On the heels of Mirage rolling out a voucher system to regulate how comped drinks are earned by video poker players, Caesars Palace has implemented a new system of its own.
It’s a little like Red Light, Green Light, but it’s no game, and it could signal another unfortunate penny-pinching trend by Las Vegas casinos.
The Red Light, Green Light comp drink system is currently at one bar, the Race and Sports Book Bar at Caesars Palace.
The casino has installed three small lights on the back of each video poker machine at the bar.
One light is green, another is red, and a third is blue.
Most customers would probably never even notice the lights, but they’re used by bartenders to determine if players are worthy of comped cocktails while sitting at the bar.
Here’s how it works.
First, the blue light turns on of the customer at the car has inserted $20 into the machine. It serves as a baseline to differentiate between customers drinking and enjoying sports on the nearby screens and those playing video poker.
Typically, a bartender can comp a first drink if a player puts money into a machine, but that doesn’t appear to be the case with the Red Light, Green Light system.
Only after a player has qualified with their play do they get the green light for a comped cocktail.