Having been one of the top 20 players over the last 3 years on SWC.......I'm pretty upset about the table starter rakeback being over. Regardless of the rake, I at least liked to know that I was getting 50 percent back. It used to create fuller tables. Not sure any of those announcements will help the players (besides the cashouts under 20 chips).
I played hands last week where the pot was raked .6 chips or like $10/hand lol. So even after tablestarter, it was $5/hand for 3 handed $35/70 usd, which is more than double Stars rake for similar stakes. Other games, I played hands that weren't even raked bc it was so low - the whole rake structure was broken. Now, the max rake for limit games is .18 chips, or like $3.50/hand and you still get krill rakeback that makes it like $2-$3/hand.
Some players like to feel like they're getting something, even when they're actually paying a lot more. Casinos have always used that to their advantage when creating promos.