WSOP Food Vouchers eliminated, players now to earn comps

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05-07-2012, 12:04 PM
Dan Druff

WSOP Food Vouchers eliminated, players now to earn comps

Quote:

Total Rewards Members to Earn Reward & Tier Credit for WSOP Play System-wide

LAS VEGAS, May 7, 2012 – For the first time ever, all World Series of Poker (WSOP) tournament entrants will receive reward credits for playing in gold bracelet events, daily Deepstack tournaments and Mega-Satellites this summer at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. Following the conclusion of the WSOP, poker players will receive similar credits for tournament play during the 2012-13 WSOP Circuit tour in any of the Caesars Entertainment venues.

"Caesars Entertainment is renewing our commitment to poker players,” said Ty Stewart, the World Series of Poker executive director. “We are thrilled the WSOP will help launch a company initiative to allow poker players to better unlock the power of the industry’s best loyalty program. With nearly 40 properties worldwide and the number one tournament series in the world, we hope to give more players more opportunities to earn, and redeem for whatever is important to them.”

This summer in lieu of a food voucher, players will now have Reward Credits added to their TR card, which can be used system-wide in all Total Rewards properties to unlock newly expanded and wide-ranging benefits, including:

· Tournament entry fees (for both WSOP and WSOP Circuit Events at Caesars-owned properties)

· Dining (including the Poker Kitchen at the WSOP)

· Hotel Accommodations

· Entertainment

· Travel

· Merchandise

· Gift Cards purchased online for use in the TR Marketplace (More than 80 participating retailers and growing including Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Footlocker, Gap, Nike and Lowe’s)

Additionally, dining at any Caesars Entertainment-owned restaurant will reward TR members with special TR Menu Pricing, allowing players to receive discounted pricing on meals regardless of their tier.

Players also will be able to accrue Reward Credits to reach milestones faster by using their Total Rewards card for the various purchases they make at Total Rewards casinos and resorts, including:

· Dining – Earn 1 Reward Credit for every $1 spent at any participating restaurants

· Hotel – Earn 1 Reward Credit for every $1 spent on hotel accommodations

· Leisure Experiences – Earn 1 Reward Credit for every $1 spent on leisure activities at participating outlets for activities including golf, spa and shopping.

· Shopping – Earn 1 Reward Credit for every $1 spent at any of the hundreds of retailers in the TR Marketplace. Partners include the Starbucks Store, The Apple Store, Best Buy and Target.

· Gaming – Earnings vary based on play of slot machines, video poker machines, table games and poker.

Tournament Reward Credits during the World Series of Poker will be credited based on a buy-in’s entry fees. For the $10,000 buy-in WSOP Main Event for example, players will receive 3000 Reward Credits.

Additionally, players will start earning Tier Credits for their loyalty, meaning the more you play, the more you can unlock additional benefits. Total Rewards features four distinct levels: Gold, Platinum, Diamond and Seven Stars.

The World Series of Poker will continue the program of awarding all WSOP gold bracelet winners with Diamond status on their TR card for the year following their victory. Diamond status provides players with a series of benefits including access to Diamond Lounges around the country, and priority service at participating restaurants, clubs, and hotel front desks. Bracelet holders will also receive access to a VIP registration line for all World Series of Poker events.

As has been the case since the WSOP moved to the Rio, players are required to have a Total Rewards card to participate in WSOP events. Membership to Total Rewards is free and open to anyone over the age of 21.

Unfortunately, any WSOP-branded event held outside the Total Rewards network of casinos, will not be eligible for Reward Credits based on tournament participation.

On March 1, the Total Rewards program announced exciting new enhancements to the program which adds even more value for being a member.

We encourage all our customers to visit the Total Rewards website at www.TotalRewards.com to fully understand the program and participate in the Escape to Total Rewards promotion with more than 90,000 prizes being given away to members.

Can someone familiar with the Total Rewards credit system tell me if this is good or bad for the players?

Previously, you got a $10 food voucher for entering any WSOP event.

This will probably be better for big buy-in events, such as the Main Event, as I imagine 3000 credits is worth more than $10. But what about the $1,000 events, where I imagine you will earn only 300 credits?

I guess one other advantage is that you are not required to spend the entire $10 at once, so if you are buying something for $5.50, you don't have to surrender your entire $10 voucher.

Still, I'd love to know if this is a step forward or step backward for most WSOP players.
05-07-2012, 12:07 PM
Dan Druff

This is from Wikipedia:

Quote:

100 rewards credits is equal to $1 in comped value. For example, if a player has 10,000 rewards credits, he or she can use them to get $100 in comped drinks or towards a room.

Comping using reward credits is dollar for dollar, meaning if the value of the item the guest wants to comp is $20, they'll need $20 in reward credits in order to fully comp the item. If they do not have enough credits, they can partially comp it.

So it looks like credits are worth a penny each.

This means you will be getting $30 for $10,000 events, $15 for $5000 events, $9 for $3000 events, $7.50 for $2500 events, $6 for $2000 events, $4.50 for $1500 events, and $3 for $1000 events.

:facepalm4

So, unless these numbers are wrong, it looks like Harrah's/Caesar's is screwing us again.
05-07-2012, 12:19 PM
ajtrigger

Quote:

So it looks like credits are worth a penny each.

This means you will be getting $30 for $10,000 events, $15 for $5000 events, $9 for $3000 events, $7.50 for $2500 events, $6 for $2000 events, $4.50 for $1500 events, and $3 for $1000 events.

So, unless these numbers are wrong, it looks like Harrah's/Caesar's is screwing us again.

Accurate, as long as the ratio stays constant ($10,000 = 3000
RCs).
05-07-2012, 12:21 PM
shortbuspoker

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05-07-2012, 12:31 PM
nicorette

Can someone explain the difference between 'Tier Credit' and 'RC'? I see my account has 2500 RCs and only 500 Tier Credits. For the 10k buy-in, are we getting 3k tier credits or RC's?
05-07-2012, 12:33 PM
Dan Druff

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicorette

Can someone explain the difference between 'Tier Credit' and 'RC'? I see my account has 2500 RCs and only 500 Tier Credits. For the 10k buy-in, are we getting 3k tier credits or RC's?

We're getting Reward credits.

I believe Tier credits are just a way of computing your reward level (gold, platinum, diamond, whatever).

We might be getting Tier credits, too, but they don't have cash value.

In the Pokerstars model, Tier credits are VPPs and Reward credits are FPPs.
05-07-2012, 12:39 PM
Jasep

would giving credits to people playing non bracelet events (Deep stack, etc) even out the value?

Say you play a 2500 and 5 330's, that would mean you get like 15 bucks in comp...

I am sure they are looking to save money, and 10 dollars across the board is better, but I think that a version of the above example will be used to justify the action and spin it to look like players are getting more
05-07-2012, 12:41 PM
Bootsy Collins

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Druff

This is from Wikipedia:

Quote:

100 rewards credits is equal to $1 in comped value. For example, if a player has 10,000 rewards credits, he or she can use them to get $100 in comped drinks or towards a room.

Comping using reward credits is dollar for dollar, meaning if the value of the item the guest wants to comp is $20, they'll need $20 in reward credits in order to fully comp the item. If they do not have enough credits, they can partially comp it.

So it looks like credits are worth a penny each.

This means you will be getting $30 for $10,000 events, $15 for $5000 events, $9 for $3000 events, $7.50 for $2500 events, $6 for $2000 events, $4.50 for $1500 events, and $3 for $1000 events.

:facepalm4

So, unless these numbers are wrong, it looks like Harrah's/Caesar's is screwing us again.

I am guessing the Rio does not have a Jack in the Box? 2 tacos for 99 cents FTW. Steve will get the scoop. Hopefully Harrahs doesn't give him some backseat bingo.
05-07-2012, 12:57 PM
shortbuspoker

this is why PFA needs media credentials. maybe Drexel can get Nolan Dolla on the radio show.
05-07-2012, 01:04 PM
Steve-O

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bootsy Collins

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Druff

This is from Wikipedia:

So it looks like credits are worth a penny each.

This means you will be getting $30 for $10,000 events, $15 for $5000 events, $9 for $3000 events, $7.50 for $2500 events, $6 for $2000 events, $4.50 for $1500 events, and $3 for $1000 events.

:facepalm4

So, unless these numbers are wrong, it looks like Harrah's/Caesar's is screwing us again.

I am guessing the Rio does not have a Jack in the Box? 2 tacos for 99 cents FTW. Steve will get the scoop. Hopefully Harrahs doesn't give him some backseat bingo.

I'm assuming they'll put it down as actually rewarding more (since $10 vouchers just became $30 for championship events, and probably more for the $50k --hell Guy Laliberte will probably be able to take the whole field of the Big One for OneDrop to Crique de Soleil with how many RC's he'll earn on the $1 million buy-in! Not to mention they'll spin it as better than a food voucher, since it's all-encompassing.

The problem I see is that it rewards the higher-limit players, who Caesar's knows are very unlikely (or less likely I should say) to redeem them than the Allen Kessler's of the world. Whereas with the food voucher they would just plunk it on the table even of the bill was $400. So, yes the low and mid limit players are getting the shaft, while the high-limit players are getting rewarded --a reward they are less likely to use....
05-07-2012, 01:08 PM
Kevmath

The press release mentions the number of credits you get based on the entry fees.

If you buy into the main event, you're getting 3,000 Reward Credits. Since the entry fee for the ME is $600, it appears that players will get 5 RCs for each $ of entry fee.

So if you're playing a $1,000 or $1,500 event, you're paying $100 or $150 in entry fees meaning you get 500 or 750 RCs.

Does that make sense?
05-07-2012, 01:15 PM
Steve-O

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevmath

The press release mentions the number of credits you get based on the entry fees.

If you buy into the main event, you're getting 3,000 Reward Credits. Since the entry fee for the ME is $600, it appears that players will get 5 RCs for each $ of entry fee.

So if you're playing a $1,000 or $1,500 event, you're paying $100 or $150 in entry fees meaning you get 500 or 750 RCs.

Does that make sense?

Perfect sense, you're saying their based on the juice not the entry-fee itself. So it would seem it's a decent enough deal for players and not as bad as originally thought.
05-07-2012, 01:26 PM
Jasep

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve-O

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevmath

The press release mentions the number of credits you get based on the entry fees.

If you buy into the main event, you're getting 3,000 Reward Credits. Since the entry fee for the ME is $600, it appears that players will get 5 RCs for each $ of entry fee.

So if you're playing a $1,000 or $1,500 event, you're paying $100 or $150 in entry fees meaning you get 500 or 750 RCs.

Does that make sense?

Perfect sense, you're saying their based on the juice not the entry-fee itself. So it would seem it's a decent enough deal for players and not as bad as originally thought.

If thats the case the one drop tourney would pay zero RC's correct?
05-07-2012, 01:32 PM
Kevmath

Since they paid $1m to enter, I don't think they're worrying too much about vouchers.
05-07-2012, 01:36 PM
Kevmath

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve-O

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevmath

The press release mentions the number of credits you get based on the entry fees.

If you buy into the main event, you're getting 3,000 Reward Credits. Since the entry fee for the ME is $600, it appears that players will get 5 RCs for each $ of entry fee.

So if you're playing a $1,000 or $1,500 event, you're paying $100 or $150 in entry fees meaning you get 500 or 750 RCs.

Does that make sense?

Perfect sense, you're saying their based on the juice not the entry-fee itself. So it would seem it's a decent enough deal for players and not as bad as originally thought.

I'm going with the assumption when they say "entry fee" they're talking about the juice.

They have a conference call tomorrow so hopefully this gets clarified.
05-07-2012, 01:43 PM
Steve-O

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevmath

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve-O

Perfect sense, you're saying their based on the juice not the entry-fee itself. So it would seem it's a decent enough deal for players and not as bad as originally thought.

I'm going with the assumption when they say "entry fee" they're talking about the juice.

They have a conference call tomorrow so hopefully this gets clarified.

Are you doing the conference call Kev? This is the first year I actually plan on doing it.
05-07-2012, 01:56 PM
Dan Druff

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevmath

The press release mentions the number of credits you get based on the entry fees.

If you buy into the main event, you're getting 3,000 Reward Credits. Since the entry fee for the ME is $600, it appears that players will get 5 RCs for each $ of entry fee.

So if you're playing a $1,000 or $1,500 event, you're paying $100 or $150 in entry fees meaning you get 500 or 750 RCs.

Does that make sense?

Thanks for the clarification.

However, this still hurts players of lower buyin events.

If they wanted to eliminate the clunky voucher situation, I totally understand, but they are making so much money on the WSOP, I think it's shitty to reduce credit value for the lower buyin events.
05-07-2012, 03:15 PM
lewfather

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Druff

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevmath

The press release mentions the number of credits you get based on the entry fees.

If you buy into the main event, you're getting 3,000 Reward Credits. Since the entry fee for the ME is $600, it appears that players will get 5 RCs for each $ of entry fee.

So if you're playing a $1,000 or $1,500 event, you're paying $100 or $150 in entry fees meaning you get 500 or 750 RCs.

Does that make sense?

Thanks for the clarification.

However, this still hurts players of lower buyin events.

If they wanted to eliminate the clunky voucher situation, I totally understand, but they are making so much money on the WSOP, I think it's shitty to reduce credit value for the lower buyin events.

Anytime you see a change it's almost always in a way to keep more dollar in the business's pocket. Even when you're at the store and you see toilet paper repackaged there's a solid chance if you look into the ply you're getting fucked. 99c bags of chips go up to $1.09 ALL NEW PACKAGING! Wait it has less oz too ?

This is how business works
05-07-2012, 03:37 PM
Fergie72

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Druff

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevmath

The press release mentions the number of credits you get based on the entry fees.

If you buy into the main event, you're getting 3,000 Reward Credits. Since the entry fee for the ME is $600, it appears that players will get 5 RCs for each $ of entry fee.

So if you're playing a $1,000 or $1,500 event, you're paying $100 or $150 in entry fees meaning you get 500 or 750 RCs.

Does that make sense?

Thanks for the clarification.

However, this still hurts players of lower buyin events.

If they wanted to eliminate the clunky voucher situation, I totally understand, but they are making so much money on the WSOP, I think it's shitty to reduce credit value for the lower buyin events.

Just wait till these penny pinching bastards are running online poker in the USA. They will obv be the biggest room and because of the WSOP they will be the first choice for serious players. What kind of a rakeback or loyalty program can we expect? A shitty one imo.
05-07-2012, 03:47 PM
Dan Druff

Quote:

Originally Posted by lewfather

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Druff

Thanks for the clarification.

However, this still hurts players of lower buyin events.

If they wanted to eliminate the clunky voucher situation, I totally understand, but they are making so much money on the WSOP, I think it's shitty to reduce credit value for the lower buyin events.

Anytime you see a change it's almost always in a way to keep more dollar in the business's pocket. Even when you're at the store and you see toilet paper repackaged there's a solid chance if you look into the ply you're getting fucked. 99c bags of chips go up to $1.09 ALL NEW PACKAGING! Wait it has less oz too ?

This is how business works

Yeah, didn't say I was surprised, just that I find it annoying.

Just when I think Harrah's has found every possible way to squeeze more money out of WSOP players, they come up with a new innovation to get even more.

I wonder if they will have the $5-for-15-minutes iPhone chargers again this year.

Speaking of which, I recommend this product if you want your iPhone to last throughout the day (even if you're watching video or surfing the web constantly) at the WSOP:

http://www.newtrent.com/store/iphone...l-battery.html

The cheapest one will actually work well. I have an older version of it (cost me $35) and it kicks ass.