Why? The reason your comment did not appear on my blog page is that I did not “Approve” it, something I must personally do before any comment shows up. (I usually check submitted comments daily, but sometimes if I am away from my computer, it might be several days before your comment is approved and will appear.) The main two reasons I do not approve a comment are:
- It is too long. Don’t copy long passages from other sources. And try to stick to the subject of the original blog entry and avoid rambling around to many other subjects.
- It contains personal attacks on other posters or groups. You can disagree strongly with a message without attacking the messenger.
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Yes, some casino restaurants (including Caesars Palace buffet) are still adding an automatic tip (often 18%) for large parties, usually 8 or more diners, even though the IRS ruled several years ago that this was not permitted. There is one loophole. If they call this a “service charge,” then that rule does not apply. However, I am still seeing this automatic gratuity added when it is NOT labeled as a service charge.
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Yes, I did the Downtown Grand (former Lady Luck) loss rebate program for new players club members. Brad and I and a friend went together and had a blast at the slot machines, something different from our disciplined video poker play. (VP machines are disqualified for the initial part of this promotion although you CAN use the loss rebate on them later.) The friend hit a big jackpot rather quickly so quit with her $700 profit. Brad was up a couple hundred dollars right at the first but decided to play longer to see if he could hit something bigger. He slowly went downhill but then hit a medium jackpot, got back up, and decided to quit with a $250 jackpot. I couldn’t hit anything good so I lost my $1000 and have to go back three times to collect my rebate. I’ve done one of the go-backs and collected $500 plus a $200 profit. So Brad and I will score a win for this promotion no matter how badly I do running through the $500 I will pick up in the next two visits.
As usual with loss rebates, you need to read the details in the brochure you can get at the players club desk. (No details online.) There are different procedures for out-of-town visitors and locals but both require multiple visits to collect the full rebate. And if you want to be sure to get in on this, you need to do it rather quickly. They said it could end at any time, so before you make a special trip, call to verify that this promotion is still running.
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Yes, if you saw a red Mercedes convertible with the license plate “FRUGAL” on a Vegas street, you can correctly assume that is Brad driving . Honk if you pass us!
In response to Jim Higgins: I didn’t actually care about the precise date the Revel folded up because my point was valid regardless. They ran a promo, attracted players, and then reneged on the promises they made re that promo. I don’t know exactly when Stalin died, but my saying he was a real meanie would still be correct even if I said he died in March when he really died in June.
I also stand by my reference to “Atlantic Shitty.” More than thirty years after Resorts opened the first Boardwalk casino amid grandiose promises of gambling revitalizing the sinking hulk that was AC, most of the city is still a bombed-out wasteland that resembles Berlin immediately after WWII. Walk inland two blocks from the glittering Boardwalk and your life is in danger–even at high noon. The casinos never intended AC to be an overnight, let alone weekend destination, so hotel room offerings are sparse and expensive (I think I paid $135 for a midweek single back in 2003). And of course, the entire place features the lack of customer service and outright rudeness that is a hallmark of the East Coast mid-Atlantic area. Never have I had a worse experience; I’m never going back–and I WON $1700 while I was there!
And Jim buddy, you seem to have utterly missed Jean’s point. Her publishing a comment on her blog doesn’t mean that she agrees with that comment, only that it doesn’t violate any of the guidelines she stated. Also, it’s HER blog, not YOURS! Which comments she chooses to include is her own affair; she can even violate her own rules if she wishes to!
The news that you will not be reading Jean’s column any more is no doubt a devastating blow to her, and you should reconsider your momentous and tremendously significant decision.
I’ve read your column for many years but I won’t be reading it again. Apparently you “approve” of Kevin referring to Atlantic City as Atlantic Shitty. So you can’t offend an individual or group but you can offend an entire city??!?! You should be ashamed of yourself, especially since you have often written about your fond memories of Caesars AC and the 7 stars lounge at Harrah’s. He isn’t even accurate about his comments on Revel. They closed Labor Day weekend of last year, which is hardly “spring.” I am very disappointed in you.
If I wanted to spring for a vanity plate, mine would read “AKQJ9” to reflect the hand that I have become a positive wizard at obtaining–suited, of course, though I don’t know how to connote that on a license plate–maybe paint in a spade symbol? Probably illegal, though in Nevada, there’s really only one law–“Don’t put your finger in the casino pie!” Many violators of that rule have had their fingers chopped off, usually metaphorically but sometimes literally.
Loss rebate programs are hard to quantify in terms of value. What must be factored in, moreover, is the distinctly nonzero probability that the casino will simply renege on the program in between when you suffer the loss and when you become eligible to collect it. The most recent notorious example was the Revel in Atlantic Shitty, which scampered off with several million owed in loss rebates before suffering an extremely timely death this spring. But FIVE Las Vegas casinos, two of which still exist, have reneged on loss rebate programs in the recent past as well. So I advise anyone to be VERY careful before participating in a program that requires any kind of substantial investment on your part (I just got cheated in such a promo at Atlantis in Reno, which surprised me since they have generally been straight shooters in the past).
The 18% gratuity scam is yet another example of how federal law does not apply in Nevada, at least as far as the casinos and law enforcement agencies are concerned. In point of fact, a mandatory gratuity is an oxymoron, as a gratuity has to be voluntary or it’s simply an additional fee. And OF COURSE the casino puts the entire 18% into an employee tip pool (sound of choked laughter).
If this comment is too long, Jean, please simply omit all the punctuation andspacesinbetweenwords
Jean, do you ever question management regarding the added gratuity? Being from Texas, I carry a copy of an email from our Comptroller that explains two items that come up in restaurants: (1) no mandatory gratuity, and if they charge a “service charge,” they have to add it to employees’ withholding or it is illegal. And (2) no state tax can be charged on the amount of a coupon, including Groupons. I find this very handy to ensure that these establishments don’t over-charge us.