ACG $10 Plaza matchplay not honored.

[colbert]

A couple years ago, I began to question myself on the use of LVA and ACG matchplays. To maximize their expected value, I would participate in "hit-n-run" coupon usage.
Sure, I always made a profit in the course of a year, but is that how I wanted to present myself to the casinos and more importantly, as a representative consumer of LVA and ACG.
Lately, I've been backing off the "one-n-done" usage, instead opting to sit down and play a few hands of BJ in conjuction with the MP.
Bottom line, I began to feel kinda cheap about my money motives.

[dewey089]

I am still a hit and run guy. I don't have any guilt about exploiting the casinos because I see them as opponents in a friendly game of odds.
I don't think anyone needs to have much sympathy for corporations that must exploit their customers as best as they can in order to make any proifit, using sophisticated mathematical formulas, and depending on human weakness and in some cases stupidity to keep them well ahead in the game.

This is not to say I would cheat them.
Or that I would withhold tips. Chambermaids, dealers, waitress people are simply there to serve me and to provide exploited labor for the corporations. In most cases they are underpaid. Certainly they have very little in benefits or job security. A vacation costs them a good portion of their daily earnings.
If I did feel any guilt about exploiting the casino, I'd simply toss my winnings to those who serve at my pleasure, redistributing the wealth a bit.

Continuing to play after using a matchplay would have to be based on getting entertainment as each wagered dollar decreases the advantage that the matchplay offers until it really becomes a question of whether it is worth the bother to buy and cut and hassle with them at all. If they are a lost leader that suckers us in to betting more than we would, well then the casino wins their bet in offering them. I do think the win it more than they lose simply due to inertia. At least folks play off their winnings.

I have abandoned the negative expectation games for live poker where the casino is simply paid for a service and what might be their slot fish are, if I am skillful enough, my fish.
Matchplays give me just a taste of my old gamlbing choices, BJ and Craps and sometimes I even put them on roulette if the other tables are full.
Back before live poker, I used to use the matchplays as a way to have a fine walk from casino to casino and see the town a bit, have a tiny gamble, and make my bankroll go a bit farther. I did the same thing Wonging the old dynamite sticks or Piggy banks in those slots that had wongable bonuses.

I am the same with food coupons. I am more likely to go to the next buffet that offers me 2 for 1 food than use one coupon and then feel obligated to eat there the whole week. Nor do I feel obligated to play there. I still eat at the Orleans buffet on coupons, but since they abandoned the advantage player game of 10/7 DB, I don't play there much.

However, I am hopeful that others will not follow my lead. The more who out of guilt, or entertainment, or inertia play beyond the use of the coupon, the more coupons will be printed and sold and that all benefits my freedom to hit and run at more places.

As old poster Gherig used to say, those are the folks who pay the light bills.

[shadroch]

Originally Posted by Steve Bourie

Since there was only one person who had a problem I didn't think there was a major hassle with the Plaza accepting the coupons. If a lot of people were complaining then I would have known that there were some major problems.

We usually don't contact the casinos when only one person complains, but in this instance we actually emailed our contact and I heard back from him before I left on my trip.

I never mentioned this because I really didn't want to get into a big discussion, but since you asked, the response we received was "I will check into this, but I have not heard anything about it. There was one gentleman who came in with color copies of the coupon (not very good copies at that) and we refused him based on the fact that he had multiple copies of the coupon. That is the only person I have been informed that we refused."

So why was the coupon refused from that person? I don't know. Did he present a counterfeit coupon? I don't know. Did the person at the casino refuse a good coupon? I don't know. We will never know what happened in this particualr situation. However, we do know that the casino is accepting the coupon, unless they think someone is presenting a color copy of the coupon.

The bigger problem, however, is the fact that coupon abusers and scammers always seem to ruin things for other people.

Unfortunatley, there are always people who try to beat the system by making fake copies. That has happened with me and also with Anthony Curtis at Las Vegas Advisor.

Another problem that ACG has (that LVA doesn't have) is that people can buy multiple copies of the book. Therefore, some people buy lots of books and constantly show up at the same casinos with matchplay coupons. I believe this is what happened at Ellis Island. If a casino feels that these people are abusers and they start to hassle the abusers, then they are basically free to do that.

In the 17 years that I have been doing the ACG there have been very few instances of casinos outright refusing the coupons. The only major hassle we ever had was last year with Station Casinos.

Anyway, you say "Personally I'm getting sick and tired of casinos that offer coupons and then treat us like criminals when we try to use them. It's pretty simple, offer a coupon, honor the coupon."

In response, I just wanted to let you know that the situation is not so cut and dry. If it weren't for the abusers and scammers I don't think there would ever be a problem. There would be peace among mankind and we could all use our coupons without any hassles!

Steve,
Do you consider it an abuse to buy and use more than one book?
For years, I've bought two. This year I bought four. If you feel this is abusive, please say so and I won't buy multiple copies next year.