for lower budget gamblers. Comps is short for complementary which is all the rewards and benefits that a hotel may give to a player for their patronage. When you use your slot card the hotels track what you gamble and then depending what that amount is they give you a percentage back as a reward such as drink coupons, free or discounted buffets, shows or rooms but can include other things too. Earlier this year the Venetian and Plazzo who are owned by the same company said they were getting rid of comps for all but their highest budget gamblers; Then in the last few days MGM anounced their expenses were less because they spent less on comps for the lower limit gamblers with their new M Life card. Does this mean that people gambling less money won't get comps in Las Vegas? I can see the comps cut back at some properties which means you might get only offered the casino room rate instead of getting a free room for example if you are not a big gambler but they will still be there. So far i haven't seen Caesars mention cutting comps and also i would be surprised if operators like Boyd did as they do build brand loyalty. 

Boyd's Promotional Video

This is the promotional video that plays on a loop in the hotel rooms of Boyd Gamings properties in Las Vegas and elsewhere. The video shows all of the various Boyd Gaming properties across the country including Las Vegas and Atlantic City as well as including a message by founder Bill Boyd.

Boyd Gaming First Quarter Loss

Boyd Gaming has announced its results for the first quarter of this year and a small loss of $3.5 million after a small profit of $8.4 million a year ago for the same quarter. Revenue was way up but some of that is because all of the "Borgata's" revenues in Atlantic City are now included in the results although revenue for that and other properties was down. The revenues in the locals market in Las Vegas were flat although one bright spot was "The Orlean's" which recorded its best revenue in three quarters. The "California" which is in downtown Las Vegas also did well as its Hawaiian package customers spent more and well as greater efficiencies in the operation although this was offset by higher fuel costs for Boyds charter operation. Boyds seems to be riding out the downtown as well as can be expeted and seems to be keeping its costs down as much as possible for when hopefully the Las Vegas market and the national economy rebounds.

Source: Boyd Gamings Press Release

MGM Players Club Needs Work

Recently MGM announced they will be updating their players club and improving the website which in my opinion is long overdue. MGM announced that they would start with smaller properties back East and then in the next year get to the Las Vegas properties. The MGM website for players is no where near as easy to use or as advanced with offers as Harrah's Total Rewards or even Boyd's B Connected website which is a shame. Before you think i just prefer those companies in fact i often stayed at MGM properties at the Luxor for example either every month or every other month (yes i travel to Las Vegas a lot). Then late last year my MGM card became locked so i asked at the players club in the Luxor if they could unlock it so i could book rooms in the future, they said i would have to call they couldn't fix at the hotel. Once home i called and got a recorded message that said because of year end and tax season they weren't taking calls until the new year this was end of November. I called several other times in the new year and, got a voice mail that said they are busy assisting other customers and leave a message. I did this several times and even though the message said they would call me back between 9am-5pm PST they never did. I receive email offers all the time from the Luxor and, other MGM properties all the time but as i cannot log in to receive i now book rooms at the Flamingo, Rio and Orleans. The point of me sharing my personal experience is the players club should breed loyalty to a company and MGM should consider getting the new website going in Las Vegas as soon as possible.