Banking Free Play Offers

In the California Casinos forum there is a discussion about a policy change at Harrah's Rincon -- which operates under the Caesars Total Rewards program.

Starting about June 10th, when you download a free play offer onto your account at a machine, you will have only 72 hours to play it -- or you lose it.

Previously, Rincon allowed free play to be "banked" or "stored" in player accounts for 30 days.

Clearly this is an effort to cut back on players who have their friends swipe their cards to download free play that will be used on a future visit.

What are the policies at other casinos for using free play?

At Caesars Palace where I play when you redeem a free play offer you are given either slot tickets which have an expiration date -- and the date could be six months or longer in the future. For table game free play there can be promo chips with no expiration date, or coupons which do have an expiration date, usually for only a few days.

Do you bank your free play or use it as you get it?

Philadelphia give you 72 hours.. Pretty sure AC does the same..

I usually use anything I get immediately, but somehow I have managed to not use my LVHilton/Westgate free play, so I have some stockpiled there. Not a good idea, as they've had ownership change and multiple management changes. I better run that through next time I visit -- next month probably.

A 72 hours policy is only in place to get people in asap to play and hopefully lose, as well as getting their free play to terminate if they don't hop to it. Nothing makes a hooked gambler's hands sweat more or makes their hearts race faster than an offer of "free" cash or "free" play, so a 72 hour policy of use it or lose it is a smart casino idea.

ALSO, Horseshoe, in Bossier, (now filing for bankruptcy) offers theirs in small amounts on different days instead of giving the full total on any day like the better casinos. I Like going to Maugerittaville now because I can use the large amount of free play on ANY given day during the week.

I've never banked anything. But I understand why Rincon is doing it. Obviously the "friend swiping" thing was a big problem.

Dan, you bank your reward credits -- which now stay banked for 6-months. It wouldn't surprise me if that time limit is also reduced in the not too distant future.

When I was speaking to a Total Rewards insider the other night (by phone Kerry W.) I was told this is not the time to be banking anything.

The last time I was told that was right before Caesars Palace was taken over by Harrah's and I was loaded with comp points -- and my host at Caesars told me to go to the gift shops and buy clothing, electronics, gifts and take 'em home.

Did you get any more information on this?

I still have $2500 in RCs. Maybe it's time to trade some of that for freeplay.

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Originally Posted by Dan Druff

Did you get any more information on this?

I still have $2500 in RCs. Maybe it's time to trade some of that for freeplay.

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For now, you can still convert $625 of RCs for $500 of free play. But two things could happen:
1. The conversion ratio changes (but that would get some people angry)
2. They could lower the daily limit -- instead of $500 maximum it might be $400 maximum or $300 maximum, and that would not get as many objections.