Two of the largest companies in the gambling industry are currently going through some rough patches. The evidence: Caesars Entertainment, who recently filed for bankruptcy, is currently up for sale and MGM Resorts International announced 254 layoffs this week with additional positions to be eliminated in the next few weeks.
As I highlighted in one of my last posts, MGM Resorts has gone above and beyond to bring gamblers like me through the door (even though I status matched to MGM Gold). Caesars Entertainment hasn’t done nearly as much. As a poker player, I have received more than my fair share of comps and prefer playing at MGM Resort properties. Apparently, my time at the poker tables on my most recent trip to Beau Rivage Resort and Casino paid off. Within a week of returning I received one of the targeted MGM offers to bring me back to the property.
MGM and Beau Rivage Targeted Offer
Being a part of the travel world has me always keeping my eye out for great deals or finding ways to go places for free, like my upcoming Disney World trip. However, my favorite deals are the ones that land on my door, like a previous AMEX offer, or this targeted MGM offer that I received via email.
I’m always skeptical when an offer looks too good to be true and this was certainly the case initially. The deal: A round-trip flight, 3 nights in a hotel, a shuttle to/from the airport, plus $50 in Freeplay for $199. However, after further investigation, this turned out to be a legitimately great offer.
Curious on how to earn MGM Gold Status so you can also receive targeted offers? See my complete status matching guide.
Living in Memphis, I can’t get a direct flight from MEM-GPT on a major legacy carrier. However, Sun Country Airlines in partnership with MGM, is offering this flight direct for a few dates which is not usually on their standard route map. The best I could do on my own is a one-stop flight that would cost $298 on Delta. These two flights would then take longer to get there than if I drove directly from Memphis.
The three hotel nights with resort fees included, according to the representative I spoke with, are worth an additional $515.19 during the dates mentioned in the email. The included airport shuttle saves an Uber ride from the airport to the Beau Rivage that would be an additional $35 each way or $70 total. That makes this $199 offer worth around $883 not including the $50 Freeplay which is another $45 in expected value.
Estimated Uber costs
Beau Rivage normal pricing
Snap Call Right?
In a perfect world, I would have snapped called this offer (poker slang for instantly). However, I had a first world problem: I’m already booked to be in Kona, San Francisco, and Yosemite during that week! Therefore, I began speaking with the representative about if it was possible to use this offer another time, or to see if this offer would appear again for me.
Sadly, Memphis is one of their smaller markets and this booking only appears once every quarter. This means waiting until August or September for the next deal. Whereas in larger markets like Clearwater, FL, return deals like this are offered every three days.
Offering a variety of gaming, the Beau Rivage features one of the best poker rooms in the South. Photo Credit: MGM Resort International
As I am traveling all over the country this summer, I asked about flying out of another airport and just hook this trip onto the back end of another. The representative checked, and while she could offer me something that fit into my travel schedule, she was unable to honor the $199 pricing as the dates changed. The offer I got going from Clearwater during the middle of July came in at $719. No thanks!
Save some cash by using travel rewards credit cards to get you to your destination.
Fortunately, all hope isn’t lost on this deal as the representative was able to place me on a waitlist. By doing this, MGM would check in closer to the dates on their capacity. If there were openings, a supervisor would evaluate my account and then call me with an offer. I elected to go this route and am now play the waiting game to see if I get a phone call.
The Upshot
Despite the fact that I have played at almost a dozen properties within the first four months of the year, this is the first return offer that has been sent. My hope is that I will get a call back with a good offer, or that I will be able to catch a future MEM-GPT offer that fits my schedule.
Has you received any targeted return offers like this from MGM or Caesars? If so, let us know in the comments section.
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3 comments
I have done these junkets before out of Minneapolis. That is Sun Country’s home and we get these offers all of the time. I am a MGM gold also. A lot of the time they are going for $49 or so up to $249, depending on the time of the year. Last time we did it we actually spent a day and drove to New Orleans and had a good day there. Hope one works out for you, and if you are ever in MSP see if they have an offer for you up here.
Love reading the travel/gambling posts!
Joe,
Thanks for reading and glad you enjoy the content. I’ve never flown Sun Country so I’d be curious to fly them. Either way though $49 is a screaming deal for a trip out of town. I also appreciate knowing what else is out there so thanks for responding.
You are not missing much by not having flown Sun County. It is a Minneapolis based airline that has gone down dramatically in past couple of years after being sold. It has become a ULCC with a lot of non-stops from MSP. They are trying to expand their route network but they have sacrificed any quality they had. Awhile back it was nice to fly them they took care of passengers with comp bags and even a cheeseburger during the flight. They do fly out of the smaller Terminal 2 at MSP but their is no lounge there so that is the downside of the terminal.