| And there are funny times. She was talking blackjack with a custodian in the Las Vegas apartment building where she lived, and he tried to pick her up. His line? He claimed to have been a member of the Uston card-counting team at Resorts in Atlantic City. Little did he know he was chatting up a woman who really had been part of that team. Oops. * What you get is almost always based on your theoretical loss, although some casinos will give something extra if you've had large losses far above the mathematical norm. When you use your card, the time you play and your average wagers are tracked. Your total play then is multiplied by the house edge on the game to show your theoretical loss. For example, if you bet $10 a spin on the roulette wheel and stay long enough for about 100 spins, your wagering total is about $1,000. Multiply that by .0526--the 5.26 percent house edge at roulette--and your theoretical loss is $52.60. The casino will return a portion of that--usually ranging for 10 to 40 percent--in the form of comps. This is where basic strategy players in blackjack can play the system to their advantage. Most casinos assume their edge against an average blackjack player is about 2 to 2.5 percent. If you play long enough to make $1,000 worth of wagers, your theoretical loss is $20 to $25, and the normal comp range would be between $2 and $10. However, a basic strategy player faces a house edge of only about 0.5 percent, and even less if the table rules are favorable. That cuts the theoretical loss to $5 or so, but most comping systems won't distinguish between the average player and the basic strategy player. That means in some casinos, the value of the comps will be more than the average losses for a basic strategy blackjack player. * Once you've played, it's up to you to ask for comps. I have had supervisors approach me while I was playing and ask if I needed a meal comp, but most of the time you'll need to go to the club booth and ask if you have enough points for the desired comp. Frequent players will do well to ask to see a host, who can grant comps above and beyond those available through point redemption. If the host gives good service, a little token of esteem is always in order. One of my hosts loves Fannie Mae candy, and can't get it in Las Vegas. When I go, I bring her a box of Fannie Maes--then I pick up a box of Ethel M's, my wife's preference--for the return trip. * Take advantage of direct mail offers. The goal of casino comps is to encourage you to return. Some of the most generous casino offers come through the mail--bonus cash, bonus slot club points, free meals, free tournaments, free or discounted rooms and more. The offers often have restricted dates and expiration dates. If you can manage, plan your trip for days that you can use the direct mail offers. * Try to combine offers. Sometimes you'll get multiple mailings from the same casino, and sometimes the offers will overlap. I once received one offer from a casino where I'd played a bit, but never stayed, for a free room and an entry into a video poker tournament, and the next day received another mailing from the same casino, offering triple slot club points and a $50 food credit. Given that I was planning a trip anyway, that was too much to pass up. Locally, Harrah's in Joliet and East Chicago, and Trump and Majestic Star in Gary give cash back in the form of direct mail vouchers instead of redeeming points on the day you earn them. They also send vouchers for bonus cash. If you're going to return to redeem the cash-back voucher, it might as well be on a day you can redeem the bonus cash. * Above all, don't bet more than you normally would just for the sake of comps. Play your normal amount and take whatever comes your way, but understand that if you chase comps with extra bets, a "free" meal or room can wind up costing more than if you'd just paid for it yourself. |
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