Megaclubs - Is Bigger Better?
 
by Scotch Henderson

Ever since player reward programs, or slot clubs, began some twenty years ago in Atlantic City, they have steadily become more sophisticated and widespread. It’s rare now to find even a small, isolated casino that doesn’t employ electronic tracking to identify, classify and entice players. It should come as no great surprise, then, that corporate casinos with locations across the country would consider “linking” their individual facilities’ players clubs. But it’s a complicated, expensive undertaking, and there can be resistance from individual properties, especially those not originally owned by the corporation, which must deal with their own unique, local considerations. What works for a casino on the Las Vegas strip may not work for a casino in say, Iowa, even if they are owned by the same corporation. And many casino executives understandably choke on the idea of rewarding someone who hasn’t even played under their roof!

It has taken more than a decade to overcome these obstacles and the situation will certainly continue to evolve, but the list of casinos now participating (or soon to be included) in megaclubs (author Jeffrey Compton’s term for intra-corporate reward systems that enable players to earn rewards at one location and redeem them at another) has now become quite extensive. Recent months have seen the introduction of Mandalay Bay’s One Club, Isle of Capri’s IsleOne Club, and Park Place Casinos’ Connection. These newcomers, and the soon-to-be-online MGM/Mirage nationwide megaclub, join the established Boarding Pass progam at Station Casinos of Las Vegas, and Harrah’s Casinos’ pioneering Total Rewards program. By current count, more than a third of Iowa’s sixteen casinos and almost half of Mississippi’s thirty-one casinos participate in megaclubs or will soon, as well as at least sixteen of the twenty-four major Strip casinos and six of the twelve casinos in Atlantic City. This is not to say that every casino chain is jumping on the megaclub bandwagon. The several Boyd Gaming casinos continue to operate independent slot clubs, as do the four Coast casinos in Las Vegas.

The Megaclubs
Harrah’s Entertainment, with locations in more than eighteen cities or jurisdictions throughout the country, was the industry leader in offering cross-casino benefits to their traveling slot club members. Any member showing a player’s card on the first visit to another Harrah’s casino received two free show tickets or some other reward. Introduced as Total Gold, the club was renamed Total Rewards following some refinements such as instituting tiers (Diamond and Platinum Benefits) for high level players and using reward credits instead of points. The program employs direct mail very effectively to reward players based on their total play at all locations, but it is difficult or impossible for players to bank their comps from one casino to the next.

The next megaclub, the Station Casinos Boarding Pass, grew by acquisition to include six properties all located in the Las Vegas/Henderson area (but none on the Strip or downtown) and two separate Fiesta casinos which are linked to one another (Amigo Club) but not to the other Stations. This local megaclub has an inherent advantage in that all of their members play similar machines with similar holds in the same market area. Boarding Pass points can be redeemed for in-house comps only, not cashback, which further simplifies the process.

Mandalay Resort Group’s One Club debuted late last year, replacing individual slot clubs at their five Las Vegas properties (Monte Carlo is half-owned by MGM Mirage, but Mandalay is in charge of all operations), at Circus Circus in Reno, and at the Edgewater and the Colorado Belle in Laughlin. Players traded in their old slot cards for the One Card, which tracks two separate benefit accounts, one for cashback and one for comp dollars. Both accounts are disclosed to the player and are totally bankable and transferable; you can earn comp dollars at the Colorado Belle and spend them at the Luxor, as long as you do it in a twelve-month period. The One Club will soon include Mandalay’s Midwest properties, including Detroit’s MotorCity.

The Park Place Connection Card is online at five Las Vegas properties (Bally’s, Caesars Palace, The Flamingo, Las Vegas Hilton, and Paris), where its arrival was heralded by the VIP Connection Fantasy Vegas Sweepstakes. Members were awarded entries for prize drawings as they swapped their old cards at each location for the new Connection Card. Points are redeemable at any of the five casinos regardless of where they were earned. Cashback is awarded by an identical formula at all locations, a development which unfortunately required a significant decrease in cashback percentage at some casinos. The Connection Card will gradually be integrated at fourteen other Park Place properties in Reno and Laughlin, Atlantic City, Mississippi, Indiana, and Louisiana.

The Isle of Capri’s IsleOne program is still a work in progress; it will ultimately link, to some degree, up to thirteen Isle of Capri’s Casino properties in the south and midwest. These casinos have long offered similar but separate Island Gold player rewards programs.

Despite the initial expense and the territorial difficulties involved in instituting a megaclub, there are obvious advantages to the casino corporation. A linked megaclub encourages those players who like to visit more than one casino during the same trip to at least remain within the corporate family, to build up that account. Every Las Vegas visitor learns sooner or later that a few points scattered here, there and everywhere around the city are far less useful than a pile of points at one location, or in one megaclub. Also, through the megaclub’s universal database, the corporation can now identify and reward players whose play at each individual casino was unremarkable, but whose combined play is considerable.

Megaclubs also allow the individual casinos to offer more and better direct mail offers, more elaborate promotions, better technology, and even better trained staff. Instead of fourteen Mandalay casinos sending out offers, all mailings will be coordinated through a central office, resulting in considerable savings and a more uniform product. The biggest advantage to management, however, may be a more visible corporate identity. Many players at the Gold Strike in Tunica, for instance, have not been aware that the property is owned by Mandalay Resorts, and that Mandalay also operates thirteen other very nice casinos in Mississippi, Las Vegas, and elsewhere. This will change. Likewise, players at Caesars Indiana who have probably heard of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas but may never have heard of its corporate owner, Park Place Entertainment or its seventeen other casinos, will receive some very educational mail before very long. If each casino holds up its end in providing quality entertainment and good value, the effective megaclub will encourage members to search out related properties the next time they travel.

But what about the player? Are we better off? Aside from the obvious (and much appreciated) benefit of having a few less plastic cards to remember, carry, misplace, etcetera, what’s in it for us? A lot depends on what kind of player you are, how much you get around, and how much action you represent to the casinos. To some, the variety of new environments to which one now has (comped) access will be a plus. Eating in the same casino restaurants all the time can get old, even when you’re not paying for it. A megaclub invites you to sample other eateries at nearby casinos, but doesn’t require you to abandon your favorite place to play. Likewise, you’ll have the opportunity to experience new hotels, visit new destinations, and maybe play new games. And when you visit these related casinos, you’ll do it as a proven player (assuming you’ve recorded sufficient action) with comps or at least casino-rate rooms, possibly VIP lounge privileges, and maybe a personal host waiting when you arrive.

Direct mail is the megaclub’s tool of choice in dispensing all this generousity (although I get more and more offers by e-mail, but that’s another article), so keep in mind that while the coming of megaclubs might mean fewer offers in the mailbox, they may be of far better quality; members would be well-served to read every word and take advantage of as many benefits as possible. Is there any downside for the consumer? Some will lament the passing of the familiar individual casino slot club as another victim of corporate acquisition, and there have already been instances of previously independent slot clubs reducing their cashback percentage, sometimes quite drastically, in order to fall into line with the company formula. There is also the possibility that promotions and innovations designed in the corporate office for national megaclubs will stifle the creativity and even the effectiveness of local casino marketers who know what works in their own home marketplace.

Another development to watch is that megaclubs may encourage casinos to over-standardize their casino-floor policies (in Las Vegas, some call this stationization; each casino acquired by Station Casinos over the past few years has come to contain virtually the same assortment of games and machines, not to mention the similar layout and decor). Understandably, the corporate parents want to avoid a situation where players earn comps in a “loose” casino (one with plenty of full-pay video poker and high percentage slot machines) and redeem them in a sister establishment with better restaurants, more upscale rooms, and major shows. But “seen one, seen ’em all” is a generalization that few corporate executives would want to see applied to his or her family of properties.

Slot clubs were first instituted to encourage player loyalty and to provide the casino with the information they need to identify their regular players and to maximize their play. Megaclubs seek to accomplish these same goals on a larger scale. The individual player can take full advantage of the new systems by understanding where and how they operate, and by examining their own travel habits, whether it’s up and down the Las Vegas strip, or across the country.

The Megaclubs
Harrah’s—Total Rewards
1. Harrah’s Ak Chin, Maricopa, Ariz.
2. Harrah’s Rincon Casino, Valley Center, Calif. (coming soon)
3. Harrah’s, East Chicago, Ind.
4. Harrah’s, Joliet, Ill.
5. Harrah’s, Metropolis, Ill.
6. Bluff Run, Council Bluffs, Iowa
7. Harvey’s, Council Bluffs, Iowa
8. Harrah’s Prairie Band, Mayetta, Kans.
9. Harrah’s, Lake Charles, La.
10. Harrah’s, Shreveport, La.
11. Harrah’s, New Orleans, La.
12. Harrah’s, St. Louis, Mo.
13. Harrah’s, Tunica, Miss.
14. Harrah’s, Vicksburg, Miss.
15. Harrah’s, North Kans. City, Mo.
16. Harrah’s, Lake Tahoe, Nev.
17. Harrah’s, Las Vegas, Nev.
18. Rio Suite Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nev.
19. Harrah’s, Laughlin, Nev.
20. Harrah’s, Reno, Nev.
21. Harvey’s Resort Hotel/Casino, Lake Tahoe, Nev.
22. Harrah’s, Atlantic City, N.J.
23. Showboat Casino-Hotel, Atlantic City, N.J.
24. Harrah’s, Cherokee, N.C.

Mandalay Resorts—One Club
1. Grand Victoria, Elgin, Ill. (coming soon)
2. MotorCity, Detroit, Mich. (coming soon)
3. Gold Strike, Tunica, Miss.
4. Gold Strike, Jean, Nev. (coming soon)
5. Nevada Belle, Jean, Nev. (coming soon)
6. Circus Circus, Las Vegas, Nev.
7. Excalibur, Las Vegas, Nev.
8. Luxor, Las Vegas, Nev.
9. Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nev.
10. Monte Carlo, Las Vegas, Nev.
11. Slots A Fun, Las Vegas, Nev.
12. Colorado Belle, Laughlin, Nev.
13. Edgewater, Laughlin, Nev.
14. Circus Circus, Reno, Nev.

Park Place Entertainment—Connection Card
1. Caesars, Elizabeth, Ind. (coming soon)
2. Bally’s, New Orleans, La. (coming soon)
3. Grand, Biloxi, Miss. (coming soon)
4. Grand, Gulfport, Miss. (coming soon)
5. Bally’s, Tunica, Miss., (coming soon)
6. Grand Casino, Tunica, Miss., (coming soon)
7. Sheraton, Tunica, Miss., (coming soon)
8. Caesars, Lake Tahoe, Nev. (coming soon)
9. Bally’s, Las Vegas, Nev.
10. Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nev.
11. Flamingo, Las Vegas, Nev.
12. Las Vegas Hilton, Las Vegas, Nev.
13. Paris, Las Vegas, Nev.
14. Flamingo, Laughlin, Nev. (coming soon)
15. Reno Hilton, Reno, Nev. (coming soon)
16. Atlantic City Hilton, Atlantic City, N.J. (coming soon)
17. Bally’s, Atlantic City, N.J. (coming soon)
18. Caesars, Atlantic City, N.J. (coming soon)
19. Claridge, Atlantic City, N.J. (coming soon)

Station Casinos—Boarding Pass
1. Green Valley Ranch, Henderson, Nev.
2. Sunset Station, Henderson, Nev.
3. Boulder Station, Las Vegas, Nev.
4. Palace Station, Las Vegas, Nev.
5. Santa Fe Station, Las Vegas, Nev.
6. Texas Station, North Las Vegas, Nev.

Fiesta—Amigo Club
1. Fiesta, Henderson, Nev.
2. Fiesta, North Las Vegas, NV

MGM/Mirage—Coming Soon
1. MGM Grand, Detroit, Mich.
2. Beau Rivage, Biloxi, Miss.
3. Bellagio, Las Vegas, Nev.
4. Golden Nugget, Las Vegas, Nev.
5. Mirage, Las Vegas, Nev.
6. MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nev.
7. New York New York, Las Vegas, Nev.
8. Treasure Island, Las Vegas, Nev.
9. Golden Nugget, Laughlin, Nev.
10. Buffalo Bills, Primm, Nev.
11. Primm Valley Resort, Primm, Nev.
12. Whisky Pete’s, Primm, Nev.

Isle of Capri—IsleOne
1. Isle of Capri, Black Hawk, Colo.
2. Isle of Capri, Bettendorf, Iowa
3. Rhythm City, Davenport, Iowa
4. Isle of Capri, Marquette, Iowa
5. Isle of Capri, Bossier City, La.
6. Isle of Capri, Lake Charles, La.
7. Isle of Capri, Boonville, Mo.
8. Isle of Capri, Kans. City, Mo.
9. Isle of Capri, Biloxi, Miss.
10. Isle of Capri, Lula, Miss.
11. Isle of Capri, Natchez, Miss.
12. Isle of Capri, Tunica, Miss.
13. Isle of Capri, Vicksburg, Miss.

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