promotions/bonuses in the post Neteller era (for US players of course)

[tennis_balls]

I noticed that Bodog has now eliminated their "generous" 10% bonus.

Big Dollar/Grand Prive have slammed my e-mail with 100% bonus offers.

Fortune Lounge & Trident have sent out their usual rubbish.

[EasyRhino]

Yes, Grand Prive and especially Big Dollar have lost their friggin' minds. I got a 50% match Friday bonus and a 100% match Saturday bonus, it's hard to keep up. I'm not complaining.

Also, the virtual group continue to send out their usual stream of impressive-seeming bonii, but after you take into account the time they take to pay, and the inflation rate, they're really no big deal. In other words, no change.

[aka23]

Big Dollar/Grand Prive have slammed my e-mail with 100% bonus offers.

I wouldn't expect big changes in bonus offers due to Neteller, but some casino groups may drop US players all together.

Having said that... following the October legislative changes, Big Dollar/Grand Prive dramatically increased their rate of bonus offers (to me). It seems they are doing the same thing now.

[soflat]

Big Dollar's had the same bonus schedule for months. Wed is 100% Cashanova, Friday is 50% (I think it is Phat Friday), and Saturday is 100% something or another.

Grand Prive has reduced the number of 100% bonuses in favor of 25 and 50% deals.

[recruit]

Yes, Grand Prive and especially Big Dollar have lost their friggin' minds. I got a 50% match Friday bonus and a 100% match Saturday bonus, it's hard to keep up. I'm not complaining.

Also, the virtual group continue to send out their usual stream of impressive-seeming bonii, but after you take into account the time they take to pay, and the inflation rate, they're really no big deal. In other words, no change.

OK, so I can't find anywhere my credit card will go through except Virtual - and again, I have not had problems with their withdrwals in the past. But suddenly, I cannot get my card to go through. (this is after no problems for two days) So, I call the casino to see if they can push it through manually, which they have done before. "James" tells me he'll have to call me back, but in the meantime, they will give me a $100 free chip. So, I get an email confirming this, also with a link that says "Check this link to ensure you know the T&C's regarding free chips". So, I go to the link and it's an entire page about free chip rules. NOWHERE does it say anything about the max you can cashout, or wagering requirements. Mostly it talks about what games you can play, which are all except BJ, Roulette and a couple others that I never play anyway.

So, I call Virtual back, ask what the wag req's are for the free $100 chip and am told 20X. I ask what the cashouts are and am put on hold, no one ever returns to the line. I'm not thinking I'll do much with a $100 free chip anyway, just play for awhile for fun. OK....so back I go and start playing Joker Video Poker, $1 coinage. I put $20 in, and on my last $5 I hit a friggin Royal Flush...$4,000.00! I'm "cautiously excited"....I call the casino, explain the situation again and want to confirm max cashout. OK, get this: they ask me what my user name is and then put me on hold. (Can you see this coming?)

When they come back to the phone, (after checking my play, I'm sure!) I am told (surprise) that the max cashout is equal to the amount of the free chip, and that there is another whole page of "free chip T&C's" under "Casino Rules". Maybe, I say, but the link that James sent me, when he issued the free chip, didn't say anything about "please see other page as well"...or, "If you happen to win, please don't think for one second that you'll see a dime...." I thought the page of rules governing free chips was it, not that there was a Part 2 of Subset B, followed by C.

So - here's the bottom line...after much haggling (cough!) I am told that I can withdraw $100. If I then REVERSE the $100, I can cashout up to 10X the amount of the free chip, or $1000.00. And yep, I'm probably gonna go for it, but go figure - I have only hit a Royal three times in my life, and wouldn't you know one of those would be when I can't collect any of it. AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!

[RobWin]

OK, so I can't find anywhere my credit card will go through except Virtual - and again, I have not had problems with their withdrwals in the past. But suddenly, I cannot get my card to go through. (this is after no problems for two days) So, I call the casino to see if they can push it through manually, which they have done before. "James" tells me he'll have to call me back, but in the meantime, they will give me a $100 free chip. So, I get an email confirming this, also with a link that says "Check this link to ensure you know the T&C's regarding free chips". So, I go to the link and it's an entire page about free chip rules. NOWHERE does it say anything about the max you can cashout, or wagering requirements. Mostly it talks about what games you can play, which are all except BJ, Roulette and a couple others that I never play anyway.

So, I call Virtual back, ask what the wag req's are for the free $100 chip and am told 20X. I ask what the cashouts are and am put on hold, no one ever returns to the line. I'm not thinking I'll do much with a $100 free chip anyway, just play for awhile for fun. OK....so back I go and start playing Joker Video Poker, $1 coinage. I put $20 in, and on my last $5 I hit a friggin Royal Flush...$4,000.00! I'm "cautiously excited"....I call the casino, explain the situation again and want to confirm max cashout. OK, get this: they ask me what my user name is and then put me on hold. (Can you see this coming?)

When they come back to the phone, (after checking my play, I'm sure!) I am told (surprise) that the max cashout is equal to the amount of the free chip, and that there is another whole page of "free chip T&C's" under "Casino Rules". Maybe, I say, but the link that James sent me, when he issued the free chip, didn't say anything about "please see other page as well"...or, "If you happen to win, please don't think for one second that you'll see a dime...." I thought the page of rules governing free chips was it, not that there was a Part 2 of Subset B, followed by C.

So - here's the bottom line...after much haggling (cough!) I am told that I can withdraw $100. If I then REVERSE the $100, I can cashout up to 10X the amount of the free chip, or $1000.00. And yep, I'm probably gonna go for it, but go figure - I have only hit a Royal three times in my life, and wouldn't you know one of those would be when I can't collect any of it. AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!

Did you really expect anything different from the Virtual Casino Group ?

[vinylweatherman]

One solution would be to play "for fun" till you get back to $100 and withdraw it. This should convert some of the additional $3900 into comp points. Playing low variance games should give the most comps. If comping is at a rate of 0.1% as many casino offer, wagering $3900 to extinction on, say, VP at 1% house edge would allow the wagering of $390,000 which might give $390 worth of comps. The removal of the surplus takes place at withdrawal, unless the casino decides to lock your account and send you the $100. They could do this if it turns out they are no longer able to process your deposits.

[vinylweatherman]

Big Dollar's had the same bonus schedule for months. Wed is 100% Cashanova, Friday is 50% (I think it is Phat Friday), and Saturday is 100% something or another.

Grand Prive has reduced the number of 100% bonuses in favor of 25 and 50% deals.

Since joining Grand Bay from that postal coupon I have received not ONE bonus offer. Worse, they only seem to run a single tournament, which currently is "coming soon". Looks like they are trying to persuade US players to stick around, but are forgetting the new markets they have just launched a campaign in to get replacement players should the US market completely fall through, as seems increasingly likely as processor after processor pulls the plug.