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Thread: Hooters is now being sold?

  1. #1
    So whats with Harmon Street selling their casinos? Only place someone tried to mug me, but otherwise a nice street.

    I can see selling these places, what I don't see is someone buying them.

    I thought about just putting this in the Hard Rock thread.. but Hooters are important enough in their own right.

    https://thepointsguy.com/news/hooter...hotel-closing/

    So this is some crazy Indian based hospitality company which has expanded to "112" properties within a year? (If I remember correctly). WTF sort of shit is that ? I am curious what their branding is. Will they try to bring in Indians to Vegas? What will their angle be..

    At least Hooters has a worthless overly stale brand. Hard Rock Cafe actually has a draw with some people who might have a bit of $$. Sure HRC is also stale, but they piggyback off the history of Rock - so it sorta works. Well, pretty sure HRC > Virgin when it comes to casino times.
    Last edited by accountinquestion; 08-25-2019 at 12:52 AM.

  2. #2
    Hooters has been attempting to sell for a long time.

    Bringing Hooters to Vegas was a bad idea. In small, midwestern towns, the novelty of hot young chicks with big tits and tight shirts serving you food can be exciting.

    In Vegas, that's not even slightly risque. You get more eye candy walking through any casino and ogling the cocktail waitresses.

    It would be like going to Aspen and saying, "Hey I have a great idea! Let's open a hotel with a skiing and snowboarding theme! That'll bring everyone in!"

    Like the Hard Rock, this is yet another off-strip "theme" properties with little future, even with different branding.

    They also ran a dirty "free slot play" promo for a long time which was super-dirty and bordered on illegal (but wasn't).
    Check out my poker forum, and weekly internet radio show at http://pokerfraudalert.com

  3. #3
    Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post
    Hooters has been attempting to sell for a long time.

    Bringing Hooters to Vegas was a bad idea. In small, midwestern towns, the novelty of hot young chicks with big tits and tight shirts serving you food can be exciting.

    In Vegas, that's not even slightly risque. You get more eye candy walking through any casino and ogling the cocktail waitresses.

    It would be like going to Aspen and saying, "Hey I have a great idea! Let's open a hotel with a skiing and snowboarding theme! That'll bring everyone in!"

    Like the Hard Rock, this is yet another off-strip "theme" properties with little future, even with different branding.

    They also ran a dirty "free slot play" promo for a long time which was super-dirty and bordered on illegal (but wasn't).
    I doubt it is the same promotion, but many many years ago I went around and did the new player lets see what i get in freeplay game. I remember being put in front of this bank of shitty slot machines with free play. For some reason.. the whole thing seemed ridiculous and I had 0 expectation of receiving anything. I actually felt somewhat trapped and annoyed that it wouldn't end.. haha.. and I remember a little shitty poker room on the far end of the casino with like 2 tables going during the poker boom.

    But yea, why would you ever step inside there unless someone was there for the cheap rooms? $37 resort fee! ha ha.. The only draw is girls in tight tshirts and you gotta walk off-strip. AND the hottest girls aren't even going to work in such a dump with a bunch of buster customers.

  4. #4
    Originally Posted by accountinquestion View Post
    So whats with Harmon Street selling their casinos?
    I am a little confused about the Harmon Street reference, since Hooters is on Tropicana and not Harmon. Am I missing something?

  5. #5
    Anyway, here was the free slot play scam they ran:

    They had huge signs all over the building proclaiming "Free $100 slot play for joining players club!" This was circa 2008.

    At the time, this wasn't uncommon in Vegas. Arizona Charlie's had one, and it was legit.

    I went there with my then-girlfriend, figuring we would each get a free $100 shot at winning something.

    First, we stood in a long line. Then we had to go through the process of setting up a players card.

    Finally, we were done, and I asked, "Okay, so how do we get the $100 freeplay?"

    They directed us to a woman standing away from the desk, holding two crisp $100 bills. Sweet! Or so we thought.

    She directed us to a very specific roped-off bank of machines. I asked, "Do we have to play these machines?" She said yes. Then she asked each of us to choose one, and she inserted the $100 for us. WTF? We were then given the rules:

    "You have $100 in credits now. If you can run it up to $1700, we will give you $50. Otherwise, if you run out of credits, that's it, and you do not get anything."

    WHAT?!?!

    So the $100 was in name only. It was $100 in fake credits. It might as well been $1,000,000 in fake credits. You couldn't cash it out. The most you could make was $50, and that was only if you turned $100 of fake credits into $1700. Total bullshit. We ran it out, and it actually took awhile. These were slow machines which used the credits slowly, and we kept winning little "jackpots" like 300 credits which kept us afloat but nowhere near 1700. Finally we both busted. Brutal.

    Later on I read that this promo was even worse prior to when I went there. At one point, the machines were even slower and a little looser with the small jackpots, and I read stories of people spending 3 hours playing the machine, only to ultimately bust and walk away with zero. Ouch!
    Check out my poker forum, and weekly internet radio show at http://pokerfraudalert.com

  6. #6
    Originally Posted by kewlJ View Post
    Originally Posted by accountinquestion View Post
    So whats with Harmon Street selling their casinos?
    I am a little confused about the Harmon Street reference, since Hooters is on Tropicana and not Harmon. Am I missing something?
    I'm sure I got my streets wrong. I lived off Harmon for some time... but ya, I guess Hooters is a bit further down and off the strip. My bad. I've had a few. I was thinking they were same street. Hooters was by Tropicanna which obv isn't Harmon.

  7. #7
    Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post
    Anyway, here was the free slot play scam they ran:

    They had huge signs all over the building proclaiming "Free $100 slot play for joining players club!" This was circa 2008.

    At the time, this wasn't uncommon in Vegas. Arizona Charlie's had one, and it was legit.

    I went there with my then-girlfriend, figuring we would each get a free $100 shot at winning something.

    First, we stood in a long line. Then we had to go through the process of setting up a players card.

    Finally, we were done, and I asked, "Okay, so how do we get the $100 freeplay?"

    They directed us to a woman standing away from the desk, holding two crisp $100 bills. Sweet! Or so we thought.

    She directed us to a very specific roped-off bank of machines. I asked, "Do we have to play these machines?" She said yes. Then she asked each of us to choose one, and she inserted the $100 for us. WTF? We were then given the rules:

    "You have $100 in credits now. If you can run it up to $1700, we will give you $50. Otherwise, if you run out of credits, that's it, and you do not get anything."

    WHAT?!?!

    So the $100 was in name only. It was $100 in fake credits. It might as well been $1,000,000 in fake credits. You couldn't cash it out. The most you could make was $50, and that was only if you turned $100 of fake credits into $1700. Total bullshit. We ran it out, and it actually took awhile. These were slow machines which used the credits slowly, and we kept winning little "jackpots" like 300 credits which kept us afloat but nowhere near 1700. Finally we both busted. Brutal.

    Later on I read that this promo was even worse prior to when I went there. At one point, the machines were even slower and a little looser with the small jackpots, and I read stories of people spending 3 hours playing the machine, only to ultimately bust and walk away with zero. Ouch!
    Likely was the same freeplay promo. I forgot the mechanics of it, just somehow I knew enough it was bullshit and I was annoyed the whole time waiting for it to end.

  8. #8
    Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post
    Anyway, here was the free slot play scam they ran:

    They had huge signs all over the building proclaiming "Free $100 slot play for joining players club!" This was circa 2008.

    At the time, this wasn't uncommon in Vegas. Arizona Charlie's had one, and it was legit.

    I went there with my then-girlfriend, figuring we would each get a free $100 shot at winning something.

    First, we stood in a long line. Then we had to go through the process of setting up a players card.

    Finally, we were done, and I asked, "Okay, so how do we get the $100 freeplay?"

    They directed us to a woman standing away from the desk, holding two crisp $100 bills. Sweet! Or so we thought.

    She directed us to a very specific roped-off bank of machines. I asked, "Do we have to play these machines?" She said yes. Then she asked each of us to choose one, and she inserted the $100 for us. WTF? We were then given the rules:

    "You have $100 in credits now. If you can run it up to $1700, we will give you $50. Otherwise, if you run out of credits, that's it, and you do not get anything."

    WHAT?!?!

    So the $100 was in name only. It was $100 in fake credits. It might as well been $1,000,000 in fake credits. You couldn't cash it out. The most you could make was $50, and that was only if you turned $100 of fake credits into $1700. Total bullshit. We ran it out, and it actually took awhile. These were slow machines which used the credits slowly, and we kept winning little "jackpots" like 300 credits which kept us afloat but nowhere near 1700. Finally we both busted. Brutal.

    Later on I read that this promo was even worse prior to when I went there. At one point, the machines were even slower and a little looser with the small jackpots, and I read stories of people spending 3 hours playing the machine, only to ultimately bust and walk away with zero. Ouch!
    This same or very similar Free play scam was done at a number of Vegas casinos. Casio Royale (a ways back), Downtown Grand come to mind.....I am sure there were others. Like Hooters, Casino Royal has a certain section of slot machines. Downtown Grand didn't have a certain section of slot machines per say, but once you got the rebate from their sign up promo, the slot play had to be used at specific machines that had a little sticker on them (no VP machines) and the end result was that your $100 rebate turned into about $6. I tried it like 3 or 4 times when friends came to town and no one turned their rebate into more than about $10.

  9. #9
    Originally Posted by kewlJ View Post
    Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post
    Anyway, here was the free slot play scam they ran:

    They had huge signs all over the building proclaiming "Free $100 slot play for joining players club!" This was circa 2008.

    At the time, this wasn't uncommon in Vegas. Arizona Charlie's had one, and it was legit.

    I went there with my then-girlfriend, figuring we would each get a free $100 shot at winning something.

    First, we stood in a long line. Then we had to go through the process of setting up a players card.

    Finally, we were done, and I asked, "Okay, so how do we get the $100 freeplay?"

    They directed us to a woman standing away from the desk, holding two crisp $100 bills. Sweet! Or so we thought.

    She directed us to a very specific roped-off bank of machines. I asked, "Do we have to play these machines?" She said yes. Then she asked each of us to choose one, and she inserted the $100 for us. WTF? We were then given the rules:

    "You have $100 in credits now. If you can run it up to $1700, we will give you $50. Otherwise, if you run out of credits, that's it, and you do not get anything."

    WHAT?!?!

    So the $100 was in name only. It was $100 in fake credits. It might as well been $1,000,000 in fake credits. You couldn't cash it out. The most you could make was $50, and that was only if you turned $100 of fake credits into $1700. Total bullshit. We ran it out, and it actually took awhile. These were slow machines which used the credits slowly, and we kept winning little "jackpots" like 300 credits which kept us afloat but nowhere near 1700. Finally we both busted. Brutal.

    Later on I read that this promo was even worse prior to when I went there. At one point, the machines were even slower and a little looser with the small jackpots, and I read stories of people spending 3 hours playing the machine, only to ultimately bust and walk away with zero. Ouch!
    This same or very similar Free play scam was done at a number of Vegas casinos. Casio Royale (a ways back), Downtown Grand come to mind.....I am sure there were others. Like Hooters, Casino Royal has a certain section of slot machines. Downtown Grand didn't have a certain section of slot machines per say, but once you got the rebate from their sign up promo, the slot play had to be used at specific machines that had a little sticker on them (no VP machines) and the end result was that your $100 rebate turned into about $6. I tried it like 3 or 4 times when friends came to town and no one turned their rebate into more than about $10.
    This was far worse.

    It wasn't just that certain machines were excluded.

    No matter what you won on the machine with the freeplay, the most you could walk away with was $50.

    Plus you had to turn $100 into $1700 -- to get $50. Otherwise you get zero.

    Only reason this wasn't outright fraud is because nobody was risking anything (except for their time and frustration!)
    Check out my poker forum, and weekly internet radio show at http://pokerfraudalert.com

  10. #10
    Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post

    This was far worse.

    It wasn't just that certain machines were excluded.

    No matter what you won on the machine with the freeplay, the most you could walk away with was $50.

    Plus you had to turn $100 into $1700 -- to get $50. Otherwise you get zero.

    Only reason this wasn't outright fraud is because nobody was risking anything (except for their time and frustration!)
    Yes, I do remember it. Casino Royale used to have that same set up. You got free play that you had to use on a roped off set of machines. I think you had to hit a Royal flush to win.....that was the qualifying hand. And when you hit the Royal flush, you would win like $50, not 4000 credits.

    And while the DTG promo I speak of was different, still equally sleazy. The only qualifying machines had some ultra low return. And what is worse, is that you actually had to lose $100 to qualify for the rebate that you could then only use on these "rigged" machines. So it's not like you walk away with nothing but having wasted your time, like Hooters and Casino Royale. At DTG you had to lose $100 to even get into the rigged promo.

  11. #11
    That crummy Hooters Promotion would have made me livid too. I agree with you Dan that that Promotion was sketchy from the jump when the $100 wasn't given to you on cards right away and some Employee put in the $100 in a specific machine and told you you HAD to play only that machine. WTF!

  12. #12
    Those slot free play deals were the either hit the jackpot or nothing types. A bit deceptive, but it still was free slot play. We're just too used to normal free play. You guys are making too much of a big deal out of it.

  13. #13
    I'm not sure why anybody would go after any promo without first knowing all the facts about it.

    People may rail against and denigrate Hooter's casino for whatever reasons, but their bar had some very cooperative 5-level 25c thru $5 vp machines as well as slot techs who were very willing to turn on the double-up option. The greasy wings...the sluts with their tight t-shirts....the cold mugs of draft beers....all secondary stuff.

  14. #14
    I don't think either Dan or I was going after a promo in some serious capacity.

    $100 "Free play" where you can only win $50 is clearly not $100 freeplay. It could just as well be called $1000 freeplay and only pay you $50. Not sure why you'd excuse this, jbjb? There is no jackpot. The casino can do what they want, but they're clearly lying.

    I did a similar thing at the Tropicanna around this time and I don't remember it being so absurd.

  15. #15
    Originally Posted by accountinquestion View Post
    I don't think either Dan or I was going after a promo in some serious capacity.

    $100 "Free play" where you can only win $50 is clearly not $100 freeplay. It could just as well be called $1000 freeplay and only pay you $50. Not sure why you'd excuse this, jbjb? There is no jackpot. The casino can do what they want, but they're clearly lying.

    I did a similar thing at the Tropicanna around this time and I don't remember it being so absurd.
    So if a casino offered you a $100 chance at a MegaBucks slot but you either had to win the jackpot or bust, that's not free play? Free play is free play, not free money.

  16. #16
    Tropicana used to do a slot tournament similar to this as well, I don't even think it was free, it cost $10 or$ 20. A specific score or particular hit got you cash prizes, at least you walked away with some type of prize like a teddy bear, necklace, clock, cake serving set, and various other junkie things. You could enter as many times as you wanted. I always wondered if somebody could free roll the cash prizes all day if they could sell the consolation prizes on eBay or something like that.

    I'm fairly certain the one at Casino Royale and Hooters were the same type of thing, really no difference.

  17. #17
    Originally Posted by AxelWolf View Post
    I always wondered if somebody could free roll the cash prizes all day if they could sell the consolation prizes on eBay or something like that.
    I knew a guy from the forums, who combined his AP play in just this fashion. He played blackjack and played high limit at a very modest spread, that attracted no heat, playing a break even or slightly winning game. He was treated as a high roller and got all kinds of gifts and perks. $1000 shopping sprees in the gift shop, watches, jewelry, trips, event and fight tickets....all kinds of freebies that he sold everything ebay. THAT is where his real profit came from.

    Now of course that was a different era. Now things like Trips and fight tickets usually aren't transferable. Plus they give much less for blackjack play. But I always though it was kind of an outside the box approach to AP. I mean this is how he made a living.

    He actually came to this site for a while about a year ago. Of course, like most legitimate AP's that find this site, he didn't appreciate the hate and attacks and didn't stay long. You know that "laid back" attitude that Dan Druff is so proud of.

  18. #18
    "Free play is free play, not free money."

    This is exactly correct. Casinos have the right to do anything they choose when they offer a free play promo.

    I disagree that Dan did not take this promo seriously. He brought his gf in to maximize the free play amount. And if you've read any history here, he has virtual epileptic attacks over $20 retail mistakes and feeling he's being stiffed free bottles of Gatorade.

  19. #19
    Originally Posted by jbjb View Post
    Originally Posted by accountinquestion View Post
    I don't think either Dan or I was going after a promo in some serious capacity.

    $100 "Free play" where you can only win $50 is clearly not $100 freeplay. It could just as well be called $1000 freeplay and only pay you $50. Not sure why you'd excuse this, jbjb? There is no jackpot. The casino can do what they want, but they're clearly lying.

    I did a similar thing at the Tropicanna around this time and I don't remember it being so absurd.
    So if a casino offered you a $100 chance at a MegaBucks slot but you either had to win the jackpot or bust, that's not free play? Free play is free play, not free money.
    I don't know what Megabucks is, but this is a horrible analogy. The thing we were talking about caps the win at $50 on "$100" of freeplay.

    Yes, it is freeplay of some sort, but noting approximating '$100 of freeplay'. It should be "and have a chance to win $1000". Putting a value on the freeplay in the scenario Dan and I are discussing is the problem. It isn't a debate to whether it is freeplay or not.

    I believe you're suggesting $100 in a legitimate slot machine. Conpare that to a machine that only pays out via jackpot which is then reduced to $100. The 2nd would be the correct analogy.

  20. #20
    Originally Posted by Rob.Singer View Post
    I disagree that Dan did not take this promo seriously. He brought his gf in to maximize the free play amount. And if you've read any history here, he has virtual epileptic attacks over $20 retail mistakes and feeling he's being stiffed free bottles of Gatorade.
    Yeah, it is kind of funny that in another thread, Dan Druff referred to me as dramatic, when he goes ballistic over $5 and $10 incidents when he feels he has been wronged. But that's fine.

    Originally Posted by Rob.Singer View Post
    "Free play is free play, not free money."

    This is exactly correct. Casinos have the right to do anything they choose when they offer a free play promo.
    Dan Druff specifically said that these promos didn't quite cross into "illegal" territory. But they are misleading. And if 99% of the people walk away feeling they were mislead, screwed or scammed, you have to wonder if such a promotion didn't achieve just the opposite of it's intended purpose. These things are about getting new players in the door, not having players first impression being "that place is a rip off". Not going to get much return customers who feel THAT way.

    Just seems to be another of those bad ideas things that comes out of business school, as opposed to when real casino people ran the casino business.

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