Free Stuff! — Casino Comps

Originally published 2006, revised 11/2010

“Comp” is short for “complementary” and it means anything free or reduced price that a casino gives you.  It’s a marketing tactic, like “buy one get one free” at the grocery store.  If you’re parking your RV overnight at the casino you already have one comp — the free parking — and it didn’t cost you anything on your comp account!

What kinds of comps can you expect?

At a minimum, anyone playing a casino game (in Nevada and most other states) can expect free drinks, including soft drinks, beer, wine, mixed drinks, coffee, hot chocolate, even milkshakes in some places.  Pretty much anything the bar can make you can have free while you’re gambling.

Of course, you do need to tip the cocktail waitress or bartender.  They work hard, and work for tips, so I recommend the following:

Tipping for Cocktails

• Normal good service $1 each drink.  Excellent service, $2 each drink.  If you’re somewhat of a high roller and you’d really like special treatment from the cocktail staff tip $5 up front when you order each drink.
• Check out www.cocktaildoll.com.  You’ll learn the inside story of what it’s like to cocktail at a casino.  Many of her stories will have you rolling on the floor laughing!

Beyond free drinks the sky is the limit for comps, it all depends on how much you play.

• Low Rollers can expect free or reduced price buffet meals, reduced price rooms, some other limited comps.
• Average players can expect the same, plus free rooms and/or upgrade to suites, nicer restaurant comps, show tickets, special invitations.
• If you’re a High Roller, you’ll get what’s called RFB.  That stands for Room, Food and Beverage.  You’ll also get free show tickets, rounds of golf, airfare to visit the casino, cruises, celebrity social events, etc.

How do you get additional comps?

There are several ways to receive comps, but the primary two are through marketing, and by asking for them at the casino.

Marketing Comps:

After you visit a casino and play some you’ll start receiving marketing in the mail.  Usually this will include coupons that you can redeem at the casino for free buffets, free room (or reduced price), free spa visits, show tickets, etc.  You may also get what’s called “bounce back cash” or “free play”.  Bounce back cash is a coupon that you exchange for cash at the casino.  Free play is a coupon for a dollar amount of free play on slots or video poker machines.  Both are great.  Cash is nice, but you usually get less cash and more free play.

A typical quarter video poker player who plays 4 to 6 hours a day for a long weekend might get between $25 and $50 in free play for the next trip.  If you play a lot longer you might get more.  If you play at the Dollar level you might get $100 to $300, and so on.

Comps you ask for

One thing to remember in a casino is to ASK for a comp, because you’ll rarely get it unless you ask!

Playing Table Games:  If you play blackjack, craps, or other table games you’ll usually get your comps from the Pit Boss.  How much you get depends on three things:

1. Your level of play — how much you’re wagering
2. How long you have played
3. What casino you’re at, how upscale it is, and their comp policy

The basic version is this. Sit down and play for a few hours.  When dinner time comes, tell the dealer; “I’d like to color up, and could you ask the boss if I can get a dinner comped?” The pit boss will check your play, and will tell you if you can have a comp or not.  If not, ask what level of play is typically required for a couple of buffets or a trip to the coffee shop or whatever it is you’d like.

Here’s a more detailed explanation of how casinos figure comps.

Warning: This may put some of you to sleep.  We’re going to do math…

• You’re playing green chips ($25 a bet) and you’ve been at the blackjack table about 4 hours.  If you’re in downtown Las Vegas (except maybe the Golden Nugget) you can easily ask for some buffets, or probably a nice restaurant comp with a limit on spending.  If you’re on the strip at Bellagio, Wynn, City Center, etc. you probably qualify for another cocktail. 
• Next time, you’re playing black chips ($100 a bet).  Now you can probably get an open comp for two at a gourmet downtown restaurant.  At the Bellagio, Wynn, Mirage, etc. you’ll get a couple of buffets (and they’re really good buffets!)  Some strip properties are trying harder during the bad economy and you might get more.

Getting to know Theo

Who is Theo, and why should you get to know him?  Theo stands for “Theoretical Loss”.  (Note, this is the “technical stuff” folks, so fair warning).

Theo is the dollar amount you are expected to lose playing a particular game, at a particular rate, for a specific time.  The formula is Vig  x Your Average Bet x Hands Per Hour x Hours Played.  It is used to compute how much you can receive in casino comps.

Let’s say you’re playing a game with a 1.5% average casino vig.  The actual Vig (house advantage) with expert play may be 1%, but they usually do these figures based on the average, so if you have some skill you come out ahead!  Now lets say you play at the level of $25 a hand, and play 40 hands per hour.  That’s .015 x 25 x 40 = $15.00.  Now let’s say you play for 4 hours.  Statistically, your loss should be $60 for that four hours of play.  That’s your Theo.

Casinos have a standard for what percentage of your Theo you can be comped.  Sometimes the pit boss has discretion, and will take into consideration a really bad losing session.  Comping at 40% of Theo is typical.  So in the example above you now have about $24 in “compability”.  You ask for a couple of $15 buffets, and the pit boss throws you a bone and writes you the comp for $30.

But let’s dissect this comp, what’s it really worth?

Most of the comps you receive will be what are known as “soft comps”.  The casino didn’t spend $30 cash to give you those two $15 buffet tickets.  It may have only cost the casino $4 to serve your meals.  To YOU, it’s still worth $30 (unless you’d prefer to eat a cold ham sandwich in your room).  The same principal goes for those $8 mixed drinks you got for free, and that $150 a night room.

“Hard comps” are a completely different thing.  Most of the time you need to be a high roller to get them.  Let’s say you’re playing at the Rio, and you tell the host you’d really love tickets to see Zumanity (the Cirque Du Soleil show at NYNY).  Those tickets are “hard comps” because the Rio has to pay hard cash for them.  So unless you’re a real high roller forget it.

What should you remember from all this?

If nothing else remember this; “Ask for comps“.  Be aware of what you can get from the casino to offset your losses (or add to your winnings!)

Resources on the web

Places I’ve found for researching casino comp systems and asking questions about specific casinos:

• The Frugal Gambler, More Frugal Gambling books by Jean Scott http://queenofcomps.com
• Casino Comps Yahoo! Group (Free) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/casino_comps/
• Las Vegas Advisor ($39/yr, but with an excellent coupon book)  www.lasvegasadvisor.com
• Midwest Gaming and Travel www.midwestgamingandtravel.com

Money Management

Here’s an unhappy situation — being flat broke on the second day of a five day gambling vacation.

To avoid this, you need to set a gambling budget and stick to it.  Some say “Never bet more than you can safely afford to lose.”  But I believe that’s a dangerous way to think about it.  I prefer to say “Never bet more than you planned to bet”.

Here’s the difference.  You may be well off, and you could afford to wager a few thousand dollars tonight.  If you lost it, it would have zero effect on your life or your future.  But you only planned to play with $400, and that’s what you brought to the casino with you.  If you lose that $400, don’t go to the ATM.  That’s the first step down a slippery slope.

Here are a few terms to help keep things straight:

• Bankroll: This is all the money you have that is designated for gambling.  Think of it as your gambling savings account.  It may be in the bank, or in a safe deposit box, or in your shoe, but it should be kept completely separate from your other funds.  Don’t mix your bankroll with money that you use for daily living.
• Daily Budget: The money you have budgeted for gambling today.
• Session Bankroll: All the money you have designated for gambling this session or period.  Normally a portion of a day, a few hours.
• Loss Limit: The amount of money you are willing to lose in a period or session.

Here’s what we do:

• Decide on a gambling budget for the week and for each day of the week
• At the start of the day, we take out the money for that day, for example $400 each.
• We further divide the daily budget into session bankrolls.  For example, $200/session
• We decide what the acceptable loss limit is for the session up to the session bankroll limit.  If we reach a loss loss limit we end that session (or go home if the daily budget is exhausted).
• We work hard to stick to the plans laid out above.

Taxes

If you gamble long enough, eventually you’ll hit a jackpot that requires the casino to pay you by hand, in cash, and to give you a W2-g.  Now you have the privilege of paying taxes on your winnings.

Any time you hit a jackpot larger than $1199 the casino will give you a W2-g.  Some machines are set up to pay exactly $1199 for this reason!

But, you say that you’ve lost more than you won this year? If so, you may not have to pay any taxes on this jackpot.

A few things to do in advance of this occurring.

• Keep records of your gambling trips.  Maintain a log with date, starting bankroll, ending bankroll, profit or loss.  In addition to this, casinos will provide you with a win/loss statement at the end of the year based on their records.

• Ensure you report all gambling losses to offset the wins.  For example, keep old losing lottery tickets, etc.

• State tax laws vary, so ensure you understand the laws in your state, and the state where you’re gambling.

Problem Gambling

If you have difficulty sticking to a budget, and often exceed your planned gambling loss limits, you may have the beginnings of a gambling problem.  Please keep gambling fun for you and your family.  Take a look at these sites:

National Council on Problem Gambling: www.ncpgambling.org

Gamblers Anonymous:  www.gamblersanonymous.org

Harvard Medical School self help:  http://basisonline.org/changetools.htm