Flamingo hit by printing mix-up

Jeffrey Libby

Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2002 | 11:18 a.m.

The Flamingo Las Vegas promotional mailer was sent out about 10 days ago, offering visitors three "complimentary" nights -- for $50 a night plus tax.

It was an odd proposition. At minimum, it was contradictory.

But was there also a danger that consumers would be fooled into signing up?

Steve Hixon, a state Gaming Control Board investigator, looked into the matter Monday by making a phone call to attorneys for Park Place Entertainment Corp., which owns the Flamingo hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

Hixon, however, thought it was probably just an embarrassing mistake -- rather than a sinister plot -- on the part of the Flamingo.

"It's like one of those Jay Leno routines he does on Monday nights when he reads from the newspaper, these obviously stupid stories," Hixon said. "You know, 'Three free nights for $50 apiece.' "

Anthony Curtis, publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor newsletter that lists casino bargains, also smelled a mistake, not an exaggerated claim.

"It definitely got by somebody," he said.

It turns out Hixon and Curtis were right, according to Park Place officials.

The cover of the glossy ad reads, "Celebrate the fall with 3 complimentary nights at the Flamingo" as rosy fireworks burst above the casino's blue-tinted facade.

On the inside, it continues, "You're invited to stay with us 3 nights, Sunday through Thursday, for only $50 plus tax per night."

"Complimentary" means "given free as a courtesy," according to Webster's New World Dictionary.

But the cover and the inside of the mailer should have gone to separate sets of rated gamblers, casino officials said.

An inadvertent shuffle of three mailers for three separate tiers of gamblers caused the error. It happened at the print shop, Flamingo officials said.

The result was that the mailer cover intended for the highest-rated gamblers -- the offer of three free nights -- went to the lowest-rated gamblers, who were actually being offered only a small reduction in the room rate.

"We clearly feel badly that some of our customers got the wrong information and we'll do everything we can to make it right for them," Park Place spokesman Robert Stewart said.

In amended mailers due out later this week, Stewart said, Park Place will include an offer of a fourth night for customers who purchase three room nights at the reduced rate.

That fourth night, he said, will be complimentary.