Earnie stopped by one day and the conversation got around to casinos, we have several Indian casinos in our area. “George, you can take your wife out for dinner free at these places” said Earnie. “And they got lobster, crab, steak you name it! All ya gotta do is get a VIP card!”

So my friend was unwittingly sending me into casino players hell best jili slot game.

Let me break in here a moment and say a little bit about these “VIP Cards” or memberships at any casino, be it Indian, Vegas, or Atlantic City. I am neither “for” or “against” them. They are an individual decision, but one I do hope you make as an informed player.

OK..so we went to get our free dinner.

Dinner was a buffet (how unique) and as with all buffets, there was too much food to choose from. I did like the seafood section, being raised on Cape Cod shellfish is a staple to me. Now remember, Earnie told me that this dinner was free, because I signed up for a VIP Card, but let me tell you how much it really cost.

I am not going to itemize the gas used, the valet tips, etc. etc. I might spend that going out anywhere. BUT, a casino is laid out just like a grocery store. The bread and milk are always the farthest from the front door. As is the buffet line, so through rows and rows of slots and tables we go. Can we make it to the buffet line without dropping a few coins in a machine? NOT! So on we go to the buffet line and wait for 45min to an hour. Cost so far, about $30 and 1 hour of time. After we eat we naturally have previously agreed to spend “a little time on the slots”, so with cards in hand, off we go….

You all know how that ends, so let me get back to the subject at hand.

The V.I.P. Cards.

The cards are given out to players so the casinos can do a little tracking, marketing and information gathering. Surprise! Do the casinos sell your information? Probably not you are too valuable for them to mess around with players info and spam them would hurt the casino in the long run. If the casino is part of a larger conglomerate that owns more than one property they may share amongst themselves, but not with competition, or non gaming entities. The biggest use of the cards is marketing, not targeted marketing, LASER TARGETED MARKETING.

You see, you gave the casino everything they needed for this, and you continue to pile up more information about you. All willingly, and even joyfully. The basics are easy, “George, come have a free Birthday dinner on us!” arrives in your mailbox about 10 days before your birthday (must have time to plan of course). And a similar promotion for every holiday on the calendar. If you and your spouse, or anyone else in the household, have cards then the marketing grows exponentially. “Hey Honey, we went to the casino on Mother’s Day for you, why not on Father’s Day for me?” So for each promotion they get a shot at more than one player in the house…. forget about friends, and friends of friends.

Now, why do you think some people get some kind of special promotion that is only good on certain days and even at a certain scheduled time frame. Well… they track the habits and “action” of players by day by hour, and by duration. When does military retirement and social security pay? Why just a few days after the casino promotion came out of course.