GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 29 - July 2014

HarrahsCasino.com (N.J.)—Harrah’sTotal Rewards Harrah’sonlinebrandHarrahsCasino.comhasalsodoneastellar job uniting their online brand with their land-based brand. Whether players play at the online casino or at Harrah’s on the Boardwalk, they earn the same rewards points throughCaesars Entertainment’s loyaltyprogram, known asTotal Rewards. Players are awarded points for online casino play, including tier credits for Total Rewards status, and reward credits, which canbeused for online cashbackor comps at anyTotal Rewards casinos and resortsworldwide. With the reward credits, players can enjoy dining, retail, hotel, entertainment andmore. Thismay verywell be one of the best, yet unknown, loyalty programs for online casino players in New Jersey. Poker tournamentsprove to take the lead in cross-promotion Withmuch of the regulatedmarkets’ initial promotional efforts focusing on their poker offerings, it should come as no surprise that poker has been the clear leader in cross-promotion. Let’s examine the two greatest cross-promotional successes seen in the regulatedmarkets thus far. 2014BorgataSpringPokerOpen (N.J.)— Qualifyonline, playon theBoardwalk InApril, the BorgataHotel Casino& Spa held their fifth annual signature poker tournament, the “Borgata Spring Poker Open.” This year, for the first time, the main event was a televised World Poker Tour Championshipwith a $5million guaranteed prizepool. Likewise, for the first time in history, leading up to the series players were given the opportunity to qualify online through satellites for several of the tournaments at bothBorgataPoker.com andnj.partypoker.com. Throughout the land-based tournament series, playerswerealso inundatedwith advertising for the Borgata’s online poker room and casino. Witheachof theonlinepoker and casino sites inNevada andNew Jersey affiliatedwith abrick-and-mortar casino, we arebeginning to seemore traditional promotions and crossovers between theonline and land-basedbrands. 46 Bridging the gapbetween regulated land-based andonline casinos