East Coast Gambler

Here’s the latest edition of Seven Stars Insider.  This is an easy read and an excellent resource for Harrah’s players.  Head over to Seven Stars Insider to sign up for the newsletter.  There is lots of information in this edition, so read on for all the goods.

NOTE: While this newsletter was originally designed exclusively for Seven Stars members, there is useful information for anyone who has a Total Rewards® player’s card and/or plays/stays at a Harrah’s property.  Please feel free to pass this on to your friends.  Back issues of the Seven Stars Insider newsletter are available online at http://sites.google.com/site/sevenstarsinsider.

Rio For Sale – Maybe
It’s been in the news for months, but several media reports – chiefly Bloomberg News, whose story August 20 was then picked up the following week by the Las Vegas Review-Journal – claim the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas is for sale.  Harrah’s continues to deny it.  I know it’s popular with a lot of Seven Stars players who read this, but I like to be a little closer to the “action” on The Strip.  Plus, it’s just a little too noisy for me with all those “flair bartenders” and “bevertainers” (most of whom should stick to delivering beverages and stay away from microphones).  I guess I’m just getting too old!

Question Of The Month
I have a companion card and tried to go with a friend to the special Seven Stars weekly Sunday brunch at Showboat in Atlantic City.  I was told that the primary cardholder had to be present, and he/she could invite only one guest.  I thought I had all the privileges of the primary cardholder.  Well, yes, sort of.  Think of it in terms of other offers your husband gets, e.g., three complimentary nights at Paris.  Only he could claim it – you could accompany him, of course.  Same with a free coffeepot or blender.  The offer is for the cardholder, not the companion.  In terms of the brunch, do I think it’s fair?  Once again, Harrah’s is being short-sighted and causing unnecessary irritation for its best players (and their companions).  As long as the brunch is limited to two people per card, what difference does it make if you and a friend take advantage of the brunch, or you and your husband attend?  In the overall scheme of things, this is a very low-cost benefit that Harrah’s [Showboat] is offering.  What they might be gaining in loyalty and customer satisfaction for some, they are losing as much – or more – by alienating others.

Planet Hollywood Page Added To Seven Stars Insider Site
Thanks to a Planet Hollywood “veteran” who has stayed there on a number of occasions, there is now a page on the site with details about this latest addition to Harrah’s Total Rewards casinos in Las Vegas.  Some of the more interesting “highlights” are a rumored Seven Stars Club that may open there, and the fact that the staff hasn’t really grasped the Total Rewards concept, and isn’t sure what to do when they see a Seven Stars or even a Diamond card.  Check it out by clicking here.

Read the rest of this entry →

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There’s a lot of talk about the amount of hotel rooms in Las Vegas with the poor economy and lack of occupancy.  I never did the math to even guestimate the answer.  The Associated Press was kind enough to share the information, when reporting on the Marriot/Cosmopolitan deal.

The Cosmopolitan’s opening will push Las Vegas to more than 151,000 hotel rooms, and before the Marriott deal, it was starting from scratch on customers.

When I started going on my annual December trip years ago, I was told that the week before Christmas was one of the most quiet weeks in Las Vegas and that room occupancy was about 23%.  That would mean just under 35,000 hotel guests at that time.

That’s still nice and quiet as there will be more places to spread the people out.   It also means that there will continue to be bargains for a while, as long as you don’t have to stay at the hot new joint.

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It has to be difficult being an independent casino is Las Vegas as there aren’t partner casinos to share customers with.  Because of that it’s no surprise to see the Cosmopolitan team up with a partner, Marriot, with a large database of customers

The partnership gives the nearly 3,000-room Cosmopolitan access to Marriott’s vast customer database, and gives its 33 million members their first Las Vegas Strip option to stay and win rewards points.

“A lot of those customers are going to Las Vegas every year and not staying in a Marriott product,” J.W. Marriott, Marriott International’s CEO, told The Associated Press. “Now they can go and stay in a Marriott product.”

As important, if not more, the Cosmopolitan will still have a separate gaming club.  The two will likely act similarly to how Planet Hollywood and Starwood worked together before Harrah’s took over.

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Last week was a lot of looking back at my trip to Las Vegas.  There will be a few more in the coming weeks.  Unfortunately ECG is having some problems, which I’m working on getting fixed but that won’t stop the goods from going up.  I’m back home for a week before I take off again for another adventure.

Speaking of adventures, football season starts this week with some NCAA games.  I’ll be sharing my picks on my tumblr and twitter once again this year if you’re interested.  I’ll also have JMP back with his NFL picks.  So get ready!  Here are the highlights in the past week on ECG.

• Thoughts on the Venetian
• Camp Vegas
• Trump Marina Making Bank on $1 Blackjack
• Mary Connell v1.0 vs. v2.0
• Grazie Upgrade, Upgrade
• Why I Play Video Poker
• Union Not Helping Atlantic City
• Venetian Suite Review – Meh

Buy “Las Vegas” – Season One

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This was my first time staying at the Venetian and I still like it as a casino, but probably not as a place I’d like to stay.

The vibe in the casino is nice and relaxed but fun and the crowd is in the middle of the age types – somewhere between younger people and older people.

One of my favorite places in the casino was the sportsbook.  It’s pretty big and since it wasn’t NFL season it felt like a respite from the rest of the casino.

One great thing is that the Venetian sportsbook still gives out drink tickets with bets.  I received a few with my losing bet, but at least I was able to cash them in for a few awesome glasses of Blue Moon.

While I was at the sportsbook bar I cashed on 4 aces in Double Double Bonus Poker!  I was only playing $1 since I threw it in waiting for my beer.  Too bad.

I found the Venetian pretty crowded all day and night as there were a lot of tourists and families with children.  I’m a single dude and screaming kids are not what I want in Vegas.

The Grand Canal Shops were crowded with browsers, shoppers, eaters and drinkers.  I tried to avoid the shops during operating hours because of all of the people, but was happy to sneak in to grab some coffee at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.  Also, during regular hours the shops also had this CREEPY live statue.

The Venetian has done a great job branding themselves as a semi upper class family hotel without being stuffy.  It’s taken years to get that kind of equity.

On the other hand the Palazzo, which is relatively new, has not yet reached a similar critical mass.  The Shoppes were dead like they were on my other two visits.  However, for the first time in three visits the casino floor was PACKED on a weeknight.  Maybe there is a turnaround slowly happening at the Palazzo.

Food options are another thing I liked at the Venetian.  There is both quantity and quality.

The food court by the casino is easy to get to and has a nice variety of food as well as free wifi.  The full service restaurants are good as well and Delmonico is one of my favorite steakhouses in Las Vegas.

I tried First Food and Bar, which is hidden between the two hotels, and it was excellent.  It wasn’t too crowded and had interesting food such as cheese steak dumplings and ahi tuna nachos.

One negative for me as a solo traveler this trip was that there was no iphone reception inside of the Venetian Grand Lux Cafe.  I hate eating alone and keeping my head buried in my phone is usually a good trick to pass the time.  Unfortunately I couldn’t do that while eating lunch inside the restaurant.  So I scarfed down this BBQ pork sandwich and headed out ASAP.

On a better note, I was able to sit “outside” the following morning and grab some steak and eggs.  My favorite hangover remedy.

Overall, I enjoyed the Venetian and will likely continue to make it a place to visit when I’m in Vegas, but I don’t see myself staying there again. There are a lot of positives about the casino, but the wear on the rooms and the hordes of families and tourists give me reason to go elsewhere.

However, the Palazzo is both empty enough for me most of the day, but crowded enough at night in the casino to feel alive.  If given the chance to return, I would highly consider the Palazzo.

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I’m sure this “Camp Vegas” commercial has been running all summer, but I’ve only really noticed it for the past few weeks and a lot since I returned from Las Vegas.  To be frank I’m not so happy about it.  The song “Animal” by Neon Trees has been played way more than I could like.

I get the idea for the campaign – we’re adults, let’s go to Vegas and rage this summer.  Woo Hoo!  We can party with models from the TV !

Judging from the youtube comments, I’m not the only one that feels cynical about this commercial.  I get the idea of the commercial, but I’m not sure it really makes a connection with potential travelers.  I’m not even sure the entire campaign will resonate with their target of low 20′s pool partiers.

We’ll find out if the campaign was successful or not when the tourism traffic is released at the end of the summer, but I can’t see this campaign having a strong effect either way.

I can’t wait to see what the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has planned for winter.  What happens in Vegas…

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