This is arguably the BEST and HONEST Las Vegas hotel and comps vlog EVER posted. RESPECT! BTW, IMHO, MGM overvalues their comps for rooms, especially on Fridays and Saturdays. I hate it when the MGM host uses that against you if you ever ask to have additional items removed from your bill. They requested, “You’re “OVERCOMPED” when you amass almost 500,000 tier points! Insulting.
Why on Earth would you be paying for a room in the first place if you’re amassing 500,000 tier points per visit? At that level I have to assume you gamble fairly frequently so you must be getting monthly offers. Comped rooms, FREEPLAY and resort credit, then after that you can ask your host to take any extra stuff off your bill based on theo and with 500,000 tier points with an already comped room you should be able to get whatever you want taken off your bill.
Great video! Thank you for taking the time to make this and I hope you continue to do this every year! I have been Gold at MGM the last few years due to a tier match from Hyatt but looks like I will be Pearl when the tiers reset in Feb. I have been getting decent comps still at Bellagio that significant reduce the cost but still paying about half of the cost and no resort fees. I was definitely disappointed that they reduced the tier credits from hotel charges because I used to earn more from that than gambling. I mostly play $25/hand blackjack (with some slots) which does not comp that well. I had some play at Cosmo but guess we'll have to wait another year to see how those combine! Good luck in 2024!!!
Thanks John. Yes when they cut the spend points with MGM it hurt us significantly with all our meals we pay for - we were well over 350k tier points before the change now we have accepted that MGM Gold is the best we will likely do. How do you get no resort fees? Is it part of your room offer? Just wondering since Pearl still has to pay resort fees I thought.
Great video! Your comps/bankroll are in line with us and there's definitely a decline in offers. We also utilize MGM and Wynn for most of our stays. The spreadsheet is a FANTASTIC idea! I can't believe I didn't think of that!! 🎉 Here's to a better gambling year!!
As a person that has been a student of maximizing comps for many years, this is certainly one of the best videos I've seen, especially in your use of real world numbers. One of the biggest mistakes I see people make, especially in places like Vegas and AC, is spreading their budget around to too many properties. I always tell people...play where you stay or would like to stay. The other one mostly pertains to local casinos which is going too often with a small bankroll and/or people going just to use comps. This keeps your theo low and therefore your offers will be minimal. I tell people to save up and go less often with a bigger bankroll. That increases your theo and therefore your offers will usually increase. Casino only really care about how much you play on average per day when it comes to offers. They don't care as much what you spend throughout the year....that's what tier benefits reward you for.
Hey Josh and Rachael! Thank you for all the wonderful content, we love your videos! And this video every year is our favorite because we love to analyze our comps. So we did Vegas 4 times (most ever) in 2023 & set a new 1 year coin in record. But our comps at MGM (we spend and play 95% on their properties) have remained almost the same. We are so frustrated. We were wondering if based on the clear lowering of comps you have seen from them, are you still making MGM Rewards your primary for 2024? We were thinking of trying out Resorts World & Venetian Rewards but no one ever talks about those two rewards programs. Thank you both for all the great content!! We love the channel!
Thanks so much! We like doing these to know where we are at, otherwise it’s tough to just have bad trip after bad trip and think why do I even do this. we would like to try out Venetian but it always comes to that point do I pay for a room or take a free one. For us MGM is likely to stay one of the key areas since we enjoy changing up where we stay. Like the idea of staying at Venetian or RW but love the flexibility of having 10+ hotels to choose from with MGM. We actually might dabble a little with CET this year since Wynn stays are harder to come by for us currently. We liked Circa but unlikely to stay downtown more than 1 trip a year. We will see
Thank you so much for sharing. We would love to hear your take on the cruising side. We switched from Vegas to Cruising 2 years ago and find the value to be much better. Though the pay back seems to be about 7% lower than Vegas.
Good idea. I’m not disciplined enough to track my in and out on my own. Have you been able to find a coin in coin out with the cruise companies? I do know that I typically bring 1/2 to 1/4 the bankroll for a weeklong cruise vs what I take to Las Vegas for 2-4 nights. I like that cruise programs are much more straightforward and display point needed for a cruise voucher. We have loved getting the emails and mailers with free cruises even when we didn’t think we played enough.
@@JoshRachael I track coin in by the points. We play 2k and got to 5000 points on Princess which equals $12,500 coin in. Just slots. Table games are a mystery. Lol. It has been 2 years since we played on Royal, I don’t remember how they track. So far we are up around 15k in real comp value with Princess. We have been lucky.
That is awesome - I should try to do that this next year. Royal resets its Casino program in April and we have plans for 2 cruises with them after April, but we did tier match to Celebrity and will be trying our first cruise with them in February of 2025 - so excited and will try to track that casino program. @@Scotts-CruiseTravel
You did a great job explaining comps in Vegas!! You totally had me with it feels like we are just prepaying for the room! I tell people that ask me about comps in Vegas - would you rather swipe your card to the nice lady at the front desk and spend $2000 or get the room for free and put $2500 into slot machines? Can't win if you don't play!!
Thank you for the honesty of what it is like gambling in Vegas. I have played tables and I am trying to learn how to properly play slots. Do you have any videos recommending what slots to play and how you play them?
We do not, we have done some "just for fun" comparison videos in the past showing $100 in this machine vs that machine, but in all reality anyone who is telling you they know how to pick the right slot machine every time is lying to you. All slot machines are based on a random number generator and are set to a certain percent payback amount over the life of the machine. Even if one machine is 97% payback and one is set at 87% payback you are unlikely to actually notice a dramatic difference since that would be over millions of spins and most people at most are doing hundreds of spins on a particular machine. For us the key when deciding how to play the slot machine is focused around what bet you make. For us it is key to bet ALL PAY LINES, and at least the minimum bet to trigger a BONUS if one is available. This would mean that if 2 credits is needed to trigger a Wheel of Fortune spin or a Top Dollar Bonus we will ALWAYS BET 2 CREDITS. Otherwise you should just be playing a 3 reel no bonus game like Triple Stars, 7s and so on, which have been said to be less volatile since they are not Bonus or Bust type machines, but they also are generally less fun and less interactive. Now that I am going on my 5th paragraph maybe we should make a video on this...Good Idea
Best video I have seen like this from a breakdown standpoint. Vegas is so weird to me now, in my youth I went there to gamble, now I go there for resort vacationing. I can gamble now locally in Az so the gambling part just doesnt resonate anymore in vegas.
Happy Saturday! Great tips and rundown . I’m gold with MGM and Diamond with Caesar’s. In Vegas though I concentrate my spend at the MGM resorts . Normally stay at Bellagio or Aria and never pay a cent for my suites or rooms . Having the MGM MasterCard is a huge help in adding points and comp dollars. My next stay is in a few months and scored a suite at Bellagio with $250 resort credit and $500 free play so happy with that . I do drop a decent amount on the slots and roulette so they get me in the end lol 😎😎😎
Happy Saturday Anthony. That’s a good offer at Bellagio. We are thinking about using our MGM Mastercard less in the future since we can actually tier match now with our Royal Caribbean status to Gold thankfully which is the key we want with no Resort Fees at Gold
Hey guys excellent video! Great breakdown of the comps, money and value with your trips. I use many of your strategies already and feel we are very similar in our thinking strategy! I loved your spread sheet and I track our comps, free play etc but not to the detail you do which gave me motivation to do the same for this year just to see all our total numbers. The one thing that sucks is the comps going way down for everyone! My free play (Caesars) went down about 80% from 4-5 years ago with almost the same gambling yearly. I put in minimal play with Club One and get the same FP offer you do which makes me wonder how long before I become a Fremont guy and put most of my play at Circa if they're gonna give me max value. Anyway guys awesome video and amazing detail and info!
Thanks a lot, I started it a couple years ago partly to make myself understand why I keep going to Vegas and losing thousands when I would look at my Win/Loss statements at the end of the year. I was pretty nervous to do this years video since our room quality and free play had gone down so much over the past couple years. Dang that is not good to hear for Caesars - we are guessing that our Wynn stays are basically run out at this point and we decided to dabble with a couple hours with CET this past trip. We are going to do a 48 hour stay this spring and see how it goes. I wish that I had captured room values, free play and resort credit years ago to see really how things were prior to COVID, which I think a lot of people say it is back to now, but i think most of that is off hunch not facts. We only were able to get Sunday through Thursday with Circa, but did enjoy it. We are all about restaurants and downtown just doesn't have enough to draw us in repeatedly though.
Did you guys ever give Caesars a shot? I'm Canadian and this is my first time getting any casino offers after a trip to Caesars Windsor. There are no MGM resorts in Canada that I know of. I understand MGM is objectively better now especially in Vegas, but do you think Caesars will give better offers to compensate? I'm at the first tier level and have 2 free nights in Vegas and 2 in Windsor already booked for this year. When I went to Windsor in October I only played poker and put about $1000CAD coin in slots. Have been to the WSOP twice in Vegas and basically only played tournaments on those trips. Getting an email for free nights when you're not expecting it is super exciting. Still have to pay resort fees of course but at least in Windsor they're only $20CAD per night. Your channel is very good for Vegas content.
Wow thanks so much for sharing your experience. We actually are likely to give Caesars some play to test out the waters. On our final day of our December trip after checking out at Vdara we actually did play a few hours over at Planet Hollywood and already have a trip booked for this spring with a compd room offer. Should be a fun little comparison
We don't really bother much with MGM anymore. Just a one night double book room, (while staying somewhere else, usually Wynn). I would suggest trying Station Casinos. We love Green Valley Ranch because of the laid-back and friendly vibe. But we now have offers from the new Durango hotel that rival our Wynn comps. Red Rock is also new and modern. I was there for 2 nights last August and earned a free Princess cruise. We Saul on the brand new Sun Princess in May. We earned a free Holland America Line cruise from Wynn. After playing a fraction of what it cost us for coin in at Wynn, we were comped a free 14-day European cruise directly from HAL. We're in Los Angeles so if we decide to take a quick trip to Vegas, we'll stay 2 n8ghts at Wynn to burn some free play and resort credit, but we'll focus on GVR or check out the Durango.
Wow thanks for sharing. We struggle to stay off strip but if we do it seems like Red Rock and GVR are two most talked about. Durango looks nice, will be interesting to see how everything plays out there.
Always wanted to know how much you have to bet for the comps . I only stay at encore and dine at Wynn Encore exclusively when I go to Vegas and while my gambling expense is low we’ve been comped rooms . So spending in one place pays off . Enjoyed the video #wulffdendad
Thanks for the comprehensive data! Q: Are cruise comps better than Vegas? Q: How did El Cortez get added to Club One? (I only see Golden Gate, The D, and Circa in my account.) Better luck and comps in 2024!
Thank you. El Cortez was just a casino I did some play at that trip and why I pulled it out of the D Coin in and out section. Sorry if that was confusing. I only brought it up since I hit a handpay there making it a winning trip
Happy New Year Josh & Rachael! Love your content, humor and energy, thank you. Why not Caesar’s and does Wynn still status match? Asking for a Diamond guy.
Thanks so much. We got lucky to catch Wynn in 2021 doing the tier match but I don’t believe they are anymore. With the Wynn comps slowing last year we actually did play some at Planet Hollywood our final day after checking out at Vdara and boom, we have a trip booked this spring to a Caesars property. Guess we are shifting towards MGM CET and Club One? We will see
Great video! Would you be willing to share your spreadsheet template? I literally just created one today for 2024 to start tracking my trips but I think yours looks great.
Awesome - Hit me up on Instagram - I can try to get it to you. It was my first time using Google Docs to do it, so I need to figure out how to share, haha
I’ve been Pearl status at MGM Resorts seemingly forever, though I was 500 tier points shy of making Gold at the end of 2022. My current offers are reasonably close to my 2023 offers: both years it’s 4 nights free at most MGM properties. For higher end properties like Aria and Bellagio, the current offers include $160 free play and a $100 resort credit, while at mid-tier properties like Park MGM and NY-NY it’s $160 free play and a $250 resort credit. Funny how the properties with cheaper f&b options gives me a higher resort credit. 🤔 I honestly expected my offers to really go down, as my coin in went down a lot in 2023. Though, that’s because I was at NY-NY during the infamous cyberattack 😱.
I get better comps from Cesars than MGM. Oddly enough my husband is sapphire at MGM and gets good offers. Although he has to pay resort fees, they are at the higher end hotels, with free play and 50-75 in resort credit.
Nice - We are planning on trying out CET this year, we have friends who have done well with them in the past and are moving back from MGM. What is your favorite hotel with Caesars? @@Ratgirl505
I was totally robbed & to add insult to injury… my host dumped me literally word for word told me “it’s just business” of course they claimed I didn’t gamble enough 1 out of the 8 years that I have ….
This was super helpful! Came back from Vegas this past week with comped stay at NYNY. Thought my wife and I coined in enough ~around 15k over 4 days on my player card but the casino host said I didn't lose enough money to comp anything additional from my bill (was wishing I could get at least a night or two of resort fee comped as I am currently pearl status). After a trip, how quickly do you see updates to your offers? Wondering if and when my offers might update. Thanks!
Thanks so much. Generally you will see updates with MGM Rewards on the first of the month. I would guess if you just got back you may want to wait until April 1st to see true updates
My comps at MGM are still the same, gambling losses are atrocious. Looking for north end casino with lil better odds. Now getting rooms on 4-5th floor, when used to get nicer rooms??? Oh woes me, but you are totally correct. Might just stay and play in my own state 😊😊😊
I could understand that from a gambling perspective. We still love the food and entertainment options we get in Las Vegas but the gambling has not been kind so harder and harder to make a trip to Las Vegas to lose money when I could do it closer to home 😂 What north strip properties are you looking at?
This is a nice review that I don't think anyone else is doing. Are you getting tax advantages when you spend money on vacation because of your UA-cam business? I know you guys enjoy the food in Las Vegas, but as I watch your videos, you spent an incredible amount of money on drinks and food. It is pretty easy to blow through $850 in resort credit drinking $20 drinks and expensive food. These resort credits are only good at select locations, so they are somewhat limited. Do you ever not spend all your resort comps? Is your dining/drinking amount in excess to your vacations that don't involve traveling to Las Vegas?
Thank you We do get to do some tax write-offs with the channel. Obviously not everything, we can't write off gambling, alcohol and what not, and even if it is tax deductible we do clearly have to pay for everything up front. From what we have learned a channel needs to make a profit in 3-5 years otherwise it is recognized as a hobby, so unless the channel grows more, we may not be able to do this beyond this next year though. While we do make some money with UA-cam it is definitely not as much as the big channels out there - and we don't spend ours - this helps us stay somewhat restrained in what we do. Figure if it goes well maybe we can buy a retirement home in 10 years or so with it. Yes our Resort Credit is always gone, never leave a cent if we can help it. We often go through our resort credit in one meal and sometimes by the time we are done with appetizers. We like that MGM allows you to charge to your room at all their properties and most restaurants, so we are able to go to any of their properties, which helps with diversity of food options. When we are not on vacations we eat at home about 99% of the time, cut the carbs, and generally don't drink alcohol. Travel and food Vlogging can really catch up to you in terms of added pounds so that is why we meal prep and really watch our serving sizes at home. It is good for the wallet and for the waist line.
perfect, love you guys! ❤ my girlfriend and i have been seeing the exact same trends from the reward programs, lower value for the same level of play, et cetera.
one question though: how do we actually price those room values? i mean that’s technically the public price, but even just being in the rewards programs offer a minimal discount without any play whatsoever. and i’m sure there’s an unlisted “casino price” that the casinos price their rooms at internally. idk it’s hard to say how much “value” the free rooms actually are, but i feel like it’s overstating the comp to just look at the straight line public “no rewards account” price bc most people don’t pay that.
Nice video that explained comps. I am an Atlantic City gambler as Vegas has become too expensive for me (high room rates, resort fees, parking fees, restaurants, flights). I can drive to Atlantic city and hotel rates are really inexpensive especially Sunday to Thursday. This is even during the prime time during summer. Offseason, it is really good Sunday to Thursday. One thing to note is that Black Jack players will not get as good a comps as slot players neither will video poker players. Atlantic City will give you much better comps than Las Vegas because they are hurting. There are 9 casinos there that are still profitable but they have to work at it. I would not fly to Atlantic city but if you can drive there, then you can get in your gambling in there with much better comps. During Sunday to Thursday you can get $10 min blackjack and on weekends $15 min blackjack tables and they are all 3 to 2 blackjack not the rip offs in Vegas that pay 6 to 5 blackjack.
i agree i almost exclusivly stay and play at mgm and my comps have been cut in half i even lost my gold status this year they still comp me rooms but at lower tier properties and for some reason they still comp my resort fees too
Thats pretty good that they still comp your resort fees, hope they don't catch on to it. Yea this was the first time I missed Gold or Platinum in at least 6 years
I am a Las Vegas local. I am Diamond Plus with Caesars, and I tier matched to MGM Gold. I play high limit video poker. I've never received the kinds of room comp offers from MGM like you presented. I basically get $5 per week of free play. My understanding is that locals get screwed with the comp offers, and it takes a lot more coin-in for video poker players to receive the same comps.
I have heard the same that locals definitely get put on a different comp system. I don’t fully know how that all works on the local level. Thank you for sharing
Ok, I'm going to nerd out for a bit. So I watch this channel just like I watch any regular tv show, for entertainment. But the cool thing about this, social media... I actually get to interact with those I'm watching... that' is SO SO SO cool. Great content Josh and Rachel!!!!!
🥰 Now that is a great comment to wake up to. We do our best to be the type of channel we want to watch and that includes responding to every comment. Love that you appreciate it! 🥰
@@JoshRachaelto be fair I don't play in Vegas I play in Reno.Peppermill is really good.the best is Monarch rewards that's at Atlantis.No resort fees.not paid for food in a few years.good free play.free buffets.what really helps is try to play when they have promotions going on.builds tier points and comp dollars faster.
Make sure that your casino rewards account is affiliated with your room booking. Charge your dining and drinks to your room. Resort credit does not cover tips but should cover most of the rest.
easiest way for comps are my vegas slots app we are heading back for the 3rd year in a row staying at bellagio for FREE numerous resorts to choose from all over the country this tier stuff is aimed at HIGHrollers be blessed play safe
Hi Josh. i have been a long time fan of your adventures with the gorgeous Rachel. I would love to learn more about how you get cruise offers! We are gold MGM members who get 5 nights comped in an Aria Sky Suite, but have never gone on a cruise before. Any chance you can direct me to cruise comp info?
Wow thank you so much. I am going to post a link below that shows the status match and discusses the free cruise. We were Platinum in 2021 and qualified for the free one for that level. Gold does not have an automatic qualifier unfortunately but does allow for discounts and onboard credit. However I believe last year I got emails saying i could get a cruise voucher but had to play during certain weekends with MGM to get a free one. I can't find it unfortunately but want to say it was around August 2023. This link will give you a little bit more information though. www.mgmresorts.com/en/mgm-rewards/preferred-partners/royal-caribbean-and-celebrity-cruises.html If I find the email from last year I will add more information here
We do. We have found that it can help you get tier status but not better comp offers. When they changed the program two years ago it drastically decreased the benefit of the MGM credit card by cutting the number of points earned by spend. We have cut down our using of the card to only Vegas trips now compared to all spend before
Mostly all thru play, they had some multipliers that I got lucky to use but unlikely to hit again with current play. I do have the credit card but have cut down on using it
Not as much as before. The spend points have been nerfed a lot over the years Sign up for a card at the casino you hope to stay at, make sure to use it when Gambling and get the points for spend as much as possible. Don’t spread your play across too many places
@@JoshRachaelthank you. Yea i signed up for the credit card and was wondering why I haven’t got any comps. I’ll be going to Vegas in October. Will get a mlife card and link it to my account. Thanks
The comp offers are still driven by casino play, tier status is driven by overall points so you still need some casino action to get free rooms with MGM
I play an average of $200 a hand on blackjack for a total of 10 hours in 3-4 days at Caesars 6x a year and the most I get is a free standard room and I have to pay resort fees
@@JoshRachael yeah. Unity is the name. I lost a lot last year. A tad more than what you guys average on a trip and couldn’t get close to keeping Icon status. Resort credit is also super low.
11:19 so gambling loss -$7,000 for 19 nights, about $368/night avg to get compd, unless i'm missing other fees. Meh so it's basically the same as paying regular weekend rate if you're not going to play slots/table games - minus perks like a free buffet or line cut
Yea comps have been getting worse and worse it seems over the past 5 years and this was an example of how it’s basically prepaying for rooms at this point rather than taking advantage of programs
i need to bite the bullet and just go to vegas xD ive been just randomly looking into things when i have the time and the "newest" not new any more apparently is juts mgm might still be pushing the my vegas app? maybe thats why the comps are waning. like havent stepped foot in a casino and have amassed enough point to stay a couple days for free. the apps have been nerfed from the videos i watched thing used to be cheaper but its still alot of stuff tbh
Im glad to get even more confirmation this actually works xD Trying to get my friends to use it so we can actually combine the stays they won't do it xD I'll go on my own one of these days lol
Have you ever looked at your actual value that you would pay out of pocket for the rooms? Would you actually pay $2000 for a suite if it wasn't free? IMO don't compare the listed price, compare what you would actually pay for a room if it was your own money
If I were paying I would not but I just looked at the same weekend we went for this year and it’s $2100 to book. The nice thing is that these rooms comps give me rooms I would never pay for myself but enjoy staying in.
We have on Royal Caribbean. With them it’s pretty straight forward with points per dollars played. They show on each cruise how many points you need to earn a free cruise for a free one but also get free offers frequently on limited itineraries after the cruise in email and mail
On one section it says “Must be redeemed within 30 days of a new cruise reservation ”. Then says Rewards must be used within 30 days of purchase. We booked in June but aren’t sailing till September. It seem as if they want you to call to redeem the point within 30 days of when you booked the cruise but if you redeem the point you only have 30 days to use them. I was going to use them for free play. Not to book a whole cruise. That’s why I’m confused.
I don’t see why you count the room value. You wouldn’t be there if not to gamble. No one who gambles a significant amount pays for a room. The only real value I count is freeplay and resort credit.
I guess we view things differently, most people’s biggest value from comps is the room. If I had to pay for a room I would be making a lot different decisions on where I stay
This is arguably the BEST and HONEST Las Vegas hotel and comps vlog EVER posted. RESPECT!
BTW, IMHO, MGM overvalues their comps for rooms, especially on Fridays and Saturdays. I hate it when the MGM host uses that against you if you ever ask to have additional items removed from your bill. They requested, “You’re “OVERCOMPED” when you amass almost 500,000 tier points! Insulting.
Wow thanks so much. Comps are not truly free and we do our best to show that. So glad you appreciated it
Why on Earth would you be paying for a room in the first place if you’re amassing 500,000 tier points per visit? At that level I have to assume you gamble fairly frequently so you must be getting monthly offers. Comped rooms, FREEPLAY and resort credit, then after that you can ask your host to take any extra stuff off your bill based on theo and with 500,000 tier points with an already comped room you should be able to get whatever you want taken off your bill.
I’ve watched hundreds of Vegas videos and this is the most informative and helpful entry of all. Much appreciated.
Wow thank you so much!
Great video! Thank you for taking the time to make this and I hope you continue to do this every year! I have been Gold at MGM the last few years due to a tier match from Hyatt but looks like I will be Pearl when the tiers reset in Feb. I have been getting decent comps still at Bellagio that significant reduce the cost but still paying about half of the cost and no resort fees. I was definitely disappointed that they reduced the tier credits from hotel charges because I used to earn more from that than gambling. I mostly play $25/hand blackjack (with some slots) which does not comp that well. I had some play at Cosmo but guess we'll have to wait another year to see how those combine! Good luck in 2024!!!
Thanks John. Yes when they cut the spend points with MGM it hurt us significantly with all our meals we pay for - we were well over 350k tier points before the change now we have accepted that MGM Gold is the best we will likely do. How do you get no resort fees? Is it part of your room offer? Just wondering since Pearl still has to pay resort fees I thought.
Great video! Your comps/bankroll are in line with us and there's definitely a decline in offers. We also utilize MGM and Wynn for most of our stays. The spreadsheet is a FANTASTIC idea! I can't believe I didn't think of that!! 🎉 Here's to a better gambling year!!
Awesome! Thank you!
Great video. You both are having fun and living your best life! That is counts the most.
Thank you!
As a person that has been a student of maximizing comps for many years, this is certainly one of the best videos I've seen, especially in your use of real world numbers. One of the biggest mistakes I see people make, especially in places like Vegas and AC, is spreading their budget around to too many properties. I always tell people...play where you stay or would like to stay. The other one mostly pertains to local casinos which is going too often with a small bankroll and/or people going just to use comps. This keeps your theo low and therefore your offers will be minimal. I tell people to save up and go less often with a bigger bankroll. That increases your theo and therefore your offers will usually increase. Casino only really care about how much you play on average per day when it comes to offers. They don't care as much what you spend throughout the year....that's what tier benefits reward you for.
Thanks a lot, and thanks for sharing your experiences
Hey Josh and Rachael! Thank you for all the wonderful content, we love your videos! And this video every year is our favorite because we love to analyze our comps. So we did Vegas 4 times (most ever) in 2023 & set a new 1 year coin in record. But our comps at MGM (we spend and play 95% on their properties) have remained almost the same. We are so frustrated. We were wondering if based on the clear lowering of comps you have seen from them, are you still making MGM Rewards your primary for 2024?
We were thinking of trying out Resorts World & Venetian Rewards but no one ever talks about those two rewards programs. Thank you both for all the great content!! We love the channel!
Thanks so much! We like doing these to know where we are at, otherwise it’s tough to just have bad trip after bad trip and think why do I even do this.
we would like to try out Venetian but it always comes to that point do I pay for a room or take a free one. For us MGM is likely to stay one of the key areas since we enjoy changing up where we stay. Like the idea of staying at Venetian or RW but love the flexibility of having 10+ hotels to choose from with MGM.
We actually might dabble a little with CET this year since Wynn stays are harder to come by for us currently. We liked Circa but unlikely to stay downtown more than 1 trip a year. We will see
Great video and excellent tips. Our comps (mostly MGM) have gone down so much compared to previous years, so this info was helpful! Thanks 😁
Thanks you, makes losing money gambling feel a little better in the end doing this 😂
Great video. This was very informative. It does seem like it's harder to win in Vegas this year to me as well.
Thanks a lot John, good luck in 2024
Thank you so much for sharing. We would love to hear your take on the cruising side. We switched from Vegas to Cruising 2 years ago and find the value to be much better. Though the pay back seems to be about 7% lower than Vegas.
Good idea. I’m not disciplined enough to track my in and out on my own. Have you been able to find a coin in coin out with the cruise companies? I do know that I typically bring 1/2 to 1/4 the bankroll for a weeklong cruise vs what I take to Las Vegas for 2-4 nights. I like that cruise programs are much more straightforward and display point needed for a cruise voucher. We have loved getting the emails and mailers with free cruises even when we didn’t think we played enough.
@@JoshRachael I track coin in by the points. We play 2k and got to 5000 points on Princess which equals $12,500 coin in. Just slots. Table games are a mystery. Lol. It has been 2 years since we played on Royal, I don’t remember how they track.
So far we are up around 15k in real comp value with Princess. We have been lucky.
That is awesome - I should try to do that this next year. Royal resets its Casino program in April and we have plans for 2 cruises with them after April, but we did tier match to Celebrity and will be trying our first cruise with them in February of 2025 - so excited and will try to track that casino program. @@Scotts-CruiseTravel
You did a great job explaining comps in Vegas!! You totally had me with it feels like we are just prepaying for the room! I tell people that ask me about comps in Vegas - would you rather swipe your card to the nice lady at the front desk and spend $2000 or get the room for free and put $2500 into slot machines? Can't win if you don't play!!
You got that right
Thank you for the honesty of what it is like gambling in Vegas. I have played tables and I am trying to learn how to properly play slots. Do you have any videos recommending what slots to play and how you play them?
We do not, we have done some "just for fun" comparison videos in the past showing $100 in this machine vs that machine, but in all reality anyone who is telling you they know how to pick the right slot machine every time is lying to you.
All slot machines are based on a random number generator and are set to a certain percent payback amount over the life of the machine. Even if one machine is 97% payback and one is set at 87% payback you are unlikely to actually notice a dramatic difference since that would be over millions of spins and most people at most are doing hundreds of spins on a particular machine.
For us the key when deciding how to play the slot machine is focused around what bet you make. For us it is key to bet ALL PAY LINES, and at least the minimum bet to trigger a BONUS if one is available. This would mean that if 2 credits is needed to trigger a Wheel of Fortune spin or a Top Dollar Bonus we will ALWAYS BET 2 CREDITS. Otherwise you should just be playing a 3 reel no bonus game like Triple Stars, 7s and so on, which have been said to be less volatile since they are not Bonus or Bust type machines, but they also are generally less fun and less interactive.
Now that I am going on my 5th paragraph maybe we should make a video on this...Good Idea
Anxious to see how Caesars stacks up!
Worth a shot after this
Best video I have seen like this from a breakdown standpoint. Vegas is so weird to me now, in my youth I went there to gamble, now I go there for resort vacationing. I can gamble now locally in Az so the gambling part just doesnt resonate anymore in vegas.
So true. We can go to Vegas quality casinos 2.5 hours away from us. Vegas needs to be more than just a place to gamble.
You where very clear got right to the truth about how everything works,dose it come from getting a room,what is the maximum you can get from comps.
Thanks Brian!
great video. I love the breakdown of the stays and comps.
Thank you
Such amazing & truly wonderful content & inspiring videos! Much support. 👍🏽
Thank you so much!
Happy Saturday! Great tips and rundown . I’m gold with MGM and Diamond with Caesar’s. In Vegas though I concentrate my spend at the MGM resorts . Normally stay at Bellagio or Aria and never pay a cent for my suites or rooms . Having the MGM MasterCard is a huge help in adding points and comp dollars. My next stay is in a few months and scored a suite at Bellagio with $250 resort credit and $500 free play so happy with that . I do drop a decent amount on the slots and roulette so they get me in the end lol 😎😎😎
Happy Saturday Anthony. That’s a good offer at Bellagio. We are thinking about using our MGM Mastercard less in the future since we can actually tier match now with our Royal Caribbean status to Gold thankfully which is the key we want with no Resort Fees at Gold
Hey guys excellent video! Great breakdown of the comps, money and value with your trips. I use many of your strategies already and feel we are very similar in our thinking strategy! I loved your spread sheet and I track our comps, free play etc but not to the detail you do which gave me motivation to do the same for this year just to see all our total numbers. The one thing that sucks is the comps going way down for everyone! My free play (Caesars) went down about 80% from 4-5 years ago with almost the same gambling yearly. I put in minimal play with Club One and get the same FP offer you do which makes me wonder how long before I become a Fremont guy and put most of my play at Circa if they're gonna give me max value. Anyway guys awesome video and amazing detail and info!
Thanks a lot, I started it a couple years ago partly to make myself understand why I keep going to Vegas and losing thousands when I would look at my Win/Loss statements at the end of the year. I was pretty nervous to do this years video since our room quality and free play had gone down so much over the past couple years.
Dang that is not good to hear for Caesars - we are guessing that our Wynn stays are basically run out at this point and we decided to dabble with a couple hours with CET this past trip. We are going to do a 48 hour stay this spring and see how it goes.
I wish that I had captured room values, free play and resort credit years ago to see really how things were prior to COVID, which I think a lot of people say it is back to now, but i think most of that is off hunch not facts.
We only were able to get Sunday through Thursday with Circa, but did enjoy it. We are all about restaurants and downtown just doesn't have enough to draw us in repeatedly though.
$10,000 IN COMPS?!! AMAZING!!! THANK YOUUUU!!
Right?! Thank you
ALSO, thank you for taking the time to do this informative video J&R!@@JoshRachael
Great video to explain the rewards program 👍👍👍
Glad it was helpful!
Did you guys ever give Caesars a shot? I'm Canadian and this is my first time getting any casino offers after a trip to Caesars Windsor. There are no MGM resorts in Canada that I know of.
I understand MGM is objectively better now especially in Vegas, but do you think Caesars will give better offers to compensate? I'm at the first tier level and have 2 free nights in Vegas and 2 in Windsor already booked for this year. When I went to Windsor in October I only played poker and put about $1000CAD coin in slots. Have been to the WSOP twice in Vegas and basically only played tournaments on those trips.
Getting an email for free nights when you're not expecting it is super exciting. Still have to pay resort fees of course but at least in Windsor they're only $20CAD per night. Your channel is very good for Vegas content.
Wow thanks so much for sharing your experience.
We actually are likely to give Caesars some play to test out the waters. On our final day of our December trip after checking out at Vdara we actually did play a few hours over at Planet Hollywood and already have a trip booked for this spring with a compd room offer. Should be a fun little comparison
Excellent info & insight...thx so much for all the info!
Thanks for checking it out!
We don't really bother much with MGM anymore. Just a one night double book room, (while staying somewhere else, usually Wynn).
I would suggest trying Station Casinos. We love Green Valley Ranch because of the laid-back and friendly vibe. But we now have offers from the new Durango hotel that rival our Wynn comps. Red Rock is also new and modern.
I was there for 2 nights last August and earned a free Princess cruise. We Saul on the brand new Sun Princess in May. We earned a free Holland America Line cruise from Wynn. After playing a fraction of what it cost us for coin in at Wynn, we were comped a free 14-day European cruise directly from HAL. We're in Los Angeles so if we decide to take a quick trip to Vegas, we'll stay 2 n8ghts at Wynn to burn some free play and resort credit, but we'll focus on GVR or check out the Durango.
Wow thanks for sharing. We struggle to stay off strip but if we do it seems like Red Rock and GVR are two most talked about. Durango looks nice, will be interesting to see how everything plays out there.
Always wanted to know how much you have to bet for the comps . I only stay at encore and dine at Wynn Encore exclusively when I go to Vegas and while my gambling expense is low we’ve been comped rooms . So spending in one place pays off . Enjoyed the video #wulffdendad
That is awesome! We love the variety of changing it up so I can’t say we would ever stick to one property but Wynn is definitely our fave
Thanks for the comprehensive data! Q: Are cruise comps better than Vegas? Q: How did El Cortez get added to Club One? (I only see Golden Gate, The D, and Circa in my account.) Better luck and comps in 2024!
Thank you. El Cortez was just a casino I did some play at that trip and why I pulled it out of the D Coin in and out section. Sorry if that was confusing. I only brought it up since I hit a handpay there making it a winning trip
Happy New Year Josh & Rachael! Love your content, humor and energy, thank you. Why not Caesar’s and does Wynn still status match? Asking for a Diamond guy.
Thanks so much. We got lucky to catch Wynn in 2021 doing the tier match but I don’t believe they are anymore. With the Wynn comps slowing last year we actually did play some at Planet Hollywood our final day after checking out at Vdara and boom, we have a trip booked this spring to a Caesars property. Guess we are shifting towards MGM CET and Club One? We will see
Great video! Would you be willing to share your spreadsheet template? I literally just created one today for 2024 to start tracking my trips but I think yours looks great.
Awesome - Hit me up on Instagram - I can try to get it to you. It was my first time using Google Docs to do it, so I need to figure out how to share, haha
Alright let's be real - How are your comps looking nowadays?
I’ve been Pearl status at MGM Resorts seemingly forever, though I was 500 tier points shy of making Gold at the end of 2022. My current offers are reasonably close to my 2023 offers: both years it’s 4 nights free at most MGM properties. For higher end properties like Aria and Bellagio, the current offers include $160 free play and a $100 resort credit, while at mid-tier properties like Park MGM and NY-NY it’s $160 free play and a $250 resort credit. Funny how the properties with cheaper f&b options gives me a higher resort credit. 🤔
I honestly expected my offers to really go down, as my coin in went down a lot in 2023. Though, that’s because I was at NY-NY during the infamous cyberattack 😱.
I get better comps from Cesars than MGM. Oddly enough my husband is sapphire at MGM and gets good offers. Although he has to pay resort fees, they are at the higher end hotels, with free play and 50-75 in resort credit.
Nice - We are planning on trying out CET this year, we have friends who have done well with them in the past and are moving back from MGM. What is your favorite hotel with Caesars? @@Ratgirl505
That is not bad at all@@annhenriques3520
I was totally robbed & to add insult to injury… my host dumped me literally word for word told me “it’s just business” of course they claimed I didn’t gamble enough 1 out of the 8 years that I have ….
This was super helpful! Came back from Vegas this past week with comped stay at NYNY. Thought my wife and I coined in enough ~around 15k over 4 days on my player card but the casino host said I didn't lose enough money to comp anything additional from my bill (was wishing I could get at least a night or two of resort fee comped as I am currently pearl status). After a trip, how quickly do you see updates to your offers? Wondering if and when my offers might update. Thanks!
Thanks so much. Generally you will see updates with MGM Rewards on the first of the month. I would guess if you just got back you may want to wait until April 1st to see true updates
Thank you for the good video. Looking to go back in September and can’t wait. Also is there any chance I can get that spreadsheet template?
Thank you, it’s just a basic one from Google docs nothing special
My comps at MGM are still the same, gambling losses are atrocious. Looking for north end casino with lil better odds. Now getting rooms on 4-5th floor, when used to get nicer rooms???
Oh woes me, but you are totally correct. Might just stay and play in my own state 😊😊😊
I could understand that from a gambling perspective. We still love the food and entertainment options we get in Las Vegas but the gambling has not been kind so harder and harder to make a trip to Las Vegas to lose money when I could do it closer to home 😂
What north strip properties are you looking at?
Thanks for the info!😊
Thanks for watching!
This is a nice review that I don't think anyone else is doing. Are you getting tax advantages when you spend money on vacation because of your UA-cam business? I know you guys enjoy the food in Las Vegas, but as I watch your videos, you spent an incredible amount of money on drinks and food. It is pretty easy to blow through $850 in resort credit drinking $20 drinks and expensive food. These resort credits are only good at select locations, so they are somewhat limited. Do you ever not spend all your resort comps? Is your dining/drinking amount in excess to your vacations that don't involve traveling to Las Vegas?
Thank you
We do get to do some tax write-offs with the channel. Obviously not everything, we can't write off gambling, alcohol and what not, and even if it is tax deductible we do clearly have to pay for everything up front. From what we have learned a channel needs to make a profit in 3-5 years otherwise it is recognized as a hobby, so unless the channel grows more, we may not be able to do this beyond this next year though.
While we do make some money with UA-cam it is definitely not as much as the big channels out there - and we don't spend ours - this helps us stay somewhat restrained in what we do. Figure if it goes well maybe we can buy a retirement home in 10 years or so with it.
Yes our Resort Credit is always gone, never leave a cent if we can help it. We often go through our resort credit in one meal and sometimes by the time we are done with appetizers. We like that MGM allows you to charge to your room at all their properties and most restaurants, so we are able to go to any of their properties, which helps with diversity of food options.
When we are not on vacations we eat at home about 99% of the time, cut the carbs, and generally don't drink alcohol. Travel and food Vlogging can really catch up to you in terms of added pounds so that is why we meal prep and really watch our serving sizes at home. It is good for the wallet and for the waist line.
Great video, I'm MGM as well and my offers are much lower recently.
Thanks so much for watching and sharing
perfect, love you guys! ❤ my girlfriend and i have been seeing the exact same trends from the reward programs, lower value for the same level of play, et cetera.
one question though: how do we actually price those room values? i mean that’s technically the public price, but even just being in the rewards programs offer a minimal discount without any play whatsoever. and i’m sure there’s an unlisted “casino price” that the casinos price their rooms at internally. idk it’s hard to say how much “value” the free rooms actually are, but i feel like it’s overstating the comp to just look at the straight line public “no rewards account” price bc most people don’t pay that.
It’s a shame
I could see cutting the price by the MGM reward discount cost in that sense
Nice video that explained comps. I am an Atlantic City gambler as Vegas has become too expensive for me (high room rates, resort fees, parking fees, restaurants, flights). I can drive to Atlantic city and hotel rates are really inexpensive especially Sunday to Thursday. This is even during the prime time during summer. Offseason, it is really good Sunday to Thursday. One thing to note is that Black Jack players will not get as good a comps as slot players neither will video poker players. Atlantic City will give you much better comps than Las Vegas because they are hurting. There are 9 casinos there that are still profitable but they have to work at it. I would not fly to Atlantic city but if you can drive there, then you can get in your gambling in there with much better comps. During Sunday to Thursday you can get $10 min blackjack and on weekends $15 min blackjack tables and they are all 3 to 2 blackjack not the rip offs in Vegas that pay 6 to 5 blackjack.
Thanks for the tips Rob. We would give AC a try but we fly out of Denver so it is more than double the flight to get to compared to Las Vegas for us.
i agree i almost exclusivly stay and play at mgm and my comps have been cut in half i even lost my gold status this year they still comp me rooms but at lower tier properties and for some reason they still comp my resort fees too
Thats pretty good that they still comp your resort fees, hope they don't catch on to it. Yea this was the first time I missed Gold or Platinum in at least 6 years
Amazing insight into Complimentarys. Win some lose some 🙂👍
Exactly but make sure to take advantage when you cam
I am a Las Vegas local. I am Diamond Plus with Caesars, and I tier matched to MGM Gold. I play high limit video poker. I've never received the kinds of room comp offers from MGM like you presented. I basically get $5 per week of free play. My understanding is that locals get screwed with the comp offers, and it takes a lot more coin-in for video poker players to receive the same comps.
I have heard the same that locals definitely get put on a different comp system. I don’t fully know how that all works on the local level. Thank you for sharing
One thing I know is those big casinos like Mgm and ceasers value slot players rather then video poker players like us,sad but true.
Lordy.... just watched Moneyball in Vegas comps version!! The spreadsheet is exactly the scene from Moneyball@@@
Haha 🤓 nerding out a bit
Ok, I'm going to nerd out for a bit. So I watch this channel just like I watch any regular tv show, for entertainment. But the cool thing about this, social media... I actually get to interact with those I'm watching... that' is SO SO SO cool. Great content Josh and Rachel!!!!!
🥰 Now that is a great comment to wake up to. We do our best to be the type of channel we want to watch and that includes responding to every comment. Love that you appreciate it! 🥰
Pro tip dump both MGM and Ceasers and you will get more value for your play!
Where do you recommend?
@@JoshRachaelto be fair I don't play in Vegas I play in Reno.Peppermill is really good.the best is Monarch rewards that's at Atlantis.No resort fees.not paid for food in a few years.good free play.free buffets.what really helps is try to play when they have promotions going on.builds tier points and comp dollars faster.
is it more beneficial to charge restaurant bills to the room or is it the same as using the MGM credit card?
We link our MgM credit card to the room reservation then charge to the room. But more than likely the credit card is key
How does resort credit work I got 400 in credit never used it before? Thank you
Make sure that your casino rewards account is affiliated with your room booking. Charge your dining and drinks to your room. Resort credit does not cover tips but should cover most of the rest.
easiest way for comps are my vegas slots app
we are heading back for the 3rd year in a row staying at bellagio for FREE
numerous resorts to choose from all over the country
this tier stuff is aimed at HIGHrollers
be blessed
play safe
Thanks for sharing
Hi Josh. i have been a long time fan of your adventures with the gorgeous Rachel. I would love to learn more about how you get cruise offers! We are gold MGM members who get 5 nights comped in an Aria Sky Suite, but have never gone on a cruise before. Any chance you can direct me to cruise comp info?
Wow thank you so much. I am going to post a link below that shows the status match and discusses the free cruise. We were Platinum in 2021 and qualified for the free one for that level. Gold does not have an automatic qualifier unfortunately but does allow for discounts and onboard credit. However I believe last year I got emails saying i could get a cruise voucher but had to play during certain weekends with MGM to get a free one. I can't find it unfortunately but want to say it was around August 2023.
This link will give you a little bit more information though.
www.mgmresorts.com/en/mgm-rewards/preferred-partners/royal-caribbean-and-celebrity-cruises.html
If I find the email from last year I will add more information here
@@JoshRachael thank you! We are Canadian, and can never quite reach platinum status because we typically only get 2 trips to vegas a year
now is even harder, we hit Platinum many years in a row before but now it’s Gold as the Goal
Do you have the MGM credit card???
We do. We have found that it can help you get tier status but not better comp offers. When they changed the program two years ago it drastically decreased the benefit of the MGM credit card by cutting the number of points earned by spend. We have cut down our using of the card to only Vegas trips now compared to all spend before
Love stadium swim
It’s outta this world!
how did u get an MGM GOLD players card ?
it doesnt look like u gambled that much 2 get 1
Mostly all thru play, they had some multipliers that I got lucky to use but unlikely to hit again with current play. I do have the credit card but have cut down on using it
Are loyalty/reward program worthwhile if you don't intend to return to Vegas?
Some places have other locations throughout the US, so why not?! It’s free to join and doesn’t cost you anything, but can save money on future trips!
So basically get the mgm card at the casino to start getting comps and link it to your mgm account?
Not as much as before. The spend points have been nerfed a lot over the years
Sign up for a card at the casino you hope to stay at, make sure to use it when Gambling and get the points for spend as much as possible.
Don’t spread your play across too many places
@@JoshRachaelthank you. Yea i signed up for the credit card and was wondering why I haven’t got any comps. I’ll be going to Vegas in October. Will get a mlife card and link it to my account. Thanks
The comp offers are still driven by casino play, tier status is driven by overall points so you still need some casino action to get free rooms with MGM
Wowowow epic Vid
Thank you
Does Caesar tier match to diamond if I have mgm gold?
last time we tried they only did for new members but always worth a try
I received up to 4 nights comp. Do I really need to gamble a certain amount or can I just throw in a couple of hundreds and call it done?
Most of the time you don’t have to spend or gamble a certain amount but the issue comes in for your next offer where it likely will go down
I play an average of $200 a hand on blackjack for a total of 10 hours in 3-4 days at Caesars 6x a year and the most I get is a free standard room and I have to pay resort fees
Almost sounds like work
Mirage is the worst. Really miss the MGM rewards there. Great video!
The new Hard Rock program?
@@JoshRachael yeah. Unity is the name. I lost a lot last year. A tad more than what you guys average on a trip and couldn’t get close to keeping Icon status. Resort credit is also super low.
11:19 so gambling loss -$7,000 for 19 nights, about $368/night avg to get compd, unless i'm missing other fees. Meh so it's basically the same as paying regular weekend rate if you're not going to play slots/table games - minus perks like a free buffet or line cut
Yea comps have been getting worse and worse it seems over the past 5 years and this was an example of how it’s basically prepaying for rooms at this point rather than taking advantage of programs
So MGM doesn't match to Cesars Diamond Status - only Cesars Diamond PLUS - wow
YIKES
i need to bite the bullet and just go to vegas xD ive been just randomly looking into things when i have the time and the "newest" not new any more apparently is juts mgm might still be pushing the my vegas app? maybe thats why the comps are waning. like havent stepped foot in a casino and have amassed enough point to stay a couple days for free. the apps have been nerfed from the videos i watched thing used to be cheaper but its still alot of stuff tbh
It’s a lot - yes! Just go and enjoy! We haven’t used the MyVegas app for much except random offers like the NYNY rollercoaster!
Im glad to get even more confirmation this actually works xD Trying to get my friends to use it so we can actually combine the stays they won't do it xD I'll go on my own one of these days lol
Have you ever looked at your actual value that you would pay out of pocket for the rooms? Would you actually pay $2000 for a suite if it wasn't free? IMO don't compare the listed price, compare what you would actually pay for a room if it was your own money
If I were paying I would not but I just looked at the same weekend we went for this year and it’s $2100 to book. The nice thing is that these rooms comps give me rooms I would never pay for myself but enjoy staying in.
Have you used it on a cruise? It’s confusing!
We have on Royal Caribbean.
With them it’s pretty straight forward with points per dollars played. They show on each cruise how many points you need to earn a free cruise for a free one but also get free offers frequently on limited itineraries after the cruise in email and mail
On one section it says “Must be redeemed within 30 days of a new cruise reservation ”. Then says Rewards must be used within 30 days of purchase. We booked in June but aren’t sailing till September. It seem as if they want you to call to redeem the point within 30 days of when you booked the cruise but if you redeem the point you only have 30 days to use them. I was going to use them for free play. Not to book a whole cruise. That’s why I’m confused.
Best players club is not in vegas.It’s monarch rewards Atlantis Reno!
We don't go just for gambling though. We enjoy the food and entertainment scene that comes with Las Vegas
I don’t see why you count the room value. You wouldn’t be there if not to gamble. No one who gambles a significant amount pays for a room. The only real value I count is freeplay and resort credit.
I guess we view things differently, most people’s biggest value from comps is the room. If I had to pay for a room I would be making a lot different decisions on where I stay
So are y'all advantage players? I saw your win/loss was strangely positive
We try not to lose everything if possible, if that counts then yes 🤣
She said “we don’t have thousands of dollars to gamble with” and then he shows they had and lost thousands of dollars gambling
Your way down, 90% of people don’t care what rooms they are staying in since you’re hardly there.
We care about the room more than others but also from a value stance
Not just a pretty face !
🥰 🧠 🥰