A friend of mine asked me if I had a casino host with Harrah%26#39;s beings all of my rooms get comped with my Rewards card. (Bally%26#39;s and Paris) I am going out there on Sept. 1st thru Sept 8th and I have a few questions about casino hosts:
How do I go about getting one?
Is there any prerequisite to getting one?
What do they do for you?
Is it worth having one?
Any input on this topic would be a great help. Thanks in advance
Casino Host With Total Rewards Card?
Casino hosts are like a concierge. They are generally for people who gamble signficant amounts of money, however, anybody can talk to a casino host. I would suggest on your next trip that you ask to speak with a casino host - he or she will be happy to explain his or her services and together you can decide whether it%26#39;s something you are interested in. They are service industry professionals and they make a living by meeting the needs of their guests, so you should feel comfortable talking to them.
Casino Host With Total Rewards Card?How do I go about getting one?
Just ask.
Is there any prerequisite to getting one?
Gamble enough at Harrah%26#39;s properties.
What do they do for you?
Assist in making reservations.
Is it worth having one?
It is up to you but if your not a Diamond level they aren%26#39;t going to do anything other than give you the same you would have gotten anyway.
We were in Vegas 6/17 through 6/21 recently and used the MGM/Mirage Players Club Card on a linked account between my wife and I. We both gambled similar amounts (about 2k total before any wins are factored in.. lost about 1300 once you took comps and hits into account), but she must have hit more wins than I did. Long story short, a point on the card is roughly one dollar wagered (won, inserted, whatever). So.. we wagered or played enough ';bets'; on the slots to equal 8,000 points for my wife, and 2,000 points for me. The quick math is that once you put in the wins, we played 10k worth, with only physically investing 2,000. So.. you do lose, but from a points perspective, you can get far more points than just the dollar amount would make you think.
With 10k in points, we were gladly assigned a slot host, who quickly let us know that all food and bev. were comped, tried to comp all of our stay (4 nights), but we had priceline prepaid the room. He also offered us a cabana at the pool, got us VIP status at Tangerine nightclub, and made us reservations for a fully comped meal at Japonais (which was WONDERFUL!!!). He also said next trip to call and room plus food and bev. would be taken care of.
Point of all of this is that our trip will be signifigantly cheaper next time, and we have VIP status if we want to get free tix (comp) to LOVE, have a cabana, etc., etc. I don%26#39;t think 2k out of pocket with 700 of that coming home with us in unused cash is that bad to garner such ';high roller'; status. We did get room upgraded before any play as it was our anniversary.
In all, take a trip and do some serious playing-this will establish you and get you a host (which is the only way to go). From there, the rest of the trips are so much easier. You just call the host and give dates and they take care of all the room reservations, can comp much more than players card staff, and will be available by cell whenever you need them in vegas. To get a host, accumulate your decent bevy of points, then go to the players desk and simply request they assign you a host. It%26#39;s the best thing I ever did. I will never book a package to vegas again-only airfare.
Hope some of that helps. BTW-we still have $150 in freeplay as well as all our points on our card for next time (they expire in 18 months), so we are going to look good then too. They comped about $375 in food and beverages for us, and were willing to get the room had I not already paid like a knucklehead.
What do they do for you?
Depends on the Hotel, I know many people that contact their casino host and they are not high rollers but they are gambling a little more then your average tourist.
They can set up your dates for when you are arriving, they can get the room you want in advance, they can set up your comps, make restaurants reservations, get show tickets for you and comp you things when your on the casino floor.
Is it worth having one?
At times it is. Are they for everyone? NO
Do you tip them? NO, they cannot take cash, or I should say the ones I know cant take cash but they can take gifts such as certificates to restaurants, stores ETC.
Yes you can tip hosts and no they can%26#39;t get you more than you would get from the players club. The most they can do is upgrade a room.
I don%26#39;t believe that is true, vegasdragon. The players club only comped me $300 by thier chart, but said my host might be able to do more. He did, and took the remaining food and beverage off my bill. They can also pull strings at nightclubs, etc. Several bartenders and other staff such as front desk confirmed that at least at the MGM/Mirage places, hosts do have more power to do things for you, while the player%26#39;s club works on prefab formulas. I know all of this first hand and experienced it a week ago, so it%26#39;s current.
also-he was going to comp us a cabana and LOVE if we wanted, and so the statement that all they can do is a room upgrade is just plain wrong-at least with my player%26#39;s club.
I have hosts with both Player%26#39;s Club and Total Rewards. One with Total Rewards and a few with (one each casino) Player%26#39;s Club. After the first trip things will even out. Yes they can get you into clubs(on their property generally) and such but only if you earn it by gambling enough. Most people will not gamble enough to obtain anything above what is calculated by the computer and the host can only go slightly above that if they feel it will benefit them but not much. Not calling you wrong or anything like that but I don%26#39;t want people getting the wrong idea. Good luck
I guess 10k points in that case is ';enough';, because he was giving us the farm. If you put $20 through the video poker and want the world, you certainly won%26#39;t get it, but if you show that you are dedicated and play a decent amount, you can be taken care of nicely. $1300 dollars is not much to me out of pocket for almost $400 in food and beverage, and an offer to comp another $450 or so in room costs and give us a $200 cabana. You add it up and that makes our out of pocket was $250 if he comped our rooms (that I prepaid for). YES, you do have to play for a long time and ride the ups and downs to get the points, but pick a fun game and put in the time. Being treated as a preferred guest is well worth the money I would have spent without a slot host!
As a host with Harrah%26#39;s Rincon property in San Diego, as well as hving been a host for the last 10 years in both Las Vegas as well as in San diego, let me help you with a few of the myths and truths of hosts.
Yes, getting a host depends on your play. Every property is different, even within the same company. The level of play that may qualify you for a host at Harrah%26#39;s in North Carolina, may not necessarily qualify you for one in San Diego or Vegas, due to factors like volume of customers. The best way to find out is to go to either the total rewards booth or Diamond Lounge and ask to speak with the host on duty. They will be able to explain the policy at their property.
As for what a host can do for you the answer is just about anything. They can book your trips, get you reservations for dinner, get you show tickets, golf times, limos, whatever you need. Now while many of these things can be done without a host, only the host can do them all. It would be a lot easier to book your room, dinner, and massage by calling one person, than three departments. As time goes on and your host gets to know you, he will learn your patterns and anticipate your needs. you just call him and say when you are coming and he will take care of the rest.
The host can also take care of the comps at the end of your trip. They will have a set number of policies and procedures that they must follow as determined by their property, but they will also know where the decisions are to be made in order to help you get the most for your gaming dollar.
Overall, the host is there to facilitate your arrangements for your trip, to make sure that you get the most for your entertainment dollar, and that you have fun.
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