Most efficient way to maintain Seven Stars -- earn it once every 2 years?

I will be honest. All problems aside, I really like the Seven Stars benefits.

The free hotel rooms any time is great (though I wish it were easier to get 2 rooms), I enjoy the $500 dinner, I like the cruise benefit, and the annual trip gets me off my ass and forces me to plan a nice vacation that I always end up being happy I took. (I always plan a real trip "around" the casino part, usually taking a mini-road trip.)

Also, I get 30% rakeback on WSOP.com, which really adds up. I don't have to play any minimum number of hands per month, which is great.

Finally, I enjoy being able to use the Seven Stars status to get squeezed into full restaurants, and various other small perks.

However, I found out somewhat painfully in 2013 that it's not easy to maintain Seven Stars cheaply. Even if you play low-expected-loss video poker, the variance is still huge, and I am just never lucky with stuff like that. I still have never hit a royal flush in my life in video poker (not kidding).

I strongly considered giving up on Seven Stars after this year. Indeed, I have like 74 tier credits at the moment.

Then I realized something.

The way Caesar's currently has their Total Rewards program set up, you can maintain any status you want by simply playing every other year.

I will explain.

Say you earned Seven Stars in 2013.

You get all of the benefits of Seven Stars for the remainder of 2013, plus all of 2014. This remains true even if you don't play at all in 2014.

You then retain your Seven Stars until March 31, 2015. If you still haven't played, you will be dropped back to gold on April 1.

But wait! What if you don't play at all in 2014, but rack up 150k tier credits between January 1 and March 31, 2015. You will have re-earned Seven Stars, and will not have lost out on any of the benefits! So you will have zero "gap" in your status, you will have kept all the same yearly benefits, and your Seven Stars will now be good until March 31, 2017! This is because Seven Stars status earned that calendar year is good for the remainder of the year, plus the next 15 months after that.

Therefore, I could simply earn 150k tier credits between January 1st and March 31st every other year, and would have Seven Stars consistently throughout the entire time!

I believe my theory is correct. If indeed this is true, I won't bother worrying about renewing it in 2014, and simply do so early next year, and will repeat this every 2 years -- or until they change the policy.

Thoughts?

Dan: I can't comment on the Seven Stars program since I only play Caesars on infrequent East & West coast trips, but otherwise I'll just be blunt and say that you're not catching your fair share of royals. Happens to the best of us...You can get two of them in less than a half-hour or go 500,000+ hands without seeing one (I've experienced both ends of the spectrum).

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Originally Posted by Dan Druff

I could simply earn 150k tier credits between January 1st and March 31st every other year, and would have Seven Stars consistently throughout the entire time!

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You are correct and keep in mind that with the bonuses you actually can play less and still get the 150,000 tier points. This is why I couldn't understand what you were doing playing a VP game that required $50 coin in per tier credit? And you should stick with 8/5 Bonus or Aces and Faces (widely available at Rincon).

Again, you need 5,000 tier points per 24-hour period to get the 10,000 bonus tier points. So you need 10-days of video poker play with $50,000 coin in.
Playing a 99.17% return game each $50,000 of coin in will theoretically cost you $415.
Over ten days that's a price of $4,150.

The only "glitch" in your plan is that not all 7 Stars are treated equally. In the fine print the automatic hotel rooms are no longer automatic (I just got my 7 Stars info for the new year). And there are still out of pocket costs for all of those 7 Stars extras and bonuses and experiences that you enjoy.

Maybe he should have played dream card longer. I hit 2 ROYALS in an 80 minute timespan

Hello, Dan:
This is what I did for last 4 years...I still have a very busy family life with 2 minor children, thus to find time for a casino trip is a challenge to me sometimes...but I had a few nice vacations out of my 7 stars status...a family vacations as well 2 rooms at AC in a busy summer season not a bad deal.... do whatever is best for you.

An even still if your not hitting royals you can always go for 2500 coin DEUCES.
Playing loose deuces wild. I hit this one Tue night

Dan

Don’t forget you have to be invited to Seven Stars and it looks like it is reviewed every year. They use terms like “to be considered for an invite the following year” all over the rules.

It would suck if you earned the 150,000 TC in the first 3 month of the year only to be stuck at Diamond. I could see CET doing this to someone that uses more benefits than CET profits from them. (or posts about it in a public forum)

I would be curious to see if they don’t “invite” someone to Seven Stars for this.

I think the only reason for not getting 7 Stars would be not paying your marker or punching a dealer.

On another forum there was a claim that an AP was denied 7 Stars but I never saw any proof and I don't believe it.

This wording about inviting you is just "advertising talk" to pump it up and your ego. Gamble enough and you'll be "invited".

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Originally Posted by Alan Mendelson

You are correct and keep in mind that with the bonuses you actually can play less and still get the 150,000 tier points. This is why I couldn't understand what you were doing playing a VP game that required $50 coin in per tier credit? And you should stick with 8/5 Bonus or Aces and Faces (widely available at Rincon).

Again, you need 5,000 tier points per 24-hour period to get the 10,000 bonus tier points. So you need 10-days of video poker play with $50,000 coin in.
Playing a 99.17% return game each $50,000 of coin in will theoretically cost you $415.
Over ten days that's a price of $4,150.

The only "glitch" in your plan is that not all 7 Stars are treated equally. In the fine print the automatic hotel rooms are no longer automatic (I just got my 7 Stars info for the new year). And there are still out of pocket costs for all of those 7 Stars extras and bonuses and experiences that you enjoy.

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I was trying the 99.96% VP game because, even earning tier credits 5x slower, my expected loss would only be $100 per 5000 base tier credits. That would mean just a $1000 expected loss if I played 10 sessions of that, got my tier bonuses, and made Seven Stars again.

However, I determined that the variance was just too damn high.

Anyway, can you please explain how "automatic hotel rooms are no longer automatic"? You are saying that all properties can now turn me down for a free room, even with 48 hours notice?

I'm not worried about the out of pocket costs for some of the other benefits. They are still a great overall value if you use them properly.

Dan there is a footnote about exceptions for the free rooms. They can say no. Below are photos of the Seven Stars information publication for 2014 that we all just received. Notice the key words: "subject to availability" and "blackout dates may apply" and at some hotels Caesars might not even be able to offer you a free room because they don't own or operate the hotel. And then there is that great "catch all phrase" -- some restrictions may apply.

No, it's not automatic. We might have Seven Stars cards but they still run the place.

Davo and I experienced this a few times at Rincon in February and the beginning of March. We were told the hotel was sold out and it was well within the 48 hour advance notice. There were a few times
I went online to book a regular room and they were going to charge us.

We have not been able to get even a La Jolla suite there since last year. There hasn't been any accommodations upgrade for being a Seven Stars member. I am finding if you don't book your room a week in advance
you may not get one at all. I think it's easier to get a room in Vegas.

We used to get free tickets to all the concerts at Rincon but we don't get them now either.

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Originally Posted by Nash

We used to get free tickets to all the concerts at Rincon but we don't get them now either.

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During the "construction" there were no concerts at all at Rincon. I think the "Magic Show" was the first live event there in about a year. So I don't think you were necessarily dropped from any concert tickets list... I just think there weren't any.

Regarding the hotel rooms at Rincon: the hotel is small, but the expansion (when fully operational) should change that. But now we have to wonder if Caesars owns/operates the hotel or if it doesn't then 7 Stars just might continue to be out of luck at various times.

The bottom line is that it's still their company and they have their rules, their procedures and their preferences about who gets what.

A 7 Stars card is not a license to be a prima dona.

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Originally Posted by Alan Mendelson

I think the only reason for not getting 7 Stars would be not paying your marker or punching a dealer.

On another forum there was a claim that an AP was denied 7 Stars but I never saw any proof and I don't believe it.

This wording about inviting you is just "advertising talk" to pump it up and your ego. Gamble enough and you'll be "invited".

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There are a group of about 20 to 30 retired Seven Stars players in the Atlantic City market who basically get paid to obtain the status. Every Thursday the four AC casinos offer a 10X reward credit multiplier (0.80% cashback, at the 1.25:1 ratio). The players book 4 complimentary nights, Thursday through Sunday, put in their 10 hours (2,500 TC + 5,000 Bonus) at the triple play progressive Bonus Poker machine for quarters (4,400 RF, 99.37%), and relax over the weekend.

They come out about $1,000 to $2,000 ahead over 20 sessions in free slot play conversion and weekly bouncebacks alone, ignoring all the other Seven Star benefits.

So yeah, I read the post on WoV about the member who claims he was denied Seven Stars because he only played the good machines, but I don't buy it either.

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Originally Posted by nerakil

So yeah, I read the post on WoV about the member who claims he was denied Seven Stars because he only played the good machines, but I don't buy it either.

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Yes, that's what I was referring to. A more likely scenario was that the guy didn't bet as much as he told people and made up an excuse for being denied 7 Stars.