Just as the idea of sports betting in Michigan arose a few years ago, a new concept that combines casino games with marijuana purchases called “The Reef” recently emerged in Detroit. The more you buy, the more chances you get at traditional table games to win product or store credit.
Pot Shop Rewards
Rewards points and loyalty programs are corporate strategies designed to keep customers from patronizing their competitors. But The Reef, a pot shop in Detroit has teamed with Jason Kouza of Dort Hwy Dispo, a Flint-area dispensary, to create a different kind of customer incentive.
Those who purchase marijuana or any of the accessories sold within the shop will build up reward points that can be converted into chances at rolling the dice, playing a hand of blackjack, or spinning the roulette wheel. Prizes like in-store credit or cannabis products can be won without any risk except the reward points being used as currency that is accumulated with store purchases.
Tim Campbell, a spokesperson for The Reef, explained, “We structured how many reward points you get at a ratio of how much you purchase. For instance, there are days that you come in and you spend $25, you get either a ball to go down the Plinko machine or a pull on the roulette wheel, [or] a roll at the craps table.
“So, you win prizes, and you can win pretty much no matter what. And if you spend $50, you get two of these chances; for $75, you get three; and so on and so forth. Or you can let your points accrue and sit there and get hot on a game of blackjack or get hot on a game of craps.”
But the fun doesn’t stop there. The Reef has also dreamed up its own version of the McDonald’s “Monopoly” promotion in which customers can win vacations, weed for life, products like a home cannabis-growing kit, or even $100,000! And if customers aren’t playing craps or matching “Monopoly” tickets they might be scratching tickets or tearing pull tabs to find out if they’ve won any number of prizes found at The Reef.
More to Come?
Campbell believes the concept of using casino games as a vehicle for redeeming rewards points is novel in the cannabis dispensary industry. “As far as I know, nobody in the country has done it,” he said.
There is no doubt the concept is unique, especially in a relatively nascent industry where customers are far more familiar with rolling a joint than rolling the dice. Nevertheless, the concept has drawn plenty of attention to the store located on Eight Mile Road, the same stretch of blacktop made famous by Eminem in his 2002 movie of the same name.
In fact, the innovative idea has spawned expansion plans where the concept will be introduced into their current location in Muskegon Heights while possible new sites in the surrounding Detroit area as well as Hamtramck. And with expansion comes new employment opportunities for local residents with as many as 30 new jobs yet to be created.
On a less optimistic note, a spokesperson for Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency stated that the concept was under investigation.
*Bookmakers Review will continue to monitor this story and provide updates to our readers as events unfold.
Calculators
