First glance at 2015 Seven Stars: Signature Events announced

Caesars has announced its four 2015 Signature Events that Seven Stars members can choose from. Here they are:

http://i58.tinypic.com/ao9lk6.jpg

Ugh.

Let's break this down.

First off, the highly popular, fully-paid cruises of 2014 are gone. I guess NCL decided it wasn't worth their while.

But look at the dates and the places associated with those dates:

New Orleans in June? Yuck. I've been there in June. It was so humid that my glasses immediately fogged up as soon as I stepped out the door of the casino.

Las Vegas in August? Again, yuck. One of the two hottest months in Vegas, and it's after the World Series of Poker is already long gone.

Lake Tahoe in September? Not so much yuck, but.... blah. No skiing. Already getting too cool for summery activities. I guess it will be fine in early September, but much of the day is under 60 degrees in late September, and the nighttime is 30s-40s. Exact date is not known. Notice the snow in the background in the Tahoe picture. Highly misleading.

Atlantic City in June? That's the only one where the weather will likely be nice.

As usual, transportation to these destinations is NOT paid.

It is not clear what activities or freeplay will be given.

For whatever reason, they will not tell anyone the exact dates of these events, or perhaps they haven't even decided yet.

If you recall 2014, there was a fiasco with the Las Vegas signature event where the freeplay being provided was far inferior to people's regular Vegas freeplay offers, causing annoyed players to eschew the event and simply book their regular offers instead. This led to the Vegas signature event being embarrassingly underbooked, and they made the 11th hour decision to allow double-dipping with the signature event.

I wouldn't be surprised if they make the same stupid mistake in 2015.

With only one exception -- Las Vegas in 2014 -- I have never been to any Signature Event. Even the Vegas event turned out to be nothing worthwhile -- except it was the weekend when I hit two royals on the free play I had including $500 won in some drawing that I didn't even know I was entered into.

I have never really sought after trips or cruises or anything else. I'd rather have some free play than any kind of event.

The 2015 Signature Events don't interest me at all. I didn't even bother keeping the email with the info -- just trashed it. And what good does any Signature Event have if travel isn't included? Make a big trip for a gang bang party? No thanks.

I totally agree -- just give me the freeplay and let me choose when and where to use it.

This is again where Caesars is clueless regarding what its clientele wants.

They think that "activities" like this are impressive to Seven Stars players, when in reality, these players just want flexible comps that they can easily use, such as food credits or freeplay.

They have some idiot marketers in charge of some of the Seven Stars benefits, and these people seem to believe that created a summer-camp-like atmosphere will excite us.

They actually believed that people would choose the Vegas signature event with silly little activities over a normal offer of freeplay at the same time.

With that said, I did make the most of the Vegas signature event last year. I thought that having my 4-year-old son with me would be a hindrance, but in actuality, that's what made the events better for me. He enjoyed bowling for the first time in his life, liked riding the high roller, liked the little food receptions, etc.

But honestly, it was nothing special.

The cruises, while logistically flawed from what I hear (surprise, surprise), were actually a nice value, as they also paid your taxes and non-commisioned fare, meaning the cruise was truly free (unlike the usual Seven Stars cruise benefit). However, they sold out before it was clear to everyone how to book them, and the dates/itineraries were very rigid. I didn't take this option simply because I already had a cruise planned for August, and another one so soon was too much.

Honestly, they should just scrap the signature event, signature experiences, and annual gift, and focus the program more upon rewarding people with comps they will want and actually use.

Alan has said before that the program is somewhat designed to make sure only a small percentage of people can use most of the benefits, which might be true. But that's a mistake.

I have a feeling that these dates were selected by some idiot who believed that Seven Stars customers are too stupid to know the difference between peak and off-peak seasons at these locations. So they picked dates where the hotels typically don't sell well. That's a mistake. Why not pick April, May, or October for Vegas and New Orleans? Why not do the Tahoe one in December (or January-February the following year) so people can ski? They are cheaping out in all the wrong places.

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Originally Posted by Dan Druff

I have a feeling that these dates were selected by some idiot who believed that Seven Stars customers are too stupid to know the difference between peak and off-peak seasons at these locations. So they picked dates where the hotels typically don't sell well. That's a mistake. Why not pick April, May, or October for Vegas and New Orleans? Why not do the Tahoe one in December (or January-February the following year) so people can ski? They are cheaping out in all the wrong places.

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It's simple business 101 which you seem te have a hard time understanding/accepting. It is a perfectly sensible choice for them to select the dates they did. They can make good money during peak periods without inviting all their 7-stars to stay for free. From a business point of view it makes complete and utter sense. You might not like it but at the same time, people will always complain, even about free stuff.

To make a long story short: most 7-stars are "gambling degenerates", not people like you milking the system. Most heavy gamblers will take advantage of almost every free offer you throw at them. They need little incentive to gamble. They might complain about the content and timing of the offer but they will take it anyhow. At the same time, CET will make more money during the peak seasons because they'll have more paying customers (that will be glad to pay full price on rooms as welll).

Just my two cents....

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Originally Posted by Dan Druff

This is again where Caesars is clueless regarding what its clientele wants.

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Caesars is far from clueless, Dan. Caesars wants to offer lots of things and probably designs them hoping they won't be used. As you noted above:

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Originally Posted by Dan Druff

Alan has said before that the program is somewhat designed to make sure only a small percentage of people can use most of the benefits, which might be true. But that's a mistake.

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It's no mistake.

The auto industry was famous for its planned obsolescence and the casino industry is famous for its planned uselessness. The MBAs pat themselves on the back when they say "look, we made available $100-million of offers, and only $25 was used in this fiscal year. Aren't we geniuses!"

I can't agree, Alan.

It is fine to promote benefits which are difficult to complete redeem (such as numerous offers per month to out of state customers, who are unlikely to be able to show up for all of them), but it's a mistake to offer "insulting" benefits to people, which make the customer feel unappreciated.

It's one of those cases where it's better to do nothing than to do it wrong.

Vegas_lover, you don't have to be a bonus whore like me to be irritated that these events are taking place at inconvenient times of the year. This is especially true because Seven Stars can get free rooms at ANY time of the year, so many will just skip the "bad time of year" events and instead travel to Vegas/New Orleans/Tahoe when they will actually enjoy being there more. And it's fine if they skip the events because they can't make it or have little interest, but not fine if they skip them because they notice CET is intentionally scheduling them during "low season".

Imagine if you were a loyal customer at a high end steakhouse, and at Christmas time, you got a card thanking you for your patronage, along with a $2 coupon for your next meal, only good Monday-Thursday before 6pm. You would probably feel pissed. A card by itself would have been a nice gesture, but a $2 coupon good only during low-traffic hours (when your typical bill is $250) is an insult to high-end clientele. The moral of the story is that you have to do these "appreciation gestures" correctly and respectfully, or otherwise they backfire.

The annual cruise is a good example of a gesture which not everyone will redeem, but looks good for CET.

(The fact that people have to pay for non-commisioned fare and port taxes is kind of obnoxious for something promoted as "free", but we'll ignore that here.)

Some like Alan don't enjoy cruising, but they at least can see it's a valuable benefit and therefore can respect CET for providing it (even if CET is getting it for free as a marketing partnership.)

The whole point is to make your best customers feel appreciated, not to make it look like you want to constantly cut corners when providing them their benefits, and definitely not to make redeeming these benefits stressful or complicated.

Dan I can't agree with you. There are probably thousands of 7Stars who love these offers. I saw them packed into the Linq for those ridiculous appetizers and RC drawings at the Vegas 7Stars experience. It doesn't mean we love them but others aren't as spoiled or demanding.

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Originally Posted by Dan Druff

This is again where Caesars is clueless regarding what its clientele wants.

They think that "activities" like this are impressive to Seven Stars players, when in reality, these players just want flexible comps that they can easily use, such as food credits or freeplay.

They have some idiot marketers in charge of some of the Seven Stars benefits, and these people seem to believe that created a summer-camp-like atmosphere will excite us.

They actually believed that people would choose the Vegas signature event with silly little activities over a normal offer of freeplay at the same time.

With that said, I did make the most of the Vegas signature event last year. I thought that having my 4-year-old son with me would be a hindrance, but in actuality, that's what made the events better for me. He enjoyed bowling for the first time in his life, liked riding the high roller, liked the little food receptions, etc.

But honestly, it was nothing special.

The cruises, while logistically flawed from what I hear (surprise, surprise), were actually a nice value, as they also paid your taxes and non-commisioned fare, meaning the cruise was truly free (unlike the usual Seven Stars cruise benefit). However, they sold out before it was clear to everyone how to book them, and the dates/itineraries were very rigid. I didn't take this option simply because I already had a cruise planned for August, and another one so soon was too much.

Honestly, they should just scrap the signature event, signature experiences, and annual gift, and focus the program more upon rewarding people with comps they will want and actually use.

Alan has said before that the program is somewhat designed to make sure only a small percentage of people can use most of the benefits, which might be true. But that's a mistake.

I have a feeling that these dates were selected by some idiot who believed that Seven Stars customers are too stupid to know the difference between peak and off-peak seasons at these locations. So they picked dates where the hotels typically don't sell well. That's a mistake. Why not pick April, May, or October for Vegas and New Orleans? Why not do the Tahoe one in December (or January-February the following year) so people can ski? They are cheaping out in all the wrong places.

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In my opinion you feel way too entitled Dan. Think about the amount of complaining you would do if you wouldn't get any offers at all. A business is a business and needs to make money. CET hasn't been doing a very great job at that so it's time to face the reality. You don't have to take any offer but maybe, just maybe, you could appreciate reveicing offers. It's still free you know.....

Are you like this with Christmas gifts as well? Don't want to create a heated debate here but I just think your expectations are off the chart.

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Originally Posted by Vegas_lover

In my opinion you feel way too entitled Dan. Think about the amount of complaining you would do if you wouldn't get any offers at all. A business is a business and needs to make money. CET hasn't been doing a very great job at that so it's time to face the reality. You don't have to take any offer but maybe, just maybe, you could appreciate reveicing offers. It's still free you know.....

Are you like this with Christmas gifts as well? Don't want to create a heated debate here but I just think your expectations are off the chart.

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Nothing a casino gives is actually free.

I am not being entitled at all.

I am not complaining on my own behalf.

I am complaining on the behalf of non-bonus-whore Seven Stars members who find certain policies/benefits/offers to be insulting or needlessly burdensome.

Alan, remember the fiasco with the "Gas for a Year"? Why did CET design it around that stupid FRN card, instead of just giving out $960 in Shell gas cards? Nobody thought it through, nobody understood it, and anyone attempting to take advantage of the program found themselves unable to redeem it properly.

You can't tell me that they are designing these things with a realistic expectation on how to make the customer happy.

What about the example from last year, where the Signature Event in Vegas had freeplay that was much inferior to the normal offers people got?

How about the silly policies regarding having to use RCs before discretionary comps, which drive casual high-limit players like Aaron crazy?

These are all big marketing blunders.

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Originally Posted by Dan Druff

Nothing a casino gives is actually free.

I am not being entitled at all.

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This is where you are acting entitled. The casino's don't have to give you anything but the normal service any hotel should give you while visiting. The fact you dump your money into machines does not mean you are entitled to receive any sort of reward. There are many casino's around the world, without a hotel & restaurants connected to it. There are also many casino's that do not give anything in return for your play (expect for a free drink). The fact that large gaming corporaties (in Vegas and other major cities) do, does not mean you are entitled to the perks they give. They can stop alltogether whenever they please. And if all those companies stop tomorrow there is nothing you can do about it except not giving them any play anymore.

You say you are not complaining on your own behalf. But at the same time you express your complaints in a way louder voice than most gamblers do. Up to the point where it gets predictable and over the top imo. Up to the point where I can't even imagine you enjoy your trips to CET properties because you always come back with more complaints than compliments. Why not stop gambling altogether, then there will be no reason to complain anymore? Sounds like a plan that would make your life a lot more enjoyable.

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Originally Posted by Dan Druff

Nothing a casino gives is actually free.

I am not being entitled at all.

I am not complaining on my own behalf.

I am complaining on the behalf of non-bonus-whore Seven Stars members who find certain policies/benefits/offers to be insulting or needlessly burdensome.

Alan, remember the fiasco with the "Gas for a Year"? Why did CET design it around that stupid FRN card, instead of just giving out $960 in Shell gas cards? Nobody thought it through, nobody understood it, and anyone attempting to take advantage of the program found themselves unable to redeem it properly.

You can't tell me that they are designing these things with a realistic expectation on how to make the customer happy.

What about the example from last year, where the Signature Event in Vegas had freeplay that was much inferior to the normal offers people got?

How about the silly policies regarding having to use RCs before discretionary comps, which drive casual high-limit players like Aaron crazy?

These are all big marketing blunders.

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Today at a local casino they were giving out scratch offs to qualified players. So I picked up my scratch off--you have to rub off no more than 6 spots on the card. So a bunch of us are standing there and not one of us has a winner. You can put the losing ticket in a bin for a drawing in a few weeks. But I said let's all rub off all the spots and see if there were any possible winners. We all did so and there wasn't one possible winner.

It did not piss us off or cause us to go to another casino. It just made us all laugh.

You might try that Dan.

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Originally Posted by regnis

Today at a local casino they were giving out scratch offs to qualified players. So I picked up my scratch off--you have to rub off no more than 6 spots on the card. So a bunch of us are standing there and not one of us has a winner. You can put the losing ticket in a bin for a drawing in a few weeks. But I said let's all rub off all the spots and see if there were any possible winners. We all did so and there wasn't one possible winner.

It did not piss us off or cause us to go to another casino. It just made us all laugh.

You might try that Dan.

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This just sounds like a little extra they give while you're there, so it's no big deal.

When people come out for an event or a promo, then it needs to be done right.

And people should be receiving "offers" which are insulting.

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Originally Posted by Vegas_lover

This is where you are acting entitled. The casino's don't have to give you anything but the normal service any hotel should give you while visiting. The fact you dump your money into machines does not mean you are entitled to receive any sort of reward. There are many casino's around the world, without a hotel & restaurants connected to it. There are also many casino's that do not give anything in return for your play (expect for a free drink). The fact that large gaming corporaties (in Vegas and other major cities) do, does not mean you are entitled to the perks they give. They can stop alltogether whenever they please. And if all those companies stop tomorrow there is nothing you can do about it except not giving them any play anymore.

You say you are not complaining on your own behalf. But at the same time you express your complaints in a way louder voice than most gamblers do. Up to the point where it gets predictable and over the top imo. Up to the point where I can't even imagine you enjoy your trips to CET properties because you always come back with more complaints than compliments. Why not stop gambling altogether, then there will be no reason to complain anymore? Sounds like a plan that would make your life a lot more enjoyable.

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I don't understand the point of the above lecture.

You are acting as if the casino is giving me something out of the goodness of their hearts, like a gracious friend serving me dinner when I visit his house.

The comps and benefits given by large casinos are essentially a marketing trick in order to make gamblers feel better about losing money.

Rather than walking out empty handed and feeling like you wasted your hard earned money for no return, you can look at your "comps" and "perks", and feel like you got a form of a consolation prize.

And if they don't give you these comps, you will go next door to the casino that does.

So, no, I am not feeling entitled, because I don't feel that casino comps are a gift or a nice thing they're doing for me. It's all a carefully researched business transaction.

Dan I think the reason why you have so many critics is that you boast of zero play in 2014 yet demand comps and offers and you criticize the offers you do get. Meanwhile others have played real money and wonder how you can think you're entitled to anything without 2014 play?

Now I understand how you are simply working the system. Unfortunately there are those who think that instead of working the system you are hurting others by taking advantage of the system.

Me? I think you can only get so much before the system catches on. Good luck with your strategy.

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Originally Posted by Dan Druff

I don't understand the point of the above lecture.

You are acting as if the casino is giving me something out of the goodness of their hearts, like a gracious friend serving me dinner when I visit his house.

The comps and benefits given by large casinos are essentially a marketing trick in order to make gamblers feel better about losing money.

Rather than walking out empty handed and feeling like you wasted your hard earned money for no return, you can look at your "comps" and "perks", and feel like you got a form of a consolation prize.

And if they don't give you these comps, you will go next door to the casino that does.

So, no, I am not feeling entitled, because I don't feel that casino comps are a gift or a nice thing they're doing for me. It's all a carefully researched business transaction.

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I'll just leave this discussion with the observation you clearly haven't been outside your country much yet. I have just one advice for you: stop gambling alltogether. Life will become a party and you won't feel sour anymore all the time.

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Originally Posted by Alan Mendelson

Dan I think the reason why you have so many critics is that you boast of zero play in 2014 yet demand comps and offers and you criticize the offers you do get. Meanwhile others have played real money and wonder how you can think you're entitled to anything without 2014 play?

Now I understand how you are simply working the system. Unfortunately there are those who think that instead of working the system you are hurting others by taking advantage of the system.

Me? I think you can only get so much before the system catches on. Good luck with your strategy.

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Amen!

Plus the fact that a Vegas offer in August isn't all that bad. Yes the weather is hot, so what? Millions of people travel to sunny (hot destinations) during summer for a vacation and pay big money for it without complaints. Put on some sun cream and jump in the pool. And another bonus about Vegas, all those beautiful casinos have AC and so do the rooms. In other words, lighten up Dan. Life is what you make of it.

New Orleans in June, too humid. You kinda wonder why people even live there? A lot of tourist destinations are humid the entire year. Holland with temperatures in the high 80's is humid as hell during the summer. Still, that doesn't stop tourists from visiting my country. Turkey's most busy month (tourism) is August, it's so humid the air feels like a warm wet blanket with temperatures close to or over 100 degrees.

Lake Tahoe in September, ah no skiing and too cold for summer stuff. The area is beautiful but let's just forget about that because we can't swim or ski.

Dan, nothing seems to be right. You're traveling to these places to stay at Hotel-Casino-Resorts. Those offers go out to their most frequent PLAYERS. What do you think they expect you to do when you take one of these offers? How come when Dan doesn't like the offer, it automatically means nobody is going to like the offer (since you are complaining on behalf of others).

To make it short Dan, you have every right to hate your offers. Take them, leave them, do as you please. But don't talk for all players out there and introduce a new trick to your routine once in a while. I can't talk for others but it's no fun for me to always read complaints, complaints and more complaints. In other words: it's getting old.

I truly, geniunly don't understand why you give CET any business. You always stay at their properties yet you always complain about them and you complain even more about the offers they throw at you. You seem to really hate them. You reach seven stars by playing VP while you don't even really like to play VP. It would be too much of a burden for me. I truly don't get it. This is basically what you're doing:
Spend a lot of money, playing a game you don't like for many hours to reach some sort of status that gives you a series of crappy offers you don't like only because the entire deal will be +EV in the end.

Maybe it's just me but I appreciate Dan's posts. He gives great hints to get the best value. The goal for me is to get the maximum comps I am entitled as they are things I enjoy and don't play extra for them. I don't interpret Dan's posts as bitterness but just how to play it against CET. Make no mistake, we are in a FRIENDLY war with the CET empire. It is trying to get the most from us, and we should try it get the most from it- subject to CETs own rules and procedures. Of course it is not just Dan, but other members of this forum I learn from.

By way of example I am on an NCL cruise as I type and combined my 7 Stars Retreat flight to New Orleans and converted my 50,000 total reward points and converted to free play. All this I learned from this Dan and others from this forum.

FAB

Dan does provide good information, however, keep in mind that there is a "flip side" that he is overlooking. That flip side is that he is a persona non-grata. He doesn't have a host that will deal with him. He has been cut out of mailers and offers. Sure, he is maximizing everything that a 7 Stars can maximize but there is nothing else.

Now, I won't criticize Dan for that, because that's how he chooses to play the system.

He doesn't seem to care that he has been dropped from the mailing lists for other offers. He doesn't have a relationship with a host that would take care of him in the case of illness -- i.e. the "Gatorade case." On the other hand, twice in the past year when I was ill not only did my host extend my room for two nights at no charge, but my host also sent up food and Gatorade and whatever else I needed.

My point in mentioning all this is that the "system" can't be milked forever. I had this battle over at the Las Vegas Advisor with players who claimed that with reckless abandon how they could check into multiple hotels during the same weekend and take free play offers. Sure, you can get away with that for a certain period of time -- and then you can't anymore. You have to keep this in mind -- you can get away with murder until you get caught, and the casino computers really won't let you get away with murder (figuratively speaking, of course).

I would also suggest that most of our readers here are not 7 Stars and what Dan is talking about is something that most "regular players" cannot duplicate or come close to achieving. They are better off following the "rules" and the "procedures." I can only say that wise-guys finish last.

I think if you are a straight shooter you can do very well within the Caesars system. The hosts are not stupid. And the hosts report to managers who are even smarter than the hosts. You can't trick them.

Some of you might not have been around when Caesars and Total Rewards first merged and Caesars Palace was flooded with "Diamonds from Tunica" who demanded the world. Those "Diamonds from Tunica" quickly found out they weren't going to get it at Caesars Palace, and when a host was "fed up" with an over-demanding player they were simply labeled a "Diamond from Tunica."

I have also been critical about Dan's "play strategy" where he played ZERO in 2014 and now must attain 150,000 tier points quickly to maintain his 7 Stars status. That would be a lot of pressure for me to play so much in such a short period of time -- and I think it would be too much pressure on most players as well. It is not a good idea to compress your play into a short period of time unless you are financially able to do so. If unprepared you could find yourself with big losses in a short period of time.

Personally, I have had my best winning sessions when I was not pressured to play. Being pressured to play within a certain time frame reminds me of the saying
"scared money never wins."

But again, I wish the best to Dan. I just want to caution that what Dan does is good for Dan, but probably will not work for 90% or more of the people who are members of Total Rewards.

What you guys don't seem to understand -- or perhaps understand but are intentionally avoiding acknowledging -- is that what's good about Total Rewards is also what's bad about Total Rewards.

What do I mean?

Total Rewards (and CET in general) is very disorganized, full of problems, full of contradictions, and suffering from poor communication both between departments and toward players. It is also governed by certain petty rules which can serve as an irritant to the Seven Stars high rollers.

That's what's bad about it, and there's no getting around it. CET is very out of touch with the wants and needs of their best Total Rewards members. Look, it's February 16 and we still have no idea what the 2015 benefits are for a program that began on January 1!

What's good about TR is that the same incompetence that makes the program bad is also what makes it possible to maximize benefits and gain yourself a lot of perks with relatively minimal play.

By contrast, MLife (MGM) is much better organized and much less frustrating for people to deal with, but it's a lot tougher to game, and the top tier benefits are far inferior to Seven Stars.

If I hated CET, I wouldn't stay there. I like certain CET properties a lot, and I especially like that they have a wide network of hotels around the country.

The fact that they own the WSOP is very convenient for me as a poker player, as I get priority lines (important during the WSOP), 30% rakeback on wsop.com, and can stay right there at the Rio where the action takes place.

I made another post here comparing MLife and Total Rewards, and stated clearly that Total Rewards is far superior at the top level.

And do I hate video poker? No. I actually like it, but I don't like it enough to play recreationally and lose a lot of money doing it. But I actually enjoy the VP play when I have to do it to earn my status. If I hated doing it, I wouldn't put all those hours of play into earning Seven Stars.

My complaints here are often from the voice of "normal" Seven Stars players who aren't out to work any system, and aren't bonus whoring. I know many people like that, and they all tell me various forms of the same thing. Even Alan has expressed frustration about many fails of CET's in various posts out here.

Vegas_lover, if you don't like my posts, then don't read them. I don't know what else to tell you. I am stating my true opinion on these matters, as well as providing useful facts. I'm not trolling anyone here, nor am I throwing personal insults around. At the same time, I'm not going to hold back my opinion simply because it bothers some people.

Dan, fewer than 10% of Total Rewards players are 7 stars. Your advice and strategy is meaningless for everyone else -- and in fact could damage them if they made any attempt to follow it.

CET and TR and not disorganized -- they just aren't organized around your preferences.

It's been established for years that the new rules come out about April 1st because that's their fiscal year.

Keep doing what you're doing if you think it's best for you.

Dan, we will probably never see eye to eye on this subject. I said what I wanted to say, you responded with your view on reality, we don't agree, life goes on. Good luck.

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Originally Posted by Alan Mendelson

Dan, fewer than 10% of Total Rewards players are 7 stars. Your advice and strategy is meaningless for everyone else -- and in fact could damage them if they made any attempt to follow it.

CET and TR and not disorganized -- they just aren't organized around your preferences.

It's been established for years that the new rules come out about April 1st because that's their fiscal year.

Keep doing what you're doing if you think it's best for you.

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Do you really believe what you're writing?

You have complained many times about boneheaded things CET has done.

Yes, the TR benefits year starts April 1, but the earning starts January 1. You don't think people should know what benefits they're playing for?

Of course they do boneheaded things. So does every company. I just want to be sure my transplant surgeon does everything right -- that's what matters.

You face a personal problem about the rules of TR not being made public before April 1, because you have to decide in the first three months of this year if you will be playing for renewing. This is because you didn't play at all in 2014.

Others, however, who already played in 2014 may have already earned their 7 Stars renewal and not seeing the official rules before April 1st doesn't matter.

And then there is the issue of just how important is 7 Stars, anyway?

To me it's not important. To you it appears to be a driving force and this is because you are focused on comps. I am not focused on comps. I am focused on having a good time -- and of course not losing.

There is no pressure on me to play between now and April 1st, but you are feeling the pressure. That's too bad. You should never go to a casino feeling pressure.

Dan, you do things your way because they suit you. But as I said, your way is not a good way for the rest of the world. Really -- the rest of the world.

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Originally Posted by Alan Mendelson

You should never go to a casino feeling pressure.

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Alan: I don't mean to become a forceful interlocutor in your discussions here with Dan, but I did want to say you bring up a very wise truism about casino visits.

A brief story: During my last year of college I went far away to an Indian casino and went on a 3 month $45-$50,000 winning streak at blackjack (basic strategy & hunches on bet sizing). I was comfortable betting green chips mostly ($25-$150).

A final huge $10,000 winning day inspired me to greedily start betting black and purple chips (generally $100-$1,000). It was outside my comfort zone. Two months later that $50,000 was entirely gone and I was digging into my own pocket to keep playing.

The pressure I was feeling was enormous. I was too young and too impressionable back then!

Count Room,

Thanks for sharing. I didn't read this entire thread however, I just want to say this..... "Scared money never wins."

Good luck in the future.

Quad AAAA's

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Originally Posted by Quad AAAA's

Count Room,

Thanks for sharing. I didn't read this entire thread however, I just want to say this..... "Scared money never wins."

Good luck in the future.

Quad AAAA's

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Thanks Quad AAA's, but it was a long, long time ago. 1993-1994. I barely bought my first laptop computer and the internet was starting to come out for the masses. $50,000 was really serious money back then, especially to college kids! Just in over my head at the time. The excitement of winning so much overtook me and I started to feel invincible after scoring the final $10,000.

One blackjack story. I'm not a blackjack player, but years ago I was at the MGM over a 4th of July weekend and I did exceptionally well at craps. I was up more than $5K -- after more than 30 hours of continuous play. (Yes, I made quick runs to the men's room and I subsisted on orange juice.)

Finally, after my 30 hour run at craps I decided it was time to go to sleep. But... right by the elevators was this $5 blackjack game and one seat was open and the folks at the table were laughing and having a good time, so I thought, why not join them for a hundred bucks? After all, I had more than $5K in my pocket.

So I sat down.

FOUR HOURS LATER one of the dealers came back from her shift and said "you're doing well." And I said, "yeah, I'm up a hundred."
"No you're not honey," the dealer said.
"Yes I am," I said. "Let me show you. I have them in stacks of ten." And as I pointed to the stacks I said "here's $50, and here's $50, and...."
And the dealer cut me off and said "honey, those aren't red chips. Those (she points to one stack) are greens, and the others are blacks."

Well, after 34+ hours of play I was so exhausted I couldn't even tell what color chips I was playing. And it was one incredible run. Realizing that it really was time to leave, the other players at the table were telling me that I was pushing out stacks of red and winning and getting greens and betting those, and then blacks.

See what happens when there is NO PRESSURE on you?

Alan: You were so tired you color-blinded your way to a big win? HAH! I need to try that sometime...Just be thankful you didn't have to drive home.

I used to have marathon sessions like that with table games as well when I was young and still a smoker. 24-48 hours. Now with video poker it's seldom more than 4 hours per session, 8 hours or more is very rare. The casino cigarette smoke just kills me after a few hours now and I am left gasping for fresh air.

Not entirely related, but a few months ago I played a hand of online poker in my sleep and won.

I had 66, but had fallen asleep and was not conscious, though my eyes were somehow open and I was still going through the motions of betting the whole way. I got to the river and woke up and saw a board that wasn't great for 66, something like Q9742. I had zero memory of ever having 66 and realized I literally played the hand in my sleep. I did a quick calculation of pot size (it was limit holdem) and realized I had been betting the whole way and was not raised by anyone. I was also out of position. I figured the best move at that point was to still bet, did so, and the only remaining opponent folded.

I seriously played every street of that 66 hand (except the river) in an unconscious-but-eyes-open state, and still WON!

Dan... I have played a lot of online poker (never for money, always free tournaments) and I can tell you that it is nothing but "bluff city." Those online players bet anything and everything -- any two cards. And if any player has an ace they will stay in the hand till the river.

Dates announced for 3 of the events:

New Orleans June 11-14
Atlantic City June 25-28
Las Vegas August 13-16

Tahoe dates in September still up in the air.