Players who complain about Caesars continued devaluing and reduction of perks, offerings and comps have a reasonable gripe. Over time, there have been a variety of cuts made, from the elimination of most buffets to the Laurel Lounges’ disappearance in Las Vegas.
One market where things seem to be bucking the trend, bit by bit, is Atlantic City. As part of the acquisition of Caesars, Eldorado promised to make some hefty investments in their New Jersey properties. Hotel room renovations, the revival of a theater and various property upgrades have been among the major steps taken.
But other, more player-friendly adjustments have been coming too. For one, they backtracked on the severity of their lounge cuts in Atlantic City, promising earlier this year that all three of their Atlantic City properties would see lounges again.
And now, another improvement has been announced – an open-ended 5x comps promotion that effectively sees Rewards Credits earning at five times the rate they do at other Caesars properties nationwide.
I’ve written here in the past how Caesars Rewards is among the most stingy when it comes to comp dollars, made worse by the fact that many places only redeem them at 2:1 ratios. That doesn’t cut it in Atlantic City, where most other properties earn comp dollars at a quicker ratio. This is definitely more of an East Coast thing; I earn comps much faster at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut vs. Mohegan Las Vegas at Virgin.
Caesars’ new owner is in my view feeling the pinch of competition in Atlantic City, and their decision to invest more to be competitive on upgrading properties is good, and upgrading comps is even better. Comps are a big deal to players, and being able to earn 1 comp dollar for $100 in slot play immediately vaults it into being among the more generous from the stingiest.
Atlantic City has a lot of players who have a history of visiting and liking to be treated well, whether it be lounge access or free meals, and this at least puts Caesars in the hunt for those types of players. Competition is always a good thing for players, and in this case can be great for those in the Caesars ecosystem.
So while this doesn’t help with your tier, it’s a small step forward and hopefully portends better things ahead.
