Poker Poker Poker!: Re: [vpFREE] Question: When is a $100 loss rebate not a $100 loss rebate?

The question is are they being sneaky in this promotion or are they just clueless? In June I received an invitation for a "100% loss payback" promotion up to $1,000.00 from the Tropicana in Laughlin. The postcard said "you can't lose!. We'll refund your slot loss from $100 to $1000." (It didn't specify video poker, just referred to "slot loss." The promotion then went on to say that after registering at the Player's Club you would play on June 22 and then 100% of your loss would be refunded over three days: July 20, August 24 and September 21.

I was not in a position to play this promotion so I didn't inquire further about it. I think their definition of a "loss" could be debatable and misleading unless it is specifically defined as such in the rules.

The promo I received did not have any definition of a "loss" on the card. Only that you had to "opt-in" at the Player's club on June 20 before playing

My experience with the Trops Player's Club supervisors is that they are the rudest bunch of customer service people I have every encountered at a players club.

Don

In a message dated 11/4/2013 7:32:57 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, greeklandjohnny@aol.com writes:

Answer: when it is run by Tropicana Express in Laughlin.

I saw that the Trop Express had a loss rebate program when I visited in September 2013. Previously, their loss rebate program would send the entire loss rebate by mail so unless you were a local or planning a return trip at the right time, the offer didn't do you any good.

Now, they advertise that they refund 50% of your loss the same day (or next day) and the other half by mail in 4 – 6 weeks. Sounds good, right? I did the offer on September 2^nd, lost $100 and got $50 back in freeplay that day. I ran that through and cashed out for $56.25. Now, I had an impromptu trip to Laughlin on 10/31/13 and I stopped at the slot club booth and asked why I hadn't received my $50 loss rebate in the mail. The lady at the desk said that you hadn't lost $100, you only lost $43.75. Since $50 was already rebated on 9/2/13, I was not entitled to any further money. I asked to speak to a supervisor. Lauren was called over to explain. Besides being somewhat rude and condescending, she wasn't particularly well versed in casino promotions.

Her explanation was that on 9/2/13, I lost $100, received $50 in free play, ran that through and it became $56.25 so my loss for the day was $46.75. I tried several times to explain to her that the loss rebate should not count against the day's losses. That drew a blank stare. If they wanted to stretch the definition of loss rebate and daily win, they could have said that the $6.25 was a 'win' and would count against the $100 loss for calculating the mailer. But no, the entire amount of the rebate (plus the result) counts against the second half of your rebate.

So, I asked how you can possibly get the full $100 rebate. Lauren said that if you lose $100, get $50 back the same day and lose all of that, you would get $50 back in the mail. To me, that is a $150 loss. Again, this concept was lost on Lauren. Now, to further complicate matters, you could pick up your same day portion either the same day or the next day. I don't know that I trust the money would be there the next day. Of course, there are no written rules available. The rules are posted outside of the slot club booth but no brochure available. I should have taken a picture of them.

Here's what I can figure on how the program works:

Lose $100, pick up $50 same day, run that through, cash out $50, no future mailed rebate.

Lose $100, pick up $50 same day, run it through, cash out $40, get $10 back in the mail.

Lose $100, pick up $50 same day, run it through and lose it all, get $50 back in the mail.

I don't know if you pick up the original portion the next day if you would then get the true loss rebate.

I have a real problem with this being billed as $100 loss rebate program. I brought 4 people down with me to do the promo. If I had known it ran like it did, I would have told them to skip it. I have never heard of a loss rebate program working like this.

I disagree with the Trop's view that the same day loss rebate counts as wins against the mailed loss rebate. It is double counting the same day loss rebate. I see why they do it since it saves them a lot of cash.

I am debating whether to file with NGCB. To me, the promotional is misleading at the least and fraudulent at the worst. I thought I would post it here for feedback.