Piggs casinos group downtime

[Mousey]

I'm still very apprehensive about this buy out or take over or merger or whatever. WR at Mummy's (and probably the sister casinos as well) have very recently changed from 15X to 20X. Also, the no wager requirements for upper level players on bonus money statement has been removed. (So what good is being Gold or Platinum or Diamond?) They have also removed the 10% bonus on NETeller deposits of $50 and up.

Received the following email from all Piggs group (Mummy's, Piggs, Jackpots in a Flash)....

Hello XXXXX,

Please be advised that the scheduled migration of Mummys Gold casino to The Palace Group will take place on Wednesday, March 15th at 3am GMT.

The migration will take approximately 8 - 12 hours. However, your
account may be accessible as early as 5am GMT as casino accounts are transferred one by one.

My sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused and
thank you for your patience.

Kind Regards

[schankwart]

These fellows have had the MOST horrible wagering requirements that I have seen anywhere in the Internet, which caused my business with them to skip out completely.

The wagering requirements Mousey mentions above is for Slots only... All other games do either not count at all or rise up the wagering to 200* deposit & bonus. -And not even their VIPs are free of this term.

Nana... This is not my kind of Casino.....
But I am having my hopes up now as for me the Spin Palace group has always been excellent!

[Simmo!]

Palace group have their own VIP scheme which I am sure will come into play following the switch. They are generally good at looking after players so I am sure they will listen to feedback from existing players who are being switched.

These sort of things always take some time to bed in and there are always winnes and losers, but essentially you will be in good hands.

[vinylweatherman]

It so happens I am meeting Dean (VIP rep) tomorrow in Reading UK. This was arranged a while ago (except for the dates), so I will ask about this buy out and what might happen.
The Palace group DO have pretty stiff WR of around 12x to 15x on slots, with Blackjack around 150x and tables around 30 to 60x. It depends on the promotion though, HOWEVER, any prize money won in a tournament has a mere 3x WR on it.
Each weekend there is a promotional mailer. Each one is different, and different ones run at different casinos. VIP's receive bigger promotions. There are percentage rebates on losses, either slots only or a wider range of games. More usually there are deposit bonuses of varying amounts, percentage, and terms. Reading T & C for each promotion is a must, as they change each time.
If the new casinos change to this type of system I will consider joining at least one. The main thing lacking at Palace group are live scoreboards for the various tournaments, another point that I will mention. There should now be enough skill in Microgaming-Land to implement this as many casino have them, most notably Casino Action.

[Mousey]

Was able to log into to all three former Piggs group casino accounts this afternoon. Unfortunately, my Loyalty Points have been reset to 0 and set at Bronze level at all 3 casinos. I am hoping this is simply a temporary glitch as part of the process of 'merging'. If things aren't back to normal by tomorrow afternoon, then I'll panic.

[vinylweatherman]

I met Dean, and we had a fine Indian meal at the Sadar Palace in Reading. I brought a friend, but Dean came on his own (his colleague had to cancel). Among the pleasantries, we discussed the following points.

Supply of documentation, while necessary, it would be nice if the CS could anticipate this and ask for it early, not when a cash-in has just left pending. I also made the point about occasional less than helpful responses to players who have problems getting their JPEG's accepted. Dean mentioned that the main problem with faxes was that the photograph came out too dark to be of use, JPEG files are preferred.

Takeover of Money Mechanic - Dean would like this to go smoothly, and it is planned to improve the websites and the experience for existing customers. It is not intended to force players to change to Spin Palace type promotions if they really prefer the 20x WR on slots , however feedback is welcome, and would actually be helpful so that the existing customer base is not alienated.

For players who have lost out, such as losing comps and status, I suggest contacting CS after leaving a short while for staff to gear up for the flood of E-mails (perhaps till next Monday). I would expect that comps would be reinstated as points in the Palace group scheme, and those who have reached the Platinum and Diamond levels to be enrolled as VIP players in the Palace Group.

I also mentined the desirability of the following; Neteller instant payment, live scoreboards for the tournaments, a tool so players could see how much WR was left (I mentioned the "eZbonus" system that allows this). Dean was not particularly impressed by the cash out at any time option, so I said perhaps MG could be asked to make this tool capable of managing the traditional bonus where all WR has to be completed to cash-out.

We discussed the antics of other outfits, who confiscate winnings if players cash-out and miscalculate their wagering, or play games that "do not count". Dean told me this was not their policy, and that cash-ins are token refunded for wagering to be completed. He appreciated that a tool to monitor WR should eliminate this type of common player error.

Lastly, Dean pointed out that if players do not talk to the group, they do not know of a problem. In order to talk though, you need to get past the lower levels of CS. This can be done by contacting the rep here, or asking CS to escalate the issue up the chain.

If Dean gives the OK, I will post his E-mail for feedback, however I do not want to jump the gun in case this is not the best way for players to give feedback (or make complaints). For now, I will mention anything significant that crops up here that would seem to be worrying players.

I would suggest that new players hold back from signing up at these bought out casinos till the current player base has been sorted out. This should minimise the potential for problems due to high workloads. This should not take more than a couple of weeks, and I expect they will advertise once they are ready to launch the rebranded sites.

As we left, I showed Dean a traditional UK "Fruit" machine, and pointed out the small print "the outcome of any game is not necessarily ....... the odds displayed". I lost about £2 in small change and had 8 or so losing spins - bit like Thunderstruck

[Mousey]

It is not intended to force players to change to Spin Palace type promotions if they really prefer the 20x WR on slots , however feedback is welcome, and would actually be helpful so that the existing customer base is not alienated.

Well... I'd really prefer to have back my no WR on bonus monies (which just recently was removed from their WR without any notice to me), and my hard earned Platinum (or equivalent) level at Mummy's.

Emails referencing this move have reassured that they want this to go seamlessly for the player. Fine. But if there are changes, or new options, they have my email -- please communicate with players. It would be nice if they emailed me first with clear explanation of how all accounts they obtained with the buyout will be handled, and any changes in WR, comps, etc.

I'm still apprehensive, but will give them time to get things sorted before I start emailing CS with questions.

[Palace Group]

Hi all,

Good to see everyone is talking about this.
The move over has generally gone as planned just some things are taking a bit longer.
Everyone should be able to access the casinos and loyalty.
Loyalty points will unfortunately only update (from your existing balance before the move) early next week. The level you were on will also be updated so you will not lose out in anyway. You will however be able to earn while playing in the meantime.

vinylweatherman: I hope you had a good meeting with Dean. I will make a plan to visit you when next in the UK.

I would prefer all communication from the site come through to me but some players will be sent Dean and other email addresses.

I assure all of you we are working all day and night to get all the casino's back to normal and any delays in importing of information etc should be back to normal by the latest tomorrow.

As usual you all know I am contactable about anything.

Kind regards,

Darran
The Palace Group

[Palace Group]

Just an update:

Players who have reached various levels with the casino we have rcently aquired will not lose their status with us.
Whether it be player levels, loyalty levels etc we will have all of these updated by very early next week.

If anyone has questions that would benefit the forum readers please post and I will address all

Kind regards,

The Palace Group

[Mousey]

thanks to the Palace Group rep for stepping right up and trying to keep us abreast of the changes. When you have a moment, Could you give us a progress report? Some idea of timeline when things might be back to normal at the 'absorbed' casinos?

I have been out of town a few days. As of last night and today, I am unable to access Banking, Loyalty Points, CashCheck, or PlayCheck while logged in at either Piggs, Mummy's, or Jackpots in a Flash. I can find nothing in my computer settings that would block these features at only these casinos.

While I was away, I received an email for a nice match bonus but find that I am unable to deposit -- which is probably a good thing. Also received about 50 copies of the Mummy's promo of the week email due to glitch in the system, I'm sure. I usually play the promos at one or more of the (former Piggs) casinos, but I'm holding off till things settle down -- and, of course, until I can access banking.