MGM MIRAGE unveils multi-casino players card

David Strow

Tuesday, April 2, 2002 | 10:48 a.m.

Joining its competitors on the Las Vegas Strip, MGM MIRAGE announced this morning it has launched a multi-property players card that will eventually link eight of the company's properties.

"The Players Club," now being launched at The Mirage, will be rolled out by next April at the company's five other Las Vegas properties -- Treasure Island, MGM Grand, Bellagio, New York-New York and Golden Nugget. MGM Grand Detroit and Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Miss., will also be linked to the system.

The move follows similar debuts by Mandalay Resort Group, which introduced its "One Club" in November, and Park Place Entertainment Corp.'s "Park Place Connection," introduced in January. Both companies are now currently rolling out the program at their casinos nationally.

"This was not a race to be first," MGM MIRAGE spokeswoman Shelley Mansholt said. "The bottom line was to create a program best for our customers."

Once introduced, a player's slot and table game play will be tracked in real time at any one of the eight properties. Points accumulated under the system can then be used at any other participating property.

As each property goes online, players will exchange their individual property cards for the new multi-property card. Any points under an old players card will be transferred to the new card.

The first multi-property card was introduced several years ago by Harrah's Entertainment Inc., which unified its U.S. casinos with the "Total Rewards" system. A similar system, "Boarding Pass," was introduced soon after by Station Casinos Inc. The concept of such multi-property cards is to encourage customers to patronize one company's casinos, rather than splitting play with casinos owned by a competitor.

Harrah's has also used its card to drive business from its regional casinos to its large resort properties in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. With the Players Club being introduced in Biloxi and Detroit, MGM MIRAGE is hoping for a similar effect.

"I think it will definitely be a factor," Mansholt said. "Our guests at MGM Grand Detroit ultimately want to come to Las Vegas."