What happened to Harrahs comps?

My family and I typically visit AC every other month as we%26#39;re usually lured to Harrahs/Showboat by the ';two nights free'; comp offer that arrived in the mail monthly.

What%26#39;s up now? Months have gone by and no comps.

Then yesterday I received a post card in the mail from Showboat with an offer to stay any 2 nights in Sept. (Sun-Thurs) at a special price of $59 per night. Are they kidding?

An offer like this isn%26#39;t going to entice me to go. You%26#39;d think after the bad PR they experienced with the strike a few months ago, they%26#39;d be making people more attractive offers than this.

I don%26#39;t understand. I mean, the rooms are there anyway -- whether someone stays in them or not. Wouldn%26#39;t it make more sense to fill all these empty rooms with gamblers?

After years of being comped, I find this annoying. Does anyone know why their policy has changed?

What happened to Harrahs comps?

Your problem isn%26#39;t unique. My husband is a gold card player and always accompanies me (I%26#39;m rated higher). We average once a week at the SHowboat, and he usually plays on his own card. We noticed that about 4 months ago he wasn%26#39;t getting ANY mail from Showboat. Finally, yesterday he received a mailing for some 2 for 1 buffets and a free parking pass. Big deal. Now since we always get comped on my card, this isn%26#39;t a problem but it still annoys me that long time customers are suddenly invisible to Harrah%26#39;s. My Dad is a twice a month player and has Platinum status. He too has been reduced to the $59 room offer even though he gets offers for free rooms from the Taj and the Hilton.

I agree with you that this is a terrible PR move on Harrah%26#39;s part - so is this business about no longer giving free parking to Gold card members. I am not a marketing person, but it seems to be to be dangerous to revoke something like free parking. You can see at the parking booth at Showboat that many people are unaware (and very unhappy) about the new policy. Would have been much better not to offer it in the first place instead of taking it away.

I suspect that as the fall arrives and the summer crowds thin, you%26#39;ll be getting better offers from Harrah%26#39;s - but by then I do believe they will have turned off a lot of customers that they may never get back.

ACMama

What happened to Harrahs comps?

It seems now that Harrah%26#39;s own%26#39;s almost half the town, (Harrah%26#39;s, Showboat, Bally%26#39;s and Ceasar%26#39;s), they think they don%26#39;t have to deal very much with competition. Similar with the Trump places, who also don%26#39;t seem to know what they are doing lately. The law should have set the limit on single ownership lower.

Anybody hear what Sands is planning for the big piece of land they bought? The big Sands company could really raise the competition if they decide to do so.

Wait until the next few years when other casino / hotels start building %26amp; opening. Harrahs may think their the bigshots for now but they will be losing alot of their clientele as the new places open. Also any casino charging for parking is a No No for me. very Greedy.

CHEERS !!!!!!

Use to go to every casino in A/C.Now that Harrahs are so GREEDY for the Dollar and are very people unfriendly,do not go to their properties very often.Like a poster said in a previous post,(go where you are comfortable with your money and get the most for it.).Wife and i enjoy the Hilton,Borgata and Resorts,where they appreciate your business.Harrahs got to big for its own good.

Even in Vegas, i won%26#39;t gamble at Harrah%26#39;s. We actually stayed there for three nights one trip and didn%26#39;t even bother to sign up for their player%26#39;s card, because the requirements were so unreasonable. Something like making at least $25 a hand bets for several hours just to get a free buffet. It was really nice when I could use my old Bally%26#39;s connection card at Paris, Caesar%26#39;s, and the Hilton. There are way too many nice places in Vegas to be a slave to a player%26#39;s club now.

Good Luck!

LuvB

easydave ,

Years ago there used to be a one casino per owner law in AC . Political Contributions have a way of changing everything !

One of the things I don%26#39;t understand with Harrah%26#39;s Properties is why they compete with each other . You will get a triple bonus points offer for Harrah%26#39;s for the same day you get a double cash back offer at the Showboat .

The $59 offer is an insult ! Also they see someone plays mostly on Sat. and they send you free midweek buffets - Dumb !

Actually over at Showboat I%26#39;ve been happy with the cashback and comps . And the employees seem friendly . But I am there mostly 7PM - Midnight on Saturdays - mostly HOB section - when they seem to be trying the hardest .

Along the lines of what Allure said about offering you comps that you can%26#39;t ever use, I parted company with the Trop 4 years ago for that very reason. If they had bothered to look at my play record, they would have seen that I am only there on weekends with very few exceptions, yet all of the room offers etc were for weekdays. I was a ';premier'; player and was a loyal customer there for over 4 years. I actually emailed my host about this and she was very non-responsive, so I took my action elsewhere.

I still think that HOB will eventually try for a gaming license and buy the Showboat. I%26#39;ve always felt that the Showboat is the unwanted stepchild in the Harrah%26#39;s AC dynasty and that the only reason Harrah%26#39;s bought it in the firstplace was to have a boardwalk presence. They%26#39;ve already gotten rid of the Showboat in Nevada and are now divesting themselves of the Flamingo properties as well. According to the shareholders reports, Harrah%26#39;s is aiming to have only 4 marquees: Harrah%26#39;s, Caesar%26#39;s, Rio and Horsehoe. Eventually, all of their properties across the US will carry one of these 4 brand names. The thought was that the Showboat would be rebranded as a Rio and Bally%26#39;s as a Horseshoe. But Harrah%26#39;s is in such a buying and selling frenzy right now that it%26#39;s hard to keep track of what%26#39;s what.

I remember when Trump bought the former Playboy/Atlantis casino property in AC, he had to connect it physically to Trump Plaza because he was maxed out on the 3 property limit. And when Bally%26#39;s bought the Claridge, that maxed them out (at the time, they also owned Bally%26#39;s Grande - now the Hilton). I don%26#39;t know when the 3 limit per licensee rule was dropped, but I thought it was a good rule and would have prevented a virtual monopoly on gaming in AC.

Oh well - maybe we should all pool our bucks and get our own casino :)

ACMama

I read that Ballys Wild West might no longer be, sooner than later. %26amp; also it will be interesting to see what happens with The Sands.

ACmama your right, it is ashamed that certain casnos are treating their loyal players with a who cares attitude. they should be rolling out the loyal treatmenet carpet for people who are willing to be loyal to a certain property spending their money.

CHEERS !!!!!

There have been any number of posts about Harrahs and comps including mine. While I am a moderate playing gold Card member what really shocks me is that Platinum and Diamond members are not being treated well either. The only answer is to play at a casino other than Harrahs,Caesars,Ballys or Showboat. Money talks. Harrahs has always been famous in marketing(I work in marketing for an ad agency) and how brilliantly they used their database.Not any more. They have seemingly thrown years of acquisition and retention of loyal customers out the window for no particular reason. There cannot possibly be enough high rollers to make up for all the people they are irritating on the lower tiers. I wonder if anyone from their marketing department is reading these posts!