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Information about comps:

Whether you chose to become a rated player at the casino table games, join a slot
club or both, once you get into the system, you can start getting your share of
comps. There are a number of tried and proven ways to multiply the number of
comps you get. Here are some pointers.

Chose a primary casino and then play there.

A basic premise of the whole comp system is to reward loyal players. Casinos offer
comps to lure new players to their casino and to make sure that their current
customers remain their customers. If you think you have it tough trying to use the
comp system to your advantage, just think what the casinos are up against with new
competition springing up every day.

If you are a whale, you can ignore my advice. Just plan on either bringing or
setting up a credit line of $100,000 or larger, and wherever you decide to land will
be glad to comp you. If you are in the million dollar plus range, the casino will
not only comp you, but anyone else you chose to bring with you. They'll even
charter a 737 and fly in as many of your friends as you want to bring along.

If you are not quite in this range, then it will pay to find a primary casino
and reward it with your patronage. A player with as little as $1,000 can get
RFB treatment in some of the downtown casinos in Las Vegas. A player
with a $2,500 bankroll will have an even greater choice of hotel casinos.
Move up to the $5,000 to $10,000 range, and a whole other batch of casinos
become available.

But, in order to get noticed and adequately comped with a bankroll from $1,000 to
$10,000, you have to be willing to reward a casino with your playing time.

A friend of mine visits Las Vegas about ten times a year. He usually takes $5,000
to $10,000 and manages to lose between half and three quarters of it per trip. I
won't comment on his approach to gambling. Quite frankly, it stinks. Anyway, the
subject is comps.

Believe it or not, he doesn't get any. He stays at a different casino every trip. I
think he believes the constant changes might improve his luck. This is not
necessarily bad, if he would play at the casino where he stays. He invariably
changes casinos every hour or two and ends up playing in ten to twelve different
establishments over the course of two or three days.

Because of the size of his buy-ins, he is constantly asked if he wants to be rated. He
always declines. He confesses that he doesn't want the casinos to know how much
he is losing. I think that he is trying to kid himself about his losses.

I have explained the comp system to him. As long as he is losing, he might as well
have the casinos kick in $750 to $1,000 per trip. This money is there for the asking
if he would only pick a primary casino and give it a reasonable amount of play.

I can't convince him to change his ways. But, maybe I can influence you.

There are many other benefits to playing more in a primary casino. The first benefit
is the application of the old saw, "If you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours."

The casino will accelerate the rewards offered you the more you play. Some
casinos formalize this process and actually accelerate the comps to slot club
members as their total number of points increases. Many casinos offer more and
more free rooms and entertainment the more you patronize them.

The key to maximizing your benefits from this whole process is to find a casino that
matches your needs and then start playing there. If you have picked correctly, your
loyalty will be well rewarded.

Join a slot club and/or get a VIP card.

The start of getting comps is to be into the casino comp system. If you bet $25,000
a hand, the host will find you. If you bet $5 to $25 a pop, you have to get the
casino's attention. And the easiest way to do this is with a little piece of plastic
which looks just like a credit card.

Once you have a card, getting comped will become part of your routine. The first
thing you will do as a machine player is to insert your club card in the card reader.

When you sit down at a craps, baccarat or a roulette table you will present your VIP
card when you buy in.

Your card will go down with your cash at the roulette table when you lay five
hundred in front of the dealer and tell him, "Chips please."

Once you have the cards and use them, all of your play will count towards
something.

Get to know your casino host.

The casino host or the slot host will be your key to getting the most comps in most
casinos.

If you are a member of the casino's slot club, you will get nearly all of your comps
by asking the casino slot host. Many times comps for food, rooms, shows and
merchandise are built right into the slot club payoffs. If you have just joined a slot
club, try giving them some play for an hour or two and then asking the slot host for
a buffet comp.

My experience with comps from playing slots or video poker is that the slot hosts
are much more likely to be generous with comps than the personnel at the slot club
booths. If you want brochures on the slot clubs or general information on the slot
club, talk to the clerks at the booth. If you want a particular comp, ask the slot host.

Casino hosts, catering to the table game players, are at the top of the casino pecking
order for granting comps. Their top priority is to cultivate new customers and to
keep the current customers happy.

The casino hostesses are the persons working for VIP Services who help you check
in, arrange your limo service, make dinner and show reservations and so forth.

The hostesses will handle most of your scheduling and reservation needs. The
casino hosts are the people you need to talk to to arrange RFB and airfare
reimbursement.

You can meet a casino host a number of ways. One way is to call a casino before
coming and ask to speak to a host. This is a good way to ask about the casino's
comp policy and to tell the host that you are interested in playing there.

If you are playing with front money, you should meet your host after depositing
your money with the cage but before you begin play.

If you are a cash player and make a large enough buy-in, you may have a chance to
meet a host when the casino sets you up with a VIP card.

After you have played in a casino, you can make reservations through the casino
host. Making a reservation through a host who knows you is a good way to get a
room even if the front desk claims that no rooms are available. Casinos always
reserve a block of rooms for their best customers, and a casino host can get you a
room when a reservation clerk can't.

I recommend taking a little time to develop a relationship with a host. Part of
developing a relationship is consistency. If you make one casino your primary
casino and visit several times a year, it will be easier to become known to a host
than if he only sees you every other year.

If you are using a casino credit line, the host will introduce himself to you. With
front money or cash, you will want to make a point of meeting the host.

Treat your host with respect and nurture the relationship. He can shower you with
all kinds of freebies, including gifts, food, a free room and VIP treatment. And he
is paid to do this. For your part, you have to convince your host that your action is
sufficient to justify the comps you want. And being a nice person won't hurt either.

Be a nice person.

You can get enormous leverage out of maintaining friendly relationships with the
people who work in casinos.

Start with the dealers and cocktail waitresses. These people have a couple of the
hardest jobs in the casino and are at the bottom of the casino hierarchy. A smile and
a reasonable tipping policy will do wonders to get these folks on your side. I
believe that creating a positive atmosphere starts with how you act towards the
casino personnel. A positive atmosphere is conducive to winning as well as to
getting your fair share of comps.

You might look at it this way. If you are a grump, the dealer will probably
reciprocate. This is contagious behavior, and soon the whole table will act the same
way. The pit personnel not only will not be impressed with your play, the wholef
scene at your table probably will put them off. Not only will your rating likely
suffer, you won't have nearly as much fun.

You can't always control how dealers and other customers act. If I join a table
where no one is talking, and the dealer barely grunts when spoken to, I will make
my departure very quickly. Usually a few cheerful words followed by a toke for the
dealer will turn the atmosphere around. However, if this fails, you can't be faulted
for not trying. Life is too short to play under miserable conditions. It is always
better to change tables than to continue to play with an out of sorts dealer and
crabby complaining customers. Under these conditions, you should just leave.

Visit the casino at off times.
I nearly always schedule my casino trips for the middle of the week. I will typically
arrive on a Monday afternoon and stay until Thursday afternoon. The benefits of
visiting during the week are many. If there are any drawbacks to avoiding the
weekend crowds, I haven't found them.

I don't like waiting and I hate lines. By timing my visits to the middle of the week, I
can usually walk into any coffee shop, make reservations for a gourmet restaurant
just about any time I chose and get show tickets to the shows I want to see.

If you want to really reduce the size of the crowds, travel in the middle of the week
during off-season. Las Vegas is slower during the middle of summer when it is hot
and in the late fall and early winter when it's colder. The slowest time in Vegas is
usually between Thanksgiving and Christmas. But watch out for conventions. If a
large convention is in town, it may be impossible to get a room (unless you are a
rated player or belong to a slot club).

If you like to visit Atlantic City, try visiting during the middle of the week in the
dead of winter. You'll not only avoid the larger crowds, but you'll find that the
minimum wagers on many tables have been reduced.

Visiting during an off time is also an excellent way to get noticed for purposes of
getting rated and getting your comp career off to a roaring start.

With fewer players to contend with, a host or a floor person is easier to meet and to
visit with. Also, during slow times, casinos tend to be more generous with comps.
After all, they are more likely to have a slew of vacant rooms just waiting to be
given away to qualified players on a Wednesday night in December.

Ask for comps.

If you play $1000 a hand at roulette, you do not have to ask for comps. The casino
will shower you with them. If you are like the rest of us wagering anywhere from
$5 to several hundred a hand, you need to ask for comps.

Slot players have the more systematic approach as the card readers on the machines
are tied into a centralized computer system, and comps are based on points. If you
are a slots or video poker player, getting a comp is pretty straightforward with this
system.

Table game players have to deal more with people. And unless you are a whale, a
boss will almost never offer you a comp unless you have just won big in a smaller
casino which watches every loss. Facing a player who might walk out with their
money in hand, some casinos will start throwing comps at the player. But most of
the time, even rated players can play and play and never be offered a comp unless
they ask for it.

My advice? Always ask for the comp. I have given you several examples of how to
do it.

Maximize your comps.

Anyone who follows the steps I have described can get comps. Your first step is to
pick your primary casino and give it most of your business. Before you pick your
casino you want to make sure that the casino has a reasonable comp policy and that
it has beatable games. You should also like the casino, as you will be receiving a lot
of invitations there once you get into their comp system.

After picking your primary casino, you need to join its slot club and get a VIP card.
I usually do both. Some casinos, like Rio in Las Vegas, combine rating slot, video
poker and table players on one card. Others track machine and table action
separately. However, it usually pays to join the slot club, even if you are mostly a
table game player.

In many ways, slot club players have an advantage over the table game players.
Their rating is automatic; they don't have to get the attention of some boss. By
joining the slot club, they start receiving mailing from the casino. I have received
offers of free rooms from casinos where I had never played a slot machine, but had
joined their slot club.

If you are just establishing your rating and want to get a room on a crowded
weekend, your slot club membership can be invaluable. After the reservation clerk
tells you there are no rooms available, tell her you are a member of the slot club or
ask to speak to a slot host. Chances are, the casino will find a room for you.

Getting to know the casino personal is critical. The more the casino personnel know
and like you, the more comps are likely to flow your way. This is even true for slot
players with their automated rating system. A slot host can easily "bump up" your
comp from a buffet for two to a coffee shop comp for two, even if your rating is not
quite there.

With table players, interacting with the pit personnel is critical. A boss can make or
break you in terms of your rating. If your average wager is $25, your goal is to be
rated as at least a $50 to $75 player. It is not enough to increase your wagers when
the boss is looking; you need to be a nice person.

Playing with front money gives the casino a real shot at beating you. When you
deposit the money in the cage, the casino knows that they have a shot at winning all
of your front money. If you are willing to risk $10,000, this will open the door to
full RFB at most establishments.

When you play with front money, be sure to put it all in play. If you deposit
$10,000, draw markers for the full ten grand. This doesn't mean you should lose the
money. If you look like a loser and the casino sees that you have put all of your
front money into play, your rating will increase.

Remember to look like a loser. You can save your bragging for when you get
home. Appear to lose, but lose gracefully. Dealers and bosses hear players gripe
about losing every day. Look like a loser but don't complain.

If you run into a fantastic winning streak, don't worry about disguising the fact that
you are a winner. The bosses will know that you are winning. If you try to hide
enough chips to turn a big win into a loss, they'll know. When you have a big win,
act like a winner. Go ahead and tip a little more. If you are playing craps, shouting
is not out of line. I have had some of my best comps come out of big wins as
casinos hate to see winners walk out the door with their money.

Once you know how to play the comps game, you will be able to milk the casinos
for every dime your action entitles you to