East Coast Gambler -

Seven Stars Insider is a great resource for Harrah’s players looking for information and ways to possibly improve their Total Rewards experience.  The Total Rewards system is a little confusing so the more info the merrier.  As the disclaimer says in the newsletter this info isn’t only for Harrah’s top tier players.

Sign up for Seven Stars Insider on their site.

Seven Stars Insider – February/March 2010

[NOTE: While this newsletter was originally designed exclusively for Seven Stars Club 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.]

Planet Hollywood Becomes Part Of Total Rewards April 1

By now you probably know that a subsidiary of Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. has assumed ownership of the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.  As of April 1, Harrah’s Total Rewards program should be fully integrated, enabling guests to earn and redeem Reward and Tier Credits every time they play at the casino.  Points earned in Planet Hollywood’s loyalty program, A-List, will automatically convert into Total Rewards credits at the time of the Total Rewards integration.  This is similar to what happened when Harrah’s purchased Caesars several years ago.

Harrah’s Cherokee Now Serving Alcohol On Limited Basis

Alcohol is now being served at Harrah’s Cherokee from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon until 2 a.m. on Sundays. Note, though, that only non-alcoholic beverages are complimentary and you cannot use comp dollars to purchase alcohol.

Aces Closes

In preparation for recently approved table games in Pennsylvania, Aces Diner at Harrah’s Chester closed in mid-February.  Not a big loss, in many guests’ opinions.

Snow Days In Atlantic City

Once again, Harrah’s angered its most valued customers by closing its Diamond Clubs the last Thursday and Friday of February “due to inclement weather.”  Meanwhile, the bars at Showboat Thursday night were packed to capacity, and most other Harrah’s food and beverage outlets around the city were open for business.  By Friday, there were no significant weather problems that should have delayed most guests or employees from getting to Atlantic City.  As a matter of fact, Trump Marina’s Chairman’s Club was open both Thursday and Friday, as was the Borgata’s Amphora Lounge.  Trump Taj Mahal’s Chairman’s Club was closed Thursday, but offered eligible players coupons for the buffet at a reduced rate (10 comp dollars for a lunch or dinner valued at $21).

Seven Stars Insider Site Updated

Google did a wholesale conversion of all its Web sites, and caused a number of sites – including Seven Stars Insider – to lose much of its original formatting.  This has since been fixed, some factual errors corrected, and information on several properties updated.  If you visit a Harrah’s property and find incorrect information on the site – or information that needs to be updated, please send an email to sevenstarsinsider@gmail.com.  In addition, as always, we are looking for reports on properties currently not represented on the site.  If you can provide any insights, again, please send an email to sevenstarsinsider@gmail.com.

Did You Attend A New Year’s Eve Celebration?

Not a big response to this question, but everyone who commented had “raves” (especially for the events at Harrah’s Resort and Bally’s in Atlantic City).  See specific comments below:

• “My husband and I attended the party at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City.  It had a Moulin Rouge theme in one of the upstairs ballrooms.  The dinner was wonderful – an ‘11’out of ‘10’.”

• “We attended the party at Bally’s in Atlantic City.  It was an excellent event, just as good as previous years’.  [The 12-piece band] played and sang everything from the ’40s through ’90s rap music.  The meal was lobster, shrimp and filet mignon.  We did not expect it to be that good.  Recent events at Bally’s had been very disappointing.  One previous dinner featured a chicken cutlet and one stuffed shrimp.”

What’s Your Recommendation For The Annual Seven Stars Trip?

A lot of new members, in particular, would appreciate your thoughts on where to take the annual trip.  Did you have an outstanding experience somewhere, or, conversely, is there some property you wouldn’t send your worst enemy?  Send me an email (sevenstarsinsider@gmail.com) and I’ll share your thoughts – anonymously, of course – with everyone in a future newsletter.  (Be sure to check out some tips for your annual trip by going to http://sites.google.com/site/sevenstarsinsider/yourannualsevenstarstrip.)

~Darryl

P.S.  Back issues of the Seven Stars Insider newsletter are available online at http://sites.google.com/site/sevenstarsinsider/.  You will need Adobe Acrobat to view them, but this is a free program available at www.adobe.com.

Darryl D. McEwen, Publisher

Seven Stars Insider

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Maybe it’s an April fools joke.  Maybe it’s not.  According to @PHVegas on twitter Planet Hollywood will begin using the Total Rewards system on April 1.

We’re rolling out Total Rewards on April 1, so there are plenty of new perks and privileges coming to make our guests feel like celebrities!

Harrahs.com shows Planet Hollywood, but redirects you to the old reservation system and website for Planet Hollywood.  Unfortunately, this may take Planet Hollywood out of my plans for my next Vegas trip.  Oh well.

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New rumor: Harrah’s is buying Palms next.  How can this be possible?  Steve Friess from The Strip Podcast was the first person I saw with this rumor.  After reading his blog and the accompanying Financial Times article it seems as if we have a repeat of how Harrah’s purchased Planet Hollywood.

The piece relies on anonymous sources, albeit more than one, and notes that “the investment points toward a systematic strategy by Harrah’s to acquire other casinos through their distressed debt.”

Friess followed up this with a call to George Maloof, owner of Palms, to get even more information on the subject.

I just hung up with George Maloof, who cast doubt on the Financial Times’ report that Harrah’s has been buying up Palms debt by saying, flat-out: “They’re not going to take over my company. It’s so far remote.”

Great job of digging for info here.  I love the Palms in the same way I love Planet Hollywood.  Maybe it’s the independent nature of those casinos that draws me or maybe it’s the youthful, energetic crowd that both casinos seem to draw.

Mass homogenization of casinos is boring and it seems as if that’s where Las Vegas is heading.  This will create a wider gap for casinos like Wynn/Encore from MGM-Mirage and Harrah’s properties.

There is part of me that will pay for great service and there is another part that loves the comps provided by “The Man.”  I will sit here torn a little as I ponder whether or not I’m going to make it to Harrah’s in Atlantic City.

ALSO: Props to Steve Friess for the info here.  Follow The Strip Podcast on twitter, read the blog for more info and check the podcast.  A great source for Vegas info from a person that’s actually in Vegas.

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While I was writing up rumor of Penn National’s purchase of the Rio in Las Vegas, I saw a tweet wondering where the World Series of Poker (WSOP) will move.

Harrah’s owns the hosting rights to the location of the WSOP.  If this deal is put into motion quickly location will likely be moved from the Rio, unless that is part of the deal Penn National makes with Harrah’s.

Let’s assume that this deal happens quickly and rights remain with Harrah’s and the WSOP moves.  Where does the WSOP go?

Most people, and my initial thought, is that the WSOP is a natural to move to Caesars Palace.  Caesars Palace is the flagship casino for Harrah’s in Las Vegas.

However, there may be a thought to use the WSOP to raise the visibility of another property.  Here are some possibilities.

Planet Hollywood isn’t much of a poker oriented casino, but it’s a coo, hip spot and the bright and shiny star of the Harrah’s empire.  It’s also been set up to host special events such as movie premiers and TV events.  Going to Planet Hollywood would also allow for Caesars Palace to keep their Heads Up Poker/NBC alignment.

Paris (and Bally’s) is another option.  Paris is just down the list of Harrah’s property priority scale.  Barry Manilow and Pussy Cat Dolls are possibly going to add a little life to the property.  Adding the WSOP would add even more shine on Paris.  Because it’s connected with Bally’s you have a very large selection of rooms attached to one area.

I think Caesars Palace is top of the list to get the WSOP from Harrah’s, but I could see it going somewhere else as leverage to bring people to other properties.  I’m a little past my poker prime, but I’m a marketing guy and curious to see what happens here.

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The Las Vegas Sun published their Top 10 Steakhouses in Las Vegas + 1 honorable mention.  I’ve been to 6 of the 11.  Not too shabby on my part.  I don’t think I’ll ever go to The Steakhouse at Circus Circus, so I won’t get to every steakhouse on this list.  I was planning to stop by at least one of these places on my next trip and it seems as if my choice is confirmed.

Here’s the Top 10

1. Carne Vino
2. Cut
3. Craftsteak
4. Delmonico
5. Stripsteak
6. Prime
7. Nero’s
8. SW
9. N9ne
10. The Steakhouse

Honorable mention: Golden Steer

I’ve linked to my reviews of the places I’ve been since I started ECG.  I’ve also been to N9ne and Delmonico.  Both of which are excellent and very different.  After my last visit to Carne Vino I find it hard to have that #1, but it’s in the running.  If I were in charge of order here I would move SW up, Carne Vino down.

I’ve been considering a couple of steakhouses for my next trip.  CUT and Striphouse (at Planet Hollywood) were under consideration and still are.  Everything I’ve read about CUT has been great, so I don’t think anything will bump that from consideration.  The New York Striphouse is one of the better steaks in NYC.  I’m not tied to that, but I love the vibe and I’m curious to check the Las Vegas location.

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The major news this week was Harrah’s takeover of Planet Hollywood.  There seems to be lots of hate towards Harrah’s from everything I read and hear in podcasts.  I like whoever treats me best.  Harrah’s treats me ok.  Not great and not awful.  I’ll give this time to unfold before making judgement.  I’ll be able to experience the change, first hand, at Planet Hollywood when I visit Las Vegas in April.

I, finally, caught up on most of my December trip to Las Vegas.  See the gambling fun below.

• Roundup from East To West
• Planet Harrahswood Commence!
• MGM Looking To Improve Players Club
• Las Vegas Gambling – Everything Else
• Gambling In Las Vegas – Video Poker
• Gambling in Las Vegas – Slots
• Maybe Atlantic City Will Expand
• Daytona 500 Odds

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I haven’t done a round up in a while because there hasn’t been much news that I haven’t had time to touch on.  In the past couple of weeks that has changed.  Here are a slew of stories from Atlantic City to Las Vegas and a little in between.

• MGM Mirage and Sands reported earnings this week.  The Las Vegas Sun says things may be improving for casinos in Las Vegas.
• When reporting earnings, MGM Mirage lessened the value of their land in Atlantic City.
• A Federal judge looks at two plans for Trump Casinos in Atlantic City.
• Evidently the Eden Bar at Harrah’s is the best bar to find “cougars.”
• Philly.com looks at the Pennsylvania casinos.  I’m told table games are coming in August.
• Interesting thought.  Is Harrah’s too big?
• Hawaiian Tropic Zone at Planet Hollywood is closing.
• The Pussycat Dolls Lounge at Caesars Palace is closing.  I did find out that it’s moving to Paris.  Props to Five Hundy By Midnight.
• I haven’t been to Luxor in a while.  Evidently, it’s been remodeled and is underwhelming.
• Stiffs and Georges has jumped in front of the rest as my regularly updated go-to blog.  Short, quick, accurate casino & gambling news from across the US.

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