Time for Another AC Rant LOL

About the only thing that could get me into Ballys lately to play has been their earn a free buffet promotion, especially since they removed the slot machines from the Claridge and most of their Wild West casinos. Not only has that promotion ended as of June but the buffet is closing completely in mid-June with the summer season just beginning! This buffet even on its worse days was better than most others that were higher priced.
The WW buffet always had a line because of its promotions, price and quality so it was obviously the most popular buffet in AC.
An ignorant reporter implied the WW buffet closing was a business decision similar to that of Revel's not to have a buffet because of less day trippers to AC. Well people aren't flocking to Revel to eat and play as expected and now, way less will be flocking to Ballys.

With just a 2 week warning, CET (Caesars, Harrahs, Ballys and Showboat) started charging for their Diamond Lounges a year ago, promising improved food. Diamond Lounge attendance greatly dropped immediately. Their quality is even worse now and the Diamond Lounges have become ghost towns. Wonder if they ever bothered to check how many Diamond players they have in 2012 compared to 2011. Since many players were close to Diamond when the lounges started charging in 2011, 2013 will have even less Diamond card holders than 2012. Once a regular AC CET Diamond player switches their play to The Borgata and sees how much quicker the comp dollars accrue while earning superior meals at both the buffet and Amphora Lounge, they will not bother to pursue CET Diamond status anymore.
The Borgata is brilliant in allowing player upgrades and is obviously going to remain the most profitable casino resort in AC. Cannot trust business decisions made by either CET or Revel but thankfully, The Borgata continues to reward its players, year after year.

Harrahs and its Whales

So Harrahs AC as part of CET, started charging for admission to their previously free Diamond Lounge to lower tiered Diamond players last June with just 2 weeks notice. Supposedly, it was to provide better food which is actually worse now than when it was free at Harrahs' and Ballys' Diamond Lounges. True, Caesars' and Showboat's DL food have improved but their DLs are still empty so few have tried them. Maybe they were trying to motivate lower tiered Diamond players to gamble twice as much to become higher tiered but this change greatly backfired. The reaction of the lower tiered Diamond players was to play and eat less at CET casino resorts and the Diamond Lounges became ghost towns. CET ignored the outrage of their lower tiered Diamonds and some of the higher tiered Diamonds and 7 Stars also realized the brand took away privileges already earned and that the brand couldn't be trusted. Some discovered other places to play like the PA casinos closer to home or The Borgata which is still upgrading all Diamonds to Black Label. Some are waiting for Revel which I strongly doubt will provide gamblers with the generous comps and fast comp dollar accrual that The Borgata has been offering.

Whenever anyone has a complaint about Harrahs on their Facebook page, it is met with personal attacks by the Harrahs *Whales* or those players that drop huge amounts of money in the casino. These Whales have their egos stroked by their hosts, not because the hosts like them but because of the amount of money the Whales drop in the casino. The Whales and Harrahs management have been totally disrespecting the lower tiered players and as a result Harrahs revenues and customers have dwindled while The Borgata's continues to thrive. OK so the Whales may bully lower tiered players into silence on the Harrahs Facebook page but the empty Diamond Lounge speaks volumes about the silent majority of players who went elsewhere.

Personally, if I had the kind of money these Whales drop, I would contribute most of it to charities instead of getting my ego stroked by casino hosts.

ETA: CET last sent out free coupons for their Diamond Lounges in February. It has already been noted that DL admissions have decreased even more in March since nobody received coupons for the month.

Borgata the only casino up in 2011

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gOm1apAg1g3_AR7gPqTTLKRcbinw?docId=92171576a23a4fe29accb4c533c7a790


I know we were not the only couple to abandon CET and switch our major gambling to The Borgata after CET literally screwed their Diamond members. So the results were The Borgata up 1% taking in $651.8 million to Harrahs down 3%, taking in $439.8 million. They are in the same Marina district and Harrahs has the sharing of patrons from 3 other CET AC casinos plus many other CET casinos across the country yet The Borgata kicked Harrah's ass for casino revenue. And the CET Diamond fiasco really only affected 1/2 of the year! Shoot I even blew some $$ at CET casinos in January and February, aiming for Diamond status till I realized I much preferred The Borgata and came to my senses. Yup The Borgata was brilliant offering an upgrade to Black Label for all CET and Trump higher tiered players, knowing their offers would lure these higher tiered players away from their original haunts.

Home Sweet Home

Had a nice trip. Even though Harrahs was a disappointment Saturday night, The Borgata as usual delivered the rest of the trip. Harrahs Diamond Lounge seems to get worse instead of better each trip. Expected it to be much better on a Saturday night than it was. Sunday's lunch at the Showboat Diamond Lounge was much better so will be using all future Diamond Lounge vouchers at Showboat till the end of March when our years of being Diamond finally comes to an end. It is unbelievable when I compare what we used to lose at CET properties to what we have been losing at The Borgata while retaining Black Label status. Never will ever go back to CET Diamond ever again and would have skipped this past year if we had known that they were going to start charging for the Diamond Lounges.
Also the tv remote in the Harrahs room wasn't working and the shower wasn't draining so why are we charged a bogus *room assessment* charge? After having a loud party next door from 2:30am till 3:330am, DH finally caved and called security. Got much quieter after security knocked on their door around 3:45am.

Next day at the Borgata Water Club was heavenly by comparison. OMG the food at the buffet Sunday night was amazing. Had the best cut of Prime Ribs and they had a scallop dish that beats any lobster. Their veggies taste better than most desserts. Even though I keep saying we may not try for Black Label next year, how can we not when each $10 of comp gets us a delicious buffet? Since their comp dollars accrue at least twice as fast as CET's their buffets and Amphora Lounge admissions are a bargain at the equivalent of $5 CET comp.

Anywho, it was another winning trip. We did have quite a scare when DH misplaced his wallet which I later found under my car seat. Thank you Borgata for doing what you do so well but I do have one complaint. The Borgata plays some awful music if you can even call it music and not just irritating noise. Of course, they switched to Queen after I went up to the room for the night. How about Queen during the day!?!

How Harrahs (CET) has ruined its brand

In the past, we have always booked Christmas eve and Christmas at Harrahs. Even though we can get both Friday and Saturday night comped at almost all 4 CET casino resorts this year, I cancelled and have decided not to go. Harrahs' Diamond Lounge isn't even opened Friday night and Reflections is gone so the fun Christmas eve dinner we used to get is gone as well.
Our last Saturday night stay at Showboat was horrible. Drunks shouting in the hall and banging on the doors all night. This behavior has been happening at almost all AC hotels on partying nights since they stopped offering comped rooms to their regular moderate gamblers and rather sell a room to a gang of young adults instead. However, The Borgata rooms, both Classic and Water Club seem more sound proofed. Also since Showboat's casino was so empty, the potential criminal element stuck out. Both my husband and I felt like we were being stalked for possible voucher snatching or whatever. The only place I felt safe was the elevator area and elevator because just one was working so always a crowd waiting and a crowded elevator. Safety in numbers. Other disappointments were that the Diamond Lounge was closed on a Saturday night and we really wanted to try Showboat's DL on a Saturday night hearing good things about it online. Also the maid only left decafe coffee packets in our room, making me use an old packet I had brought from home instead. What is the $13 a night for? That extra room assessment charge should include making sure each room has real coffee packets.
DH is already Platinum this year and since the Diamond lounges now charge $10 comp each and it is much harder to earn comp for inferior food compared to The Borgata, I prefer for most of our gambling to be done at The Borgata, earning those delicious meals as we play. I have practically stopped playing my card at any CET casino, not even bothering to go for Platinum, myself, even though I was over halfway there in March. I had every intention of going Diamond this year until I discovered just how much better The Borgata does everything, even before the sudden charge for Diamond Lounges started. I will only play my card if there is a promotion worth playing for like a free buffet. CET's stupidity was really exposed when Diamond players couldn't earn a free buffet at Wild West this spring while Gold and Platinum could. Bad enough they started charging for the Diamond lounges but not allowing Diamonds to earn a free buffet just was a totally ridiculous decision.

The Borgata besides offering so many more bonus downloads even costs just $5 a night in fees compared to Harrahs' inflated $13 a night. However, as much as I love The Borgata, I find I feel like playing slots less than when we went to 4 other casinos for diversity so have been traveling to AC less often. Between not losing as much at CET and saving on traveling expenses and The Borgata's generous bonus downloads, our AC trips have actually become profitable!

Now that The Borgata is renovating its Classic rooms and is still upgrading all Diamond players to Black Label, I think most regular AC slot players will see how much better The Borgata does everything and will stop pursuing CET Diamond status and will earn Black Label instead like we have the past 2 years. I cannot imagine The Revel offering more than The Borgata either. Just hope that The Revel's opening will make the weekend and summer comped rooms more available at The Borgata (and the Amphora Lounge line shorter).

ETA: Found out we may be offered the Harrahs buffet for free since their DL is closed tomorrow night but still not going. Last Saturday night at Showboat left me not wanting to stay and play slots at any of their properties.

AC and Working out

Over the years, my interests have changed. I used to spend alot of my leisure time playing video games but then got involved with the internet, specifically managing a group of parents of gay kids. Then my interest in the internet shifted towards workingout and fitness. I am still very into workingout and hope I never stop.

Offline, my main interest was horseracing. Before our first child, we even owned part of a racehorse and my first internet ID was horsemom2 so that interest lasted a good 30 years or more. Then as I started going to casinos more and more and enjoying penny slots, my gambling focus shifted away from horseracing. Going to Atlantic City so often made one or both of us going CET Diamond status obtainable as long as we focused on their 4 casinos (Harrahs, Showboat, Ballys and Caesars). The Borgata will upgrade any CET Diamond level player to their Black Label for a full year. As the years went by, I started resenting the AC CET Total Rewards casinos more and more because of various poor customer service issues. The final straw was having a sudden Diamond lounge charge. Obviously, most other Diamond members felt the same because the Diamond lounges became empty as well as slot machine seats. I love The Borgata for its food and loose machines but miss the variety of having more places to eat, stay and play so have been going more recently only twice a month for one or two nights instead of 3 times a month for 2 to 3 nights as well as a bus trips. Most of these current trips are funded by The Borgata's slot bonuses so I haven't lost money like I used to but I am finding myself not as excited about Atlantic city visits as I used to be so my interest is waning. Really think the future Revel and Hard Rock casinos will be huge financial losses like the Taj Mahal after the initial summer season. CET ruining their AC Diamond brand has opened the door for The Revel to take advantage of CET's business blunders but doubt they will hit the ground running with offers even as good as The Borgata's which is still losing business in spite of the CET Diamond exodus.

AC and Crave Results

I walked over 30,000 paces Thursday through Saturday and ate pretty healthy. Showboat was empty Friday night which was probably why we got comped. Ballys was also offering us Friday night comped even though we have not played there since May 2011. Couldn't believe how there were no lines for the Diamond lounges Friday night or Saturday, proving CET has done a great job destroying their AC brand. Food was ok at the Diamond lounges but not close to the quality of The Borgata buffet and lounge. Anywho, now that we got husband Platinum for free parking through March 2013, we are pretty much done gambling at any CET casinos. The machines were pretty loose at both The Borgata and Showboat so I never used any of my own money this trip and actually brought home some of the downloaded bonus $$.

This morning, I warmed up on the bungee to MUVE then did the first few blocks from Angie Miller's Crave Results which were mostly single weight moves so I used my light kettlebell then finished with some Classical Stretch. My knee was getting pretty good in AC but when I kicked off the blankets the last night to get out of bed, I reinjured it. It's still better than all of the previous week and I am pretty sure, it will heal.

AC and Thriller

Just got back from a nice trip to AC.

Last night we had tickets for Harrah's Legends in Concert and enjoyed it more than we have in the past. Their Michael Jackson was exceptional and seeing him do Thriller with the dancers on Halloween was priceless, even though the tickets were free LOL

Had a bumpy start with the snow and our tire pressure warning light staying on. Tire pressure was fine so we just ignored it. Getting it checked officially tomorrow when it is taken in for its 6 month servicing a week early (plus a free car wash from the dealership to get rid of all of that nasty salt).

Our car is so quiet that Steve left it on when we stopped at a diner to eat on the way home!

ETA:

The Borgata was hopping yesterday, all day and evening.

On the other hand, Harrahs, even with comped show tickets, was like a ghost town with an empty Diamond Lounge at 6:30PM which used to be their peak dining time. Whole place felt emptier than the early weeks in December used to feel. Their revenues must have plummeted after the summer season since alienating most of their AC Diamond regulars.

Revel Resort, The future of Atlantic City?

In May 2012, The Revel will finally be open for business. Meanwhile CET has decimated their AC business after being the only real game in town other than The Borgata.

The only advantage CET had over The Borgata was its nonAC properties and 4 different properties in AC all being a part of the same Total Rewards system. Revel will have the same disadvantage as The Borgata in being a single AC only property. Cannot imagine gamblers from all over flocking consistently to the Revel as they do to CET properties, especially in Vegas. Oh Revel will be very busy its first summer as was the Trump's Taj when it first opened BUT will it make the generous offers necessary to attract gamblers the rest of the year?

There is no guarantee that the Revel marketing will be able to compete with The Borgata as far as comps for the consistent AC gambler. Who expected CET in AC to make so many poor business decisions within the year of The Revel's opening? Guess Revel cannot make as many bad decisions as CET but can they make as many good decisions as The Borgata? Only time will tell. Being a NJ taxpayer and owning 20% of the Revel's revenues, I sure hope the Revel is a huge success. However, unfortunately, I believe The Borgata will be the last AC casino still standing when the duel is over and the dust settles. Too bad our governor didn't invest in our racetracks instead and convert them to racinos which seem to be doing incredible business in PA, DE, etc. Heck even the NJ off track betting parlours called Favorites have been a huge success without slot machines!

ETA: Sadly just heard another bad decision by CET. Sunday is the last day for Harrahs Reflections restaurant. Breakfast will become available at their buffet which is overpriced or Bill's Burgers. Think we have spent more comp at Reflections than any other CET restaurant so we will miss it, even though most of our comp is gone. At the same time, I have heard complaints of way less comped buffet offers from folks who gamble alot more than we do. Looks like we will pretty much be eating all of our meals at The Borgata. About the only decent lunch option for cash at Harrahs will be McCormicks $10 lunch menu.

Sammy D's which took Reflections place doesn't seem to be doing nearly as much business as Reflections did. Food is ok with huge portions but those portions cost 200% more than smaller portions could have charged. An average breakfast for two, including juice and coffee could cost close to $50!

Updates: Elevated PSA, AC, etc.

Happy New Year everyone and the old year went out very well for us.

DH had his urology appointment yesterday and we really liked the doctor alot! Not an alarmist and very down to earth. Doubts strongly it is cancer and if the repeat PSA is ok which he expects, DH is just one of those people with harmless microscopic blood in his urine. To be continued next week.

We both came home from 3 days of gambling with more than we left home with, thankfully mostly to The Borgata's generous bonus downloads. We also won a few dollars at Showboat, Caesars and Harrahs after a very slow start at each casino. Looked like it was going to be our first large losing trip in a very long time but we persevered and had profitable comebacks. Most of the new machines with larger minimums (40 to 50 cents a spin) were too tight for my tastes but I did find a couple of loose ones as well as a few oldies but goodies. Seems like our luck has really changed since The Borgata has become our home base. The Borgata was soooo busy on Sunday, that if I found an empty seat at a slot machines I liked, I stayed for quite awhile before hunting for another. They claim AC revenues are down but I never saw an AC casino this crowded before. It was like they were giving money away which they were because the bonus downloads missed during Hurricane Irene's evacuation were being offered.

We enjoyed the fried chicken at Harrahs Diamond Lounge on Sunday, Caesars lunch buffet Monday except for rancid shrimp and McCormicks $10 lunch Tuesday but otherwise, The Borgata covered our meals very well. Their new fall menu at the buffet is in effect and has alot of new items to taste. The Chinese style shrimp is especially outstanding. Happy to see their amazing beets again!

CET Diamond Lounges, Netflix, HP Decisions

It seems like some higher level management people are making some really dumb business decisions, proving whoever are making these decisions do not understand consumers.

HP decides to pull out of the tablet and puter hardware business and their tablets are soon sold out at the discounted prices. They supposedly fired the guy who made that initial decision.

Netflix decides to split their Instant Watch and dvd mailing services and charge separately for each which changes their $9.99 cheapest combination plan to $15.98. Even renamed their dvd mailing service to Qwikster. On top of this, their best Instant Watch content from Starz will be ending. They wound up losing way more subscribers than initially predicted and their stock prices are reflecting the damage.

CET Diamond Lounges in AC (Harrahs, Showboat, Ballys, Caesars) suddenly imposed a $10 comp admission to Diamond Members under 25,000 base credits in mid June just before their official summer season. It takes 11,000 to earn the Diamond tier. CET claims this was supposed to pay for enhancements but the roped off areas in the Diamond Lounges during the summer season showed that this was a very bad decision. People who were in favor of the decision were disappointed to find dried out food and a long wait for an available table during peak dinner hours because of a cut in service staff. It may have improved CET's immediate bottomline in cutting costs but most Diamond players are taking whatever they can get from CET and then playing (and eating) elsewhere. Now that the summer season is over and the summer tourists are gone, the loss of their Diamond players will have a huge impact on their casino revenues. Their loss will be The Borgata's gain. The Borgata offers an immediate upgrade to Black Label for a full year for anyone with a CET Diamond card, even if you already did the first upgrade which also offered a $100 slot download, $20 comp and a free room. Comp dollars accrue twice as quickly at The Borgata than CET casinos and $10 comp can be used to enter either the Amphora Lounge or buffet, both of which are far superior in food quality. Also enables the breakfast and lunch buffets while DLs do not open till 2PM during the week. We have also found several extra benefits at The Borgata: $8 cheaper nightly room fees, comped summer room offers, generous bonus slot downloads, and best of all, looser slot machines.

It is really quite amazing how well our gambling funds have been lasting since switching!

Best CET Diamond benefit for us has been enabling the Borgata Black Label upgrades.

One thing that puzzles me is why some Diamond members are hesitating to try The Borgata upgrade and switching most of their play to The Borgata, waiting to see what the new Revel casino will be offering next year. I strongly doubt the new Revel will be offering more than The Borgata. CET's only advantage over The Borgata is that they are not just in AC and CET will still have that advantage over the Revel. After seeing so many bad business decisions by upper level management in established businesses, what are the odds that this new casino will have better offers? Why not enjoy what The Borgata offers now?

AC Diamond Lounge Enhancement Reviews

If anyone would like to leave a comment about a recent trip to a CET Diamond Lounge in Atlantic City, feel free to post about it. Hopefully, your comments will help other Diamond members decide where to eat, especially if under 25,000 tier points and having to pay $10 comp per person to enter. Please share which Diamond Lounge you experienced, date/day of the week and approximate time, table wait, service, food selection and quality, etc.

So far the Prime Ribs at Showboat on Saturdays have been a hit.

ETA:

Ate at Harrah's Diamond Lounge Monday 9/12 at 3:00PM and it was greatly improved!

Food was much fresher, moist and tasty:

HUGE shrimp cocktail

Leg of Lamb carving

Baked fish

Baked breaded pork chops

nice Rice and soup

I was shocked when the pan of pork chops was completely removed and replaced with a fresher pan! Harrahs DL is listening and learning.

We went right in and got immediate service.

Main criticism is that they will only take one *free* coupon so the member still has to pay $10 comp for a guest. Also assume that dinnertime is still has a line to enter because most tables are roped off.

CET's AC Diamond Lounge Fiasco

So the Atlantic City Total Rewards hotels (Caesars, Ballys, Showboat and Harrahs) started charging $10 comp a person to enter their Diamond Lounges for all Diamond members under 25,000 tier points just before their summer season was about to start in exchange for *enhancements*. Also they seemed to have cutback substantially on their comped room offers for the summer season.

Some of the people, mostly those with higher tier points and more comp offers, welcomed these Diamond Lounge changes in the hopes of improved food and shorter lines but attendance at the Diamond Lounges greatly dwindled. In fact, here it was their summer season and tables were roped off because so few customers bothered to eat there. Service suffered as staff was reduced.

The enhancements at the Diamond Lounges were mostly shrimp cocktail and a carving station.

Sometimes the shrimp has been reported as warm and the cocktail sauce turned. A couple of customers even claimed to have suffered from food poisoning! The meat at the carving station we tried was either hot and dried out or cold and moist. The rest of the hot food was pretty pathetic and not as good as before the enhancements because the food would just sit there stagnated.

Many Diamond players found other places to play and stay like we did with The Borgata. We have truly enjoyed the switch preferring The Borgata's lower room taxes, much better food, looser machines, faster comp dollar accrual, and availability of summer comped rooms if booked immediately. We are totally committed to staying with The Borgata and not attempting to earn Diamond status ever again. One of us may still go Platinum for free parking. Even if CET reversed these changes, trust has been broken irreversibly. Before the change, the free Diamond lounges were the best Diamond benefit for us. Now the only Diamond benefit was enabling us to upgrade to Black Label at The Borgata.

ETA:

there were a couple of dates I was watching closely in case a comped room became available but since they hadn't, we went ahead and scheduled some home improvements instead. Now CET has made them available! Too little, too late.

Sunday through Tuesday

Another small win instead of a big loss thanks to switching from CET casinos to The Borgata, my Happy Place. Harrahs Diamond Lounge added hot dogs, hamburgers and chicken grilled outdoors on Sunday but the line moved very slowly for these items and the chicken disappeared too quickly to even taste. The hamburgers had a funny flavor so I stuck to the carved turkey breast which was actually good, vegetables, and soup. DH was thrilled to see their Tiramisu back again.

The next night, a friend had offered to take us into the Ballys Diamond lounge because his large amount of accrued comp but I am glad we chose to stay at The Borgata for dinner. Monday night at The Borgata Amphora lounge was phenomenal and again totally made the CET Diamond Lounges look pathetic by comparison. Even had delicious mini hamburgers as well as chilled fresh veggie sticks, their famous crab cakes, ravioli with spinach, leg of lamb, brisket, prime ribs, steak, pork riblets which were really outstanding, etc. Not enough room in the human belly to taste everything. Oh and they had their pistachio tarts which I haven't seen in quite awhile.

Where did all the DL people go?

After seeing Harrahs Diamond Lounge so empty Sunday, I figured out where all of the AC DL people have gone....

They have gone to PA casinos!

We had a bus trip to the Sands in PA today and the place was packed. When I first got there, I played a few new machines and won back all of our bus downloads then I couldn't find an empty seat at any penny slots after lunch. I pocketed the money and explored and found free internet in the hotel lobby so was emailing till time to leave LOL

more feedback about CET AC Diamond Lounges

Oh dear, from what I just read online, Caesars DL also has been having overcooked food. Cannot put a huge tray of food under heat for hours and expect it to stay moist. At least, now I have the phone numbers needed to call for the menus in advance so I can skip more mediocre choices and wait for Prime ribs on the carving board which have been reportedly good.

So besides alienating lower tiered Diamond cardholders who had earned Diamond for their previously free DL visits, the folks who earned more than 25,000 tier credits for free DLs and the folks who were willing to pay for improved food will also be abandoning the DLs.

The big question is how will these empty DLs affect their casino business overall?

Will be very interesting to see what the AC CET casinos look like midweek after the summer. Weekends will still draw higher tiered gamblers from all over the country, gamblers who are not yet retired and the younger partying crowd. However, the only advantage of going Diamond for the older retired AC gamblers is using that card to upgrade to Black Label at The Borgata. We much rather give our business to The Borgata and earn their Black Label so we always have plenty of comp accrued for the buffet and lounge. The room fees are $8 less a night, food is much better, and their comp earning rate is twice as fast. Then there is also their frequent slot downloads, nightly comedy club, monthly Bingo, free summer room offers, and best of all, looser machines.

Personally, our AC weekly visits have been enhanced thanks to The Borgata.

We are saving loads of money not pumping CET slot machines anymore and eating better than ever thanks to the CET *enhancements*.

Will be interesting to see how the new Revel will be targeting AC's weekly moderate gamblers.

Will they learn from CET's mistakes and try to lure folks from The Borgata?

Sun to Tues AC Trip

Walked plenty Sunday and Monday but it was too hot to try my new walking poles. Also I played slot machines so much that my wrist and hand were sore!! Again didn't lose thanks to The Borgata's downloads and loose machines.

We had the outstanding Sunday Borgata Buffet Brunch earlier in the day so finally tried Harrahs Diamond Lounge for dinner with the free coupons. The lounge was empty which was rare on Sundays, even when off season. Shrimp cocktail was good but everything else was pathetic. In the past they always had 2 entrees and freshly made pasta on Sundays. The overcooked cornish hens, overly battered fish and dry tough pork roast were not an enhancement over the missing fresh pasta. Best part of the hot food were the potatoes. The food preparation has definitely gone downhill with the enhancement, probably because the food sits there for hours. Worse yet, the desserts have taken a huge nosedive. No more Tiramisu and other fancier desserts like in the past before the charge for the *enhancement*. Even my husband would rather spend the $20 comp at Reflections for their overstuffed hot dogs (we share one order) and a root bear float than eat in the lounge so will not be wasting $20 comp at Harrahs DL again.

The people who were surveyed about being willing to pay for better food were totally duped.

The Grapevine has claimed Ballys and Showboat have had no enhancements other than the shrimp cocktail so we may try Caesars eventually. We liked the food at Caesars lounge in the past, just not the single dish offering so maybe having another dish may make them seem enhanced.

We did enjoy the Wild West breakfast buffet on Monday which was much emptier than on weekends so will eat there each trip while they are opened during the week for the summer till my CET comp dwindles. However, The Borgata breakfast buffet still has the advantage of smoked salmon for less comp dollars and comp dollars that accrue twice as quickly so will not mind when my CET comp is gone. Am still pondering whether to go Platinum this year for free parking or just wait till next January to March to go Platinum before our current card tier status ends. Will wait to see if CET has any promotions that will motivate us to play there.

At the rate we have been playing at The Borgata, we will never run out of comps for their buffets and will earn another year of Black Label long before our anniversary date.

CET comp offers

CET came up with a way of alleviating the charge for the Diamond lounges while keeping their lines short and still getting us through their doors. DH just received 2 offers of $20 comp by swiping his card in the kiosk in August (8/1-16 and 8/17-31). Wouldn't surprise me if they make this offer twice a month till the end of his Diamond status.

Now why didn't they do something like this from the beginning??

ETA: Well they aren't really interested in keeping lines short afterall. When DL business is slower, they just rope off parts of the DL so there is still a line!!!

Friday and some AC Observations

Walked over 22,000 paces yesterday and today and got alot of Vitamin D.

Weather was gorgeous and we had alot of download offers yesterday and today so decided to go for one night last night and cancel Sunday's AC reservation because not as much to lure us then.

Did very well on the downloads so actually won alittle!

Never did make it to Harrahs' Diamond Lounge cuz the menu was unappetizing compared to The Borgata buffet but did eat yesterday's lunch at Harrahs' Reflections (love their stuffed hot dog which is enough food for two people) and this morning's breakfast at Caesars (love their veggie eggs Benedict). Still have lots of CET comp to burn for breakfast and lunch. Harrahs buffet line looked way shorter than on Thursday for dinner than last summer. Lots of people get a free buffet coupon for Thursdays (or Mondays). Harrahs and Showboat casinos (penny slots) were way emptier than The Borgata yesterday. Harrahs' Diamond Lounge looked deserted. The crowds in the hallways were mostly young families. Kids are being seen and heard alot more in the center of the casinos as well. I remember when the Sands would only allow our kids to walk directly through the second floor from the parking garage to the escalators with security guards holding walkie talkies on either side!

I did see (and smell) way too much smoking in non smoking areas in Harrahs including a nasty cigar and a gal who was dressed like a hooker this morning and smoked all the way through the bus area and into the lobby at Showboat without a security guard making a peep. I gave up getting directly involved and obviously, so has the CET security.

WOW I just read the new Revel opening next year will be completely smoke free!!!

Weds NetFlix and CET Alienating Customers

Another great workout and on another humid day so my slump is officially over. Also I have lost another 1/2 inch off my thigh so I think doing those new Jumpsport workouts had an effect.

This morning I warmed up to MUVE on the bungee. I have to say MUVE screams out to be done on a bungee rebounder!

Then I did 3 songs from Misty's downloads and really liked the one that involves big slow walks. Then did the Ballet from Caribbean Workout: A New You which started like Nia then really worked the lower body with pseudo-ballet. Finished with much needed Classical Stretch.

I really feel for the loyal Netflix fans. Separating the Streaming and dvd accounts has doubled the original cost of the one dvd at a time plan in less than a year. From the way CET treated us, I know exactly how they feel even though we are in the middle of our first free trial that includes instant watch programming and have not been impressed with the offerings. From what I have seen online, Netflix may lose half of their customers, many of whom have been with them for several years. It's ironic how similar the comments are about this Netflix change. Almost sounds identical to that of the CET Diamond Lounge change. We will eventually try Redbox and our local library for movie dvds if the urge to see one strikes. Maybe Blockbusters will hang in there and improve their game by mail service. They just started a new plan that sounds interesting, renting a specific game for $5 for 7 days by mail or store which may lure some from Netflix who prefer games by mail to lame streaming video content. Me? no dog in this fight LOL