I know the Club Board is the better spot for this post. For some reason I cannot figure out, the Club Board won't accept this post. I keep getting a "submission not accepted-naughty words" warning. I have proofed it and I don't see what is raising the red flag. If someone can figure it out, please let me know and I will post it there also.

Here is the post:

I am responding to Jay's response from a thread yesterday that was posted on The Chipboard, as this is the appropriate forum for this discusiion.

My basic point is I think the decision to give members staying at the Riv the "incentive" of "extra access" to the show floor 1 hour early was a bad, unfair decision. There are two basic points I am making to support my argument.

The first is that it is unfair to a club member who does not need a hotel room. The second is that it puts a club member who values first access to the dealers and who does not need a hotel room in the position of having to choose between either a) dealing with the situation and writing off the first hour of opening day, or b) paying for the cost of a room at the Riv that they do not need.

Here are Jay's full responses to what I wrote:

Jerry, I'm not sure you understood my post at all. You said:
#1, The argument that someone who needs to fly into LV to attend the convention is a red herring. Just as we all can choose to stay or not to stay at the Riv, we all choose where we live. If you need to pay the added expense of getting to LV, that is YOUR problem. Why, in the interest of fairness, does that have any bearing whatsoever on someone who does not need to travel as far to attend?

My point was that it does not matter at all if you are from in town or out of town... you still have the same ability to stay at the Riviera. The need to travel or fact that you live in Las Vegas or somewhere else is a non-issue as relates to the incentives.

......Yes, Jay, I am aware I have the ability to stay at the Riv. I just don't have the need to stay there. And because I don't have the need, I am not entitled to participate in the "incentive", unless I pay for a room I don't need.

#2 I agree we need to stay at the Riv. I agree with the freebies. That is great, give away all of 'em, no problem. What I don't agree with is opening up our club convention floor, and then excluding club members from it. Bad Idea. Pits members against members. Charge the non-Riv guests a "tax" to subsidize any perceived revenue shortfall incurred by the member not staying at the Riv, but allow every member the same access to the show floor.

Well this has been discussed exhaustively on the boards and I'm sure I have nothing new to add, but your argument dismisses the incentive part of the concept. I understand that you feel it's a bad idea, and you're certainly entitled to feel that way, but "pits members against members" is a little dramatic. Charging the non-Riv guests a "tax" would defeat the entire purpose of the exercise and render the incentive worthless.

....Frankly, I think the BOD requiring a full member of the club to pay for a room they have no use for to get access to the open show floor is a little dramatic. And I will also argue that this is not an incentive. It is a punishment. Just read the thread to the dealers below. Doug says the the show floor will be opening an hour earlier. The dealers are being "pushed, urged etc." to open an hour earlier. The selling begins an hour earlier. It is not "incentive" hoyr. It is "the show is open and you are not welcome" hour. Anyone who collects anything with any enthusiasm knows that this is the time (opening hour) to be on the floor. Now, I can't be on the floor, unless I pay for a room that I don't need. Does this sound logical to the BOD? Man, just call it what it is. Stop dancing around the issue. My point is, if you do this, and leave me, and others in the same situation, no other way to get on the floor for that first hour, you are being unfair. That is why I tried to argue for some sort of "tax" or fee in the place of paying for a room. That is why I feel this is a Bad Plan. It does not take this set of circumstances into account, or it does, but you just don't care about what the impact is. A decision that might be to the overall benefit of the entire club, but puts a single member into this position is a bad decision.

Are the dealers going to be open for business? If they are open, and it is my understanding that they will be, then you are excluding club members from an equal opportunity to buy. And that is what this is mostly about, from my perspective. You didn't stay here, now you can't come in for an hour. Punitive. Don't tell me it is a reward for those who did.

Again, you're missing the concept of the incentive and turning it on its head where those who don't stay at the Riv are the victims. You are free to feel that it's punitive to those who don't want to take advantage of the incentives, but in fact it IS a reward to those who stay at the Riviera and shouldn't be construed as anything else.

.......The BOD is missing the concept that some members who are not staying at the Riv are not villians.

This one size fits all policy is bad. Stop trying to justify it as being in the best interest of the club. This could have been handled better.

This incentive program was considered carefully and at length by the Board of Directors. Again, you are free to feel how you wish, but I can assure you that the policy is NOT stupd, is most definitely IS in the best interest of the Club, (or at least to those who want there to be conventions in the future,) and in my estimation, it was handled in the best way possible. Your whole post seems to imply that the decision and form of the incentive program was made hastily and that we'd missed all of the points you've mentioned. Neither was the case.

So, from this, I can only imply the the BOD was entirely aware that some members would be put into this position, but decided that this was the way it had to be. OK, fair enough. But understand, that to someone in my position, this cannot be viewed as an incentive or a reward.
I will say it here again. Freebies, dealer scrips, t-shirts, bonuses, whatever as an incentive to stay at the Riv is a fine idea. Barring someone in my position to the first hour of the opening of the club floor, and access to the dealers in the first hour, in my view, is not, and I am getting a bit tired this class of the membership being portrayed as the "villians" or as "not supporting the club". Some sort of fair accomodation should have been made.

And in my view, the BOD knowingly proceeding with this course of action diminishes my opinion of its ability to decide on behalf of the entire membership.

I respect your hard work and dedication to chipping. Thank you for allowing me to explain my position.

Respectfully
Jerome Canzoneri
R-6964