Caesars online casino in New Jersey has cooked up yet another means by which players can stretch their gambling dollar.
Effective immediately, players that frequent the casino will be able to convert their earned Online Rewards Credits into readily available cash at a rate of $10 per 1,000 Rewards Credits.
What are Online Rewards Credits and how do I earn them?
Online Rewards Credits are earned in much the same fashion as Rewards Credits (RC) are earned at Caesars’ brick and mortar locales: by wagering real-money on slots and table games.
Earn rates vary depending on the type of game played:
- Players earn 1 online RC per $10 wagered on virtual slot machines.
- Players earn 1 online RC per $100 wagered on any other online casino game.
In addition, for each online RC earned players will also receive 1 Tier Credit. These are used exclusively to determine a player’s Total Rewards loyalty status.
Caesars Casino is an online platform that has been around for a while. The casino is licensed by the New Jersey Division of Gambling Enforcement and offers numerous casino games, promotions, bonuses, and other rewards to its users. New players can receive $10 for free and get a 100% deposit match bonus using online bonus code- JACKPOT777.
- Welcome to Caesars Rewards, the casino industry's most popular loyalty program! Please sign in below. Username or Caesars Rewards #: Password: Can't sign in? Let us help you. Not a Caesars Rewards Member? Activate your online Caesars Rewards account.
- Your online casino and sports wagering play will earn you Caesars Rewards Tier Credits® and Online Reward Credits®. Then, you can use your Online Reward Credits to get cash back on the site or redeem for offline Reward Credits which are good at any Caesars Rewards casino or resort worldwide.
Total Rewards is the award winning VIP scheme utilized by Caesars-affiliated casinos throughout the world. Program benefits and Tier Credit benchmarks can be found here.
There is one catch, but it’s a rather innocuous one: in order to apply accumulated online Tier Credits to a Total Rewards account, players must first link their online account.
Is it worth it?
Any time an online casino offers a cashback reward, it’s worth taking advantage of. That being said, the Online Rewards Credits conversion rate is pretty poor.
As per the terms of the program, the value of 1 online RC is $.01 – same as it is under the Total Rewards program.
However, players will have to wager significantly more online than live to earn that RC.
As example, live players will earn 1 RC per $5 wagered on slots, as opposed to $10 wagered online. The differential is even larger when playing video poker games, which award Reward Credits at a rate of 1 RC per $10 – $50 wagered (depending on the pay table) when playing live, and only 1 per $100 online.
Earn rates while playing live table games are based on Caesars’ internal system, but I have to imagine that they’re better than the 1 RC per $100 wagered that the online casino rewards for playing BlackJack, Craps, Roulette and other virtual table games.
In terms of cashback, online slot players will receive a .1 percent return on their wagers and all other online players .01 percent.
By contrast, live players cannot directly convert their Rewards Credits into cash. Instead, they can spend them on an assortment of Caesars casino fixtures, including shows, dining, spas, shopping and golf, at a rate of $10 per 1,000 Rewards Credits.
The closest live players can come to a cash conversion is to transform their Rewards Credits into casino free play. Conversion rates vary from $1 per 200 Rewards Credits at the lowest loyalty tier (Gold) to $1 per 125 Rewards Credits at Seven Stars.
That equates to .01 percent – .16 percent play back, tier status and preferred game type dependent – a pretty raw deal, but no worse than the online conversion rate.
In short, players that play live and spend Rewards Credits on food and amenities are getting the most bang for their buck. But for those who play exclusively online, the Online Rewards Credits conversion program is a viable, if not overly helpful, way to extend your playing session.
Plans for a merger announced this week by Eldorado Resorts and Caesars Entertainment will create the largest gaming company in the US and will undoubtedly have major ramifications on the Atlantic City casino industry.
The estimated $17.3 billion deal, including stock, cash and the assumption of Caesars’ debt, will not close until it is approved by shareholders and various gambling regulators.
That is not expected to happen until at least the first half of 2020.
When it does, the new Caesars Entertainment will hold up to 60 casino properties in 16 states under its massive umbrella. That will make Caesars far and away the largest gambling operator in the US.
Eldorado Resorts shareholders will end up with 51% of the new company and Caesars shareholders the other 49%. The new company will be led by current Eldorado CEO Tom Reeg and Chairman Gary Carano.
Should things remain as they are in Atlantic City, Caesars would run four of the city’s nine casinos.
Current Caesars Entertainment properties in Atlantic City include:
- Bally’s Atlantic City
- Caesars Atlantic City; and
- Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City
Eldorado assumed ownership of Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City as a part of its $1.85 billion deal to purchase Tropicana Entertainment Inc.in 2018.
Immediate impact in Atlantic City
The impact of the merger will be felt immediately at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City. Eldorado also announced an agreement to sell it and two other Harrah’s properties to real estate investment trust (REIT) VICI Properties Inc.
VICI was born out of Caesars’ Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in 2015, which split Caesars into two companies. One was a REIT taking ownership of its casinos. The other an operating company that continued to manage the properties.
VICI Properties has since grown and now owns 20 Caesars casino properties, including the flagship Caesars Palace Las Vegas. The properties are all leased back to Caesars Entertainment, and Caesars runs operations.
Even further ramifications could be felt if the VICI deal fails to ease concerns that owning or managing almost 45% of all Atlantic City casinos is too large a stake in the local industry.
Casino Control Commission approval required
The merger still requires regulatory approval by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission.
It will ultimately determine if the merger represents undue economic concentration in the market under state gaming laws. In other words, too much control over the local casino industry by one operator.
NJ State Senate President Steve Sweeney issued a statement Monday expressing such concerns:
“This is a significant purchase that could have a real impact on New Jersey’s gaming industry, Atlantic City’s economy and the livelihoods of casino workers and others whose jobs rely on the financial activity of the gaming sector. At a time when the state’s gaming business and Atlantic City’s casinos are experiencing a strong comeback, we don’t want to allow the ongoing resurgence to be compromised by a deal that concentrates too much control in a national conglomerate.
“We should be just as concerned about the fate of individual casino workers and their families in Atlantic City as the stockholders are about their profits. The combined company will own 60 casino resorts across 16 states, but we need to look out for the impact on New Jersey.”
Sweeney urged the Casino Control Commission to take a long hard look at the merger and its impact on Atlantic City:
“Gaming regulators should be sure to thoroughly evaluate the consequences of this deal. I will be monitoring the progress of the transaction to make sure it serves the best needs of New Jersey and our workers.”
And then there are federal antitrust concerns
In addition to satisfying local concerns, Caesars and Eldorado officials will likely have to convince the federal government the merger doesn’t run afoul of federal antitrust laws.
On a conference call with analysts and investors Monday, Reeg said the company expects to have to sell some properties to avoid such issues.
Reeg specifically mentioned the Las Vegas Strip. However, considering the concentration of local casino ownership the merger creates, Atlantic City could very well be the next target.
Something good for Atlantic City casino patrons
In the meantime, another impact of the merger could prove a good one for Atlantic City casino visitors.
Caesars Rewards Casinos Las Vegas
The merged company will adopt the industry-leading Caesars Rewards loyalty program across all properties.
Total Rewards was one of the largest and most acclaimed casino loyalty programs in the world. It was re-branded Caesars Rewards this year.
Caesars Casino Online Total Rewards
Caesars automatically transitioned all Total Rewards members to the new Caesars Rewards program in February. It will presumably dothe same for Eldorado customers as the merger closes.
Caesars Casino Online Rewards
Caesars Rewards Cards
Caesars Rewards members can currently earn and redeem rewards at more than 45 Caesars resorts and casinos around the world. As it stands, the merger will bump that up to as many as 60 properties in the US alone.