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Tips from our SportsBook expert
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A Freebie Guide to Vegas
The drinks are always free when you're playing in Vegas--but landing a better comp means making yourself known ... and blowing some dough
By Kent Andrade
Before you sit down to play, you'll need to join the casino's player's club. Every casino has one--and it's free. Stop at the customer-service desk (usually near the entrance to the casino), fill out the quickie paperwork and get a laminated card about the size of a credit card.
Your club card stores how much you bet on its magnetic strip. When you visit the slot machines or table games, it records the size of your bet and the hours you've spent. Some cards, such as the Hard Rock's, even add credits for the frequency of your visits--ask when your hotel operator when you make a reservation.
Don't lose it: The credits you store up on the card will be redeemable for free food, free shows, even a free room.
Most casinos follow a formula when doling out comps, usually calculated as 20 to 40 percent of the casino "edge" (its average take). So, if you're at a blackjack table, betting $1,000 an hour for one hour, whether you win or lose, the casino with a 3 percent edge figures it has taken $30 from you. To keep you gambling, it's willing to give you back 20 to 40 percent of that edge, or $6 to $12.
Being a club member also puts you on the mailing list for great deals. Every season, casinos send out coupons for free slot play, cheap rooms, free shrimp cocktails and the like. Caesars, for example, offers up 30 percent discounts on rooms and $5 off meals at their buffet with the offers they mail their club members.
While most casinos honor only their own player's cards, a few work at more than one place--especially when casinos share owners. A Park Place Hotels card, for example, will get you credit at Bally's, the Flamingo and Caesars. Read the fine print.
Use your card every time you sit down. If you're a slots jockey, insert it into the opening in the machine before you yank on the crank. If you're playing at the tables, show the card to the dealer when you sit down. The dealer or the pit boss will swipe it through their machine, which will add your initial buy-in on the magnetic strip. Every time you buy-in again, hand over the card. Hand it over again when you leave the table. Each action will bring you more credits.
Steady play at expensive tables is the best way to earn comps quickly. Casinos fuss over patient players who risk a chunk of their money. Gamers and players looking for comps need to use their club card and sit more than two hours at the most expensive or second most expensive tables on the floor. Same with slots--spend at least two hours at a $10 machine to get some goodies. Even if you're playing for small change or dollars bills, the card keeps track.
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