Personally, I FEEL LIKE A NINCOMPOOP! I really believed last night that there had to
be some mistake. After all, we are not dealing with some "fly by night" organization that we suspected from the beginning was up to no good. So last night I went to the Mirage prize cart, and as GP had said, it now asked 4000 pts. for a buffet which had been 1500 that morning . Then I checked Bellagio's site. A buffet was still 2000 pts. I went to Treasure Island's site.-It was still 1500 for a buffet - ditto with MGM. Since we are going to LV in less than a month, my husband told me last night to "cash out" the points I had which
were 10,000 plus points. I laughed at him, and told him not to be ridiculous. There was
definitely an error - that's why the other sites were still correct, and Mirage had a mistake.
Imagine my amazement this morning when I KNEW in my heart of hearts that the Mirage
error would have been corrected by now. Well, it hadn

Joyce, I share your outrage. On the one hand, it was a freebie. On the other hand, if I can't trust them for free points toward a buffet, I don't think I'll trust them with any money either. I'm not sure what I will do at this point ...probably get enough points for one buffet (since I only need 700 more) and spend $25 so that my mom & I can enjoy the experience of eating at the Bellagio with what amounts to a "twofer" ... but cancel my plans to spend some time at the deuces wild progressives....or anywhere else there. I've never been crazy about MGM or Mirage, but my future plans had included stays at both NYNY and Treasure Island. I hope they enjoy the $25, as opposed to what I would have spent if I weren't so disgusted right now. My buffet is a minor rip-off compared to Hal and Blos; I really feel bad about their wasted efforts. When I think about them, I really lean toward eating at Paris, visiting the conservatory and giving my one free buffet to the scroungiest panhandler on the strip<g>.....or maybe give the pass to someone already in line, thus gyping MGM Mirage out of $25 the same way they gypped us.

[This message has been edited by DaisyDeuces (edited 04 April 2001).]

I never got involved in Wagerworks at all, but I can appreciate how angry you must be to have spent (wasted?) so much time and effort in getting the points.

Looks like a similar thing to Terribles unbelievable 3-1 odds for a Blackjack when they first opened, which lasted precisely 3 hours before they realised they were getting killed and CHANGED THE RULES.

Vease,
The big difference between what you're saying happened at Terribles and what just happened at Wagerworks is this. At Terribles you got to play those great odds for 3 hours. At Wagerworks you spent all your time thinking you got "whatever" for your points, and then they changed the system BEFORE you could cash in even one point.

This is a bad analogy, but here it comes. Let's say , a store advertises that all shirts, ties, shoes, and socks will cost $10 each on a certain day. You spend all day long shopping to get the items, and when you get to the cash register they announce that they've changed their minds. Now the items cost 3 times more. How would you feel? Kind of like a fool, I think.

Daisy - your point was actually better than any I made. You said if you can't trust this group to give you a buffet for x amount of points, how can you trust them with your money at their casino?

PROTEST--i sent my e-mail in saying that the backlash from the new point amounts will cost them more than the prizes they gave away.i have a booked may trip at t.i.,my hotel of choice for years,that will be my last.

------------------
D.A.G.SEATTLE
furdoo3@aol.com

Joyce,

Believe me I hate that I was right. It does stink. I agree that they have every right to change whatever they want, however, good customer service tells us that a little notice would be nice.

The only good thing for me is that for some reason I decided on Monday to redeem my 4,000 points for the Bellagio Buffet (before the Change) and I got my confirmation email today. I did call the 800 # to claim my prize but they told me that they did not have a record of it at the hotel yet (due to computer problems)and to call back tommorrow. I was one of the luck ones I guess.

Gpfeiffer2,

Glad we have a few that were able to take advantage of the deal. If one did not have a trip planned in the very near future, or live in LV, it's not much to get excited about.

Even though we weren't going until later this year, I would have visited the site every now and then to accumulate some points. Will still try.....but not very hard or often as my interest has waned. Then again, how can I trust that the entire program won't be eliminated if "just a few" take advantage and MGM worries about giving away a few free meals. Heavens forbid!!!!!!!!! Seems to me, MGM/Mirage really did not intend to give much, if anything, away. There will be those who will forget, but there are also those who will NOT forget what a duping they received.

Beth

Well Suffrin Sucatash, I am so mad, (husband thinks its funny, I actually talked him into playing when I wasn't) I think it's one nasty trick freebee or not, we got to just under 7000 points, thought we'd cash in for 2 Buffets at Bellagio and now find we can't. They must really think we're pathetic, to believe we must run over and try and meet the new prize levels, as.... they will probably increase those levels just as we got to the point where we might attain them. We're staying at Bellagio over Easter, and I'll be sure to tell them what I think of it all. Based on how they handled the online thing, they probably won't give a d... anyway. They should have - At Least - sent an email just warning there would be some changes in prize structure, and then leave it up to us whether we should cash in or not.

Those of you who sent e-mail, who did you you send it to? I just visited "wagerworks' and read "About Us."

I found out this game is not being run by MGM/Mirage. It is being run by Silicon Gaming who describes themselves as a "trusted and innovative member of the gaming community." This reputation enabled them "to establish key relationships with the industry's leading resort opertors, such as MGM, Bellagio, Mirage," etc.
This company was founded in April of 2000 - they are just barely 1 year old, if that. Did you write your letter to them or MGM/Mirage? They might not even know what's going on, and this is damaging to their reputation.



[This message has been edited by Joyce (edited 04 April 2001).]

Make sure you remember this in the future and do not spend any money at any MGM/Mirage property. That is about all you can do since there are sooo many visitors they don't care about you.

------------------
John
Moderator Dining Forum and Entertainment, Attractions and Sightseeing Forum
john@talkvegas.com

Joyce,

When in partnership or having hired someone, you darn well should make it your business to know what's going on. No excuses!!!!!

I responded to Wagerworks and not a personal email to MGM/Mirage. I, however, will also send them one just in case they have their head buried in the sand.

Beth

I just received the following reply from Emily to my protest email:

Scott-Thank you for your feedback. During the update of Prize Prices on April
2nd and April 3rd, the Prize Prices differed at times between the entry
page and checkout page. To resolve the situation, we will honor the
prior prize redemption levels for the prizes mentioned in your feedback.
Please allow 5 business days to make the appropriate adjustments.
WagerWorks is currently in the launch stage and will continue to improve
your experience and refine the prize program. Please continue to stay
tuned for additional games, features and promotions!Thank you for playing,
WagerWorks Prize Center.

Hmm. Now it will only take me an additional 100 years to get the remaining points needed. Gee, thanks Emily.

Best,

SCOTT

I've sent an email to MGM/Mirage just in case Joyce is right and they are not aware of what has happened. However, I find it hard to believe that they are not aware of what's happening. Will be interesting to see whether I get a response and what it says. Stay tuned!

Beth

I say boycott the website entirely and will explain why.

Daisy, if you pay cash for both buffets, I'll pay for one if you boycott the website.

Here's the reason. Silicon Gaming does the software portion of the program, and in my humble opinion, did a pretty job providing a very buggy program. The upper levels of MGM management "hired" SG to set the program to their specifications. Those specifications include prize points ratios and redemption values. I'm sure you have all figured that out. MGM might even own SG, but that's not relevant. What matters is that MGM will judge their success of this website by data generated from cookies the website sets each time you log on. This data includes more data than you probably know about yourself and your computer. It knows all about your computer, operating system, browser, display settings, what website you were on before you got to theirs, what time you logged on, how long you stayed, etc.

If you log on to complain, they get the satisfaction of another hit. This may be worth it if you want to complain, but record the address so you don't have to log on again. If you log on to just get enough points to get your favorite prize, they will see an active player instead of a problem.

I've been in the website business a very long time, and while I try my hardest to stay away form advertising, marketing, and money making schemes, I know exactly how they work. SOMEBODY it getting brownie points with every website visit. Website "hits" are the major element in judging success. Customer service is a "management factor" in a website that may or may not be successful. Happy customers and customer complaints are not a major element, they are problems to overcome.

So please, don't even complain unless you really have a passion for the site and want it to succed AND have confidence that they will treat you right in the future.

LOL, JMT ...but I've had a day to think about this, and I'm darned if I'm giving MGM Mirage a dime! It was nice of you to offer ...since I still owe you a good steak dinner<vbg>.

I also received an e-mail from Emily at WagerWorks saying that they will honor my request for a room at Bellagio for the original amount of points. I had written to them explaining my disappointment at not being able to get the room I was saving for. BTW, Silicon Gaming was recently acquired by International Game Technology, so it is not a fly by night company. Also, a slot supervisor at the Bellagio said MGM is heavily invested in the company.

Who exactly are you all writing to both at Wagerworks and MGM? Who is this Emily? I wrote to help@wagerworks. I did not write specifically about me, but rather about the situation as it affects everyone. I got no response.

I have not been on Wagerworks yet but I've read all of your comments with interest.

Since they're a new website, I'm wondering if they set their prize points too low and they were giving away free buffets left and right and Bellagio finally put a stop to it (the same thing that Vease said about Terribles putting an end to the 3-1 payback on a blackjack - they were getting killed).

Of course, it's not right that they change the point scheme midstream but maybe that's what happened.

Mike,
It is fine if they choose to change the points required for whatever they are offering. However, the people who have played their games so far have done it under the guidelines that Wagerworks established and posted.

A person is free to look at what is being offered, what they have to do to obtain the offer, and if it is worth the effort to them.
All of us chose to spend our time following
the rules that they had set up. They need to honor that by saying, "As of such and such date the point count needed to acquire such and such will be X." Your current points will be honored by what we originally posted, and you played for. From this time forward, the new schedule is as follows..."

That would be the reputable way to do this instead of in effect making people who participated look like fools. What kind of point are they trying to make? You mean a few buffets awarded under their before posted rules are going to hurt the company? I think the ill will they are causing is going to hurt them far more.

Now, will someone please tell me exactly who they are sending their E-mail to.

Joyce,

I sent a note to MGM/Mirage from the email addresses listed on its website.

I echoed basically what you have said. Not angry so much about change(as they stated they had the right) but all the bad publicity it caused by changing mid-stream without any notice.

By the way, I issued an invitation in my note for anyone connected with MGM to visit talkvegas and see exactly what is being said.

Said a lot more, but haven't gotten an answer as of yet. Probably won't.....even though my email was not nasty.

Beth