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Ask the Slot Expert: Do MyVegas rewards decrease Mlife comps?2 September 2015
Thanks for the kind words about my columns. For those not familiar with it, MyVegas is a site that awards you loyalty points for playing the games on the site. Points are earned for how long you play, not for how much you win or lose. You can exchange the points for rooms, shows and meals at MGM Mirage or Station Casinos properties and some other properties. I don't have a MyVegas account, but in researching MyVegas I get the impression that it takes a lot of play to earn the rewards. Nevertheless, I've read posts from people who have seen many Cirque shows, eaten at many restaurants, and stayed at many hotels for free using MyVegas rewards. One recent post on the WizardOfVegas site sums up the current state of the MyVegas rewards: "I don't think the redemptions are as good on MyVegas currently as they used to be, but free is free. It makes my trips to Vegas a lot better." It's possible that using a MyVegas reward might limit what the casino can comp for you. For example, if you purchase a package deal including hotel and airfare, there's no way to get your room comped. You didn't mention what rewards you used, but maybe they affected what could be comped. If you used a room reward, next time you can try using show and meal rewards that wouldn't appear on your hotel folio. But then again, the MyVegas site says that many rewards require an Mlife account, so maybe you can't hide. In any event, I doubt the MyVegas rewards have had any effect on comps in general. The rewards are designed to get new players into the partner casinos and give established players reasons to remain in the partner casinos for food and entertainment. The rewards are limited and, moreover, the cost of the rewards is partially defrayed by players who purchase chips on MyVegas. Finally, the Mlife program changed a few years ago and that might be the source of your changes. Let me put your question out to my readers who have experience with Mlife and MyVegas. Have you noticed a decrease in additional comps when you use MyVegas rewards? Have you noticed a decrease in comps in general?
I don't know exactly what happened, but the casino did not do anything to reset the machine because it was paying too frequently or about to hit a jackpot. First, the results are determined at random from spin to spin, so the casino would have no way of knowing that the machine was about to hit a jackpot. Second, your short winning streak has a negligible effect on a machine's overall performance. It's like a drop of food coloring in the Atlantic Ocean. The streak was significant to you, but not to the casino. Besides, people have to win sometimes. Finally, there's a principle developed with the introduction of downloadable games that no game changes will occur while a machine is being played. As humans, we are uncomfortable with randomness and events happening for no reason. We want cause and effect, not randomness. It's only natural to assume that something changed on the machine. Years ago I was playing at Caesars Palace when a technician came by to adjust the volume on the machine I was playing. I watched as he put the machine in configuration mode and lowered the volume. I hit a cold streak after he lowered the volume. Even though I saw exactly what he did, I couldn't help thinking that the change somehow affected my results. Of course, I just hit a normal cold streak. And that's exactly what happened to you. You had a nice hot streak followed by a not-so-nice cold streak. Happens all the time. Send your slot and video poker questions to John Robison, Slot Expert™, at slotexpert@slotexpert.com. Because of the volume of mail I receive, I regret that I can't reply to every question.
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