Join Gambling Club -> Free Casino Dinner, Gotchas?

[TromboneAl]

DW's birthday is coming up. At the local Indian casino, if you become a member of the "Crown Club," you get $45 worth of free dinner at their (very nice) restaurant.

Specifically, you join the club (no charge), you spend $5 on gambling to "activate" it, and then you get a $50 certificate that you can spend at the restaurant.

Note that we do not gamble at all.

I'm guessing that the main downside is junk mail.

Any other gotchas that I'm missing?

 

[bbbamI]

Read the fine print is the only thing I suggest. As far as I know, promotions are usually fine. Make sure you check the dates of when you can use it.

bbbamI...the gambler....

 

[dex]

Do they sell your info to other companies?

 

[Bestwifeever]

We did something like this for the $30 gas cards, $50 dinner gift certificate, and $20 in gambling credits. There wasn't any fine print or downside--never heard from the place again, and spent no $ of our own when we went.

I think they are betting the cost of the dinner )) that you'll spend a lot more than $5 in the activation process.

 

[Nords]

Any other gotchas that I'm missing?

Have pity on them, Al, they have no idea who they're dealing with!

Once you've established a "business relationship" with them, they have the right (under the Consumer Protection Act's "junk mail" legislation) to make an exception to the "Do Not Mail" list for their company and all their marketing partners. This may also exempt them from the "Do Not Call" and "Do Not E-mail" lists.

It takes a couple years to stamp all that stuff out. OTOH you have an answering machine, you can give them a junk e-mail address, and you'll need flammable materials for kindling-- so this all might be the beginning of a beautiful commensal relationship...

 

[maddythebeagle]

Have pity on them, Al, they have no idea who they're dealing with!

I bet if send them pictures of Al's bandsaw sliced paper towel rolls, I suspect that they will rescind their offer...

 

[Fireup2020]

I just get semi-annual invites to revisit the casino "clubs" I belong to. Because you won't create a "gambling" profile over your $5 teaser (to them) - they have no way to target market you! I am a very occasional cheapo gambler (might do quarter slots on a big day, otherwise penny/nickle slots for me!)

 

[TromboneAl]

This may also exempt them from the "Do Not Call" and "Do Not E-mail" lists.

I'll probably make a mistake when writing in the phone number. My email address will be BigGambler@mailinator.com.

 

[Gworker]

I like to hit the casino's every now and then. My wife will lose $10 then gives up and just watches me. She used to get some good offers. We used to joke that they were going to ban her from the casino because they offer her free stuff she takes it and she doesn't gamble much. They're just hoping you get hooked and they get your retirement money.

 

[Moemg]

. They're just hoping you get hooked and they get your retirement money.

We've already gambled it away in the stock market !

 

[Notmuchlonger]

We've already gambled it away in the stock market !

LOL first thing that popped into my head. Good one.

 

[Bestwifeever]

We've already gambled it away in the stock market !

Yeah, and like the old joke, we didn't even get a free dinner like T-Al will from the casino before we .... (fill in the end of the joke here _______ )

 

[TromboneAl]

We've already gambled it away in the stock market !

Good one!

 

[Moemg]

Yeah, and like the old joke, we didn't even get a free dinner like T-Al will from the casino before we .... (fill in the end of the joke here _______ )

With the amount I lost not only would I have had free drinks( and not those no name wines ) and dinner I would have been comped a suite .

 

[freebird5825]

hint - take the $5 and play the quarter slot called Triple Diamond Deluxe. Bet 75 cents each time. i got a 7 and 2 triple diamonds (wildcard) and won $532 on a $20 stake on a Carnival cruise ship in 2006. no bull! it was a complete stroke of luck. casinos let a few people win big so the rest of the folks will say "why not me?" and keep pumping away at the slots.

possibly the worst thing that can happen is the casino will send you more junk mail with coupons periodically. and maybe get some more free dinners! you don't gamble now and won't fall into that trap.

good luck! and enjoy the dinner.

 

[Martha]

There is a casino that we hit up when traveling south. If you join their whatever club, you get to camp free. You do have to spend five bucks in the casino. The problem is that the casino is smokey. I mean really smokey. In California, do they ban smoking in Casinos? A state ban might not be effective in an Indian Casino because it is part of their reservation.

 

[TromboneAl]

In California, do they ban smoking in Casinos?

No. It's a disgrace.

 

[TromboneAl]

Well, they didn't do a good job of hooking us on gambling. We just wanted a normal slot machine, and this was the closest we found:

It just wasn't clear when we won money. DW just pushed the 20 Lines button and spin button. Once in a while it would beep, but it didn't say anything like "You Just Won $4!" Wasn't worth the effort to figure it out. It took us about 5 minutes to run through the required $5.

Then we had a great meal at the restaurant.

I did eat the flower, Martha, and it was delicious.

 

[bbbamI]

Wow...a 1 cent slot machine...y'all were out of control!

Glad you enjoyed your dinner....

 

[growing_older]

I saw that title and expected a thread about recent volatile market moves. Ha Ha.

Let us know what else you get from this "free" offer. I'd expect more junk mail, but not much else to worry about. Maybe even another similar "free" offer to try to hook you again in 6 months or a year. Not bad if you avoid being tempted to gamble more.

 

[tryan]

Reminds me of an old neighbor ... signed up at the local indian casino to gain access to the lunch buffet. Every day for about a month he'ld swipe his card at the buffet door, eat, then people watch for a couple hours and go home.

Then one day the card didn't work. The casino had tracked him down and banned him (invalidating his card) because he wasn't spending a dime in the place.

 

[Martha]

So was the flower tasty?

 

[TromboneAl]

The flower was indeed tasty. A nasturtium I believe. Not merely edible, but tasty.

Looking at the bill, I now realize that we won 11 cents. That is, we gambled $5 and ended up with $5.11. Surprising that the machine isn't designed to make it clear that you won something.

I see that we can get a free continental breakfast any weekday morning, courtesy of compulsive gamblers.

 

[Martha]

I grow nasturtium for eating purposes, both leaves and flowers. Nice and peppery.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Can I just say that y'all are the cutest couple! Awwwwwww!

I love nasturtiums as well-the leaves are so pretty and the flowers delicious. Easy to grow for us, and they reseed willingly.