It is getting harder and harder to figure out cashback/freeplay rates at
various Vegas casinos, what with multiple points, different mailers for
different amounts of play, etc. The following information is for people with Vegas
Local addresses. People with out-of-town addresses won't get the Gold Coast
mailers or Wynn extra cash. Instead at Wynn, they get offers for rooms,
shows, free play, and tournaments.
I just did some comparisons to try to come up with some more accurate
amounts. My math could be off here no doubt, but this is what I got based on
current rates. Note, these things change constantly, and I'm picking some amounts
of play at random, because depending on how much you play, things can also
be different. For example, with different amounts of play at the Wynn, you
get different cashback.
Here's what I come up with.
For Wynn (best VP is 9/6 JB) - VP play only - for 2000 points average over
3 months (that is $18000 coin in because it takes $9 per point at VP). [They
use a 3 month average play to determine extra locals free play.]
For the first month (you just played $18000 so it has to be divided by
3) - you get 2 $30 extra free play or .00333 free play credit, plus .001 extra
on the machine. (Free play also accumulates for everyone on each machine -
whether you are local or not).
2nd month (you've played $36,0000 coin in now - $18000 each month) - you
get $100 cashback int he month, for .005555 + .001 on the machine.
3rd month (you've now played $18000 each month) - you get $75 every
other week for a total of $150 extra. That gives you .0083333 + .001.
If you keep playing at the same level and they don't change the
promotion, you remain at that level for a total of about .00933 in free play.
That looks pretty good. The above is for VP only. I'll get to reels in a
little bit.
But look at Gold Coast. Best play is 9/6 JB or NSU. For quarter FP
machine, it takes $2 for each point instead of one.
You put through $27000 - trying to eventually have a 3 month $27,000
average so you get the "B" mailer.
First month if you play only on 3x point days. 2 months later you get a
D or E mailer - I'm not sure how much free play you get, and remember, I'm
assuming you bother to cash it each month. I'm guessing you get about $15 in
free play. Add that to the regular cashback of $27 x3 (3x point play only)
for a total of $96 in free play.
1st month - .003555
2nd month (assuming you continue to play $27000 in that month, and now
you get a C mailer - I'm not sure of C mailer, but probably you get about $40
in extra free play from the mailer).
.00448
3rd month - you now have $27000 coin in average, so you get the B
mailer, which definitely gives you $120 in extra free play plus the regular
cashback. You end up with .00744.
But let's say you only play on 7X point days at GC.
Now 1st month = .007555 by my figures
2nd month = .00848
3rd month = .01144
Now upcoming Feb. 20-24 Palms has a promotion where you can earn $6 in free
play for 1600 points at VP and 400 points at reel slots. I checked at the
booth, and maximum cashback is $500 per person. NOTE: No Machines are
Excluded! So you can play FP games on this one.
But if you play VP - your $1600 coin in only gets you .00375 in free play.
For reels at the Palms $400 coin in gets you $6 for .015 added free play.
You also have to try to compare comps, which is difficult. I'm not sure, but
I think the Palms promo lets you keep your accumulated comps. If that is
true, you'd also get $10 in comps for every $4000 put in.
At GC, that "B" mailer gets you $80 in free food plus 2 free buffets (at
least it did this month). Plus you can try asking a host for additional food
comps. I was told for every $20000 coin in, approximately, you can get a $50
food comp.
At Wynn - you get a buffet for about every 750-1000 points. But I've found
that the hosts can be very generous with comps for gourmet food and shows.
However, most of my play was reels. I do know people who played heavily in VP
only who got gourmet comps as well as buffets and shows.
The interesting thing at Wynn is that if you play reels, they are extremely
generous with extra free play. For 2500 points ($3 per point for reels) -
you put in $7500 coin in.
1st month (because they use a 3 month average) - .02666 free play + that
.001 on the machine.
(I didn't miss a zero there - that is over 2% extra!)
2nd month - .04
3rd month - .053333 (At this point you are getting $100 each week in
extra free play - for reels the extra free play is every week, not every other
week as it is for VP)
So if my analysis is correct, that Palms Feb. promotion doesn't look too
hot! Even for FP machines.
Of course Palms also sends mailers with some extra free play, based on your
play, so depending on how much you get in the mailers, my above figure is low
for them. Unfortunately Palms goes by a "daily average" so when you go back
to get your free play the next month, if you have to pick up your free play
10 times and only play once, your average is divided by 10. I've had the bad
experience of playing $30,000 through in one day on DDB, and then my average
gets wittled down to $3000, and my mailers end up $10 a week.
Some other factors may make you go crazy trying to determine where to play.
If you like to play both reels at VP, as I do, it seems that at the Wynn you
get only one extra "mailer" (via email) for the free play - whichever is
better. At GC you can play any type of machine and get the mailers and cashback,
regardless of whether you are playing reels or VP.
I'm assuming in all the above that you can and do go back and collect all
your free play. Sometimes this may be difficult, for example this month on
some mailers, the Palms had a 1 day only free play day, rather than 2 or 3 to
pick it up. If you are sick, you may miss picking up your free play. For
comps, if you get a mailer at GC or Palms, you are stuck eating when the mailer
says you have a comp.
Amounts needed to play can change at any time, so if you think you are
getting $100 in free play, it can be annoying if when you get it a month or two
later, you now get $50 because the rules changed (as happened recently with GC
mailers).
GC has the advantage of offering multiple point days, but if you find
yourself only able to play on a 1X point day, that isn't going to be too good. But
if you can hold back for a 7X or 8X day, that is great.
I've found the hosts at Palms are dismal at giving extra food comps. If you
have points in your account, they will make you use them.
Perhaps someone with more knowledge than myself can analyze the free play
for Venetian, Stations, and other places.
For Harrah's, it is impossible to figure out the benefits, for a number of
reasons. While they have definite cashback ($10 for every 4500 points I
believe which is an extremely bad .000222), you can get Visa cards, "travel
money", and other extras which can help a bit. Locals also may get extra mailers
such as play 100 points, get $100. But to get the good Visa/tournament/etc.
offers, you are much much better off with a non-local address.
Remember - above computations are for Vegas locals. That extra $ from Wynn
doesn't come to non-locals. Though they do get Free play offers of a
different sort (and I have no idea how much play triggers what sort of non-local
offer).
Also note in Wynn figures, I'm assuming 4 weeks in a month. Sometimes you
may get 5 weeks.
And if you are a higher or lower level player than the figures I've
mentioned above, your freeplay/cashback rates could be higher or lower.
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