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Youve
Got (MORE) Mail A little while back I listed a few choice comp offerings that came
by way of snail-mail and FedEx. The article raised a few hackles from a player who
says he bets larger than I do, yet doesnt receive the same caliber of offers from
HIS casino, even though in this case, HIS casino is also MY
casino. Ive run
that readers complaint by a number of casino executives at different joints, and to
a man, the answer is EXACTLY the same. HE IS NOT BEING RATED PROPERLY!
Ill get to the reasons for this, and what you can do about it in a few
minutes. First let me list a couple of neat offers that have recently come in: Ø
GRAND OPENING & ANNIVERSARY INVITATIONS There seems
to be a number of venues opening that call for gathering casino patrons together to mingle
with various groups in the media and entertainment field. The word-of-mouth
momentum that can build from a properly-designed launch can carry a new venue
on hype alone for years. §
Grand Opening
of the Shadow Nightclub in Caesars Palace. §
Anniversary
Party of Babys Nightclub in the Hard Rock Hotel. §
Grand Opening
of La Femme at MGM Grand. §
Annual Cigar
Social in the Pavilion at the Las Vegas Hilton. §
ESPN Zone
Restaurant opening in New York-New York. §
Even the
opening of a slot club is reason enough for an upcoming invitation-only party at Las Vegas
Club. §
The opening
of the much-anticipated Guggenheim Museum at the Venetian is probably one of the only
will-not-miss galas on THIS list. Ø MOTORSPORTS,
SPORTS and OFF-BEAT EVENT COMPS Anyone who
has read my articles with more than just a passing interest knows of my keen involvement
in Motorsports. You dont have to be as involved as I am to receive these comps
from some casinos. In fact, some places buy huge blocks of tickets as
thank-you gifts, or come-back-soon incentives to players who
dont even have the faintest interest in this sport. Do you remember filling
out your Players Card application? Was there a list of some activities that you
could put little check-marks beside if you were interested in them? Well, for all
those leisure and sports-activities listings, I mark every damn one of them!
Heres a sampling of the freebie-results: §
International
8-Ball Championship and Antique Arms Show at the Riviera. §
World
Swimsuit Model Search Finals at Caesars Palace. §
Classic Car
Show at the Frontier. §
Ms.
Lifestyles Swimsuit extravaganza and the Fitness Olympia at Mandalay Bay. §
Breeders Cup
tickets and comped airfare for the October 22nd event from several of the bigger joints in
town. §
Boxing at
Orleans and Kickboxing at Bellagio §
Demolition
Derby, NASCAR Truck Series, NHRA Hot Rod Nationals at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway
courtesy of several casinos who are offering the use of their suites, hospitality tents
and All-Access passes. §
U.S. Open
Supercross and the Andre Agassi Benefit at the MGM Grand. §
Womens
World Bowling Shootout courtesy of Suncoast. § The Big
Empire (the Cheapo Vegas guys) Cocktail Soiree and Penny Slot Shoot-Out courtesy of Randy
Shandis and the Gold Spike. Okay, so how
could a player who should have a higher comp rating than me, get LESS casino offers, or in
some cases, NONE AT ALL? Well
heres a couple of typical scenarios as provided directly from the mouths of those
who have the power of the pen to sign and grant virtually ANY comp available: · After playing
for three hours, an intrepid player sees another fellow hand in his Players Card
with his buy-in. That reminds him that hes also got a card for this
joint
if he could only find it
and if he could only remember to use it EVERY
time when he starts play. Oh well, too late, maybe Ill use it next
time
if I remember, but its such an inconvenience. · No I
dont want a Players Card and I dont want to get on your mailing list
because what I make in your casino is MY business, and none of yours. · After
finishing play, a fellow asks for a comp. Whats your name, sir,
asks the Pit Boss. When did you start play, sir?, asks the Pit Boss.
Im sorry we dont have a rating card on you, sir, says the Pit
Boss. Im afraid I cant really help you out tonight, sir,
says the Pit Boss. The player walks away muttering and spewing about never playing
in that rotten joint again. Why do they need a card to rate me, they see my
damn face all the time. Unfortunately the casino computer does not know him,
so granting a comp is very difficult in the mega-corporation bean-counter driven casinos
of today. If the computer says, NO, then the Pit Boss has to say,
NO! · A player
hands his Players Card in at the same time that he buys-in. A rating card is
started. After a short time, the player moves to greener felt-pastures at another
table, then another table, then still to another. Oh sure, the fifteen minutes that
he put in at the first table was accurately recorded and will certainly be entered into
the all-important data-base that the casino keeps on each player. Unfortunately, the
comp-value for the balance of his three-hour session will be sorely lost because he failed
to ensure that his rating card moved when he did. · Each
players betting patterns are different. The size and type of bet are taken
into consideration. I wont bore you with the standard formula that is found
elsewhere on this excellent site, but it figures into the over-all comp value that a
player receives. · Each bettor
has their own playing time. Some people like
to make a quick hit and run, while others will slog through a five or six-hour
session a couple of times each day. Rated playing time figures prominently into the
over-all comp-value that a player receives. · A very
important factor that most players dont even think of, is to make it appear to the
computer (or in this case the rating-card writer) that your bets are significantly higher
than they actually are. Simply, you bet bigger or on a higher-edge bet when the
Floorman is filling out your card, and much, much lower at your regular bets when he
leaves. If the dice are in the middle of the layout, Ill call-out a set of
LARGE Place bets. When the dice are about to move, Ill tell my dealer
off on the Place bets till I call them on. I get the comp benefit of
huge 1.5% or 2.5%-edge Place bets, without actually putting money at risk. In the
case of my own shooting, my Place bets are usually ratcheted up into pretty large bets all
on their own steam anyway, so theres no needs for inflated off betting
then. I particularly love Vegas because of the wide choice of music
thats available. But I resent paying $65 for each concert ticket if the
recording-star who sounds great on CD, turns out to have little or no real talent other
than being slickly-packaged by hyped-up marketing machinery and smoke-bombs on
stage. On the other hand, with comped tickets, the threshold is a little more
forgiving and accommodating.
Ø
CONCERT
TICKETS COMPS
§
Spinal Tap at
the House of Blues in Mandalay Bay. If youve seen the movie by the same name,
you know who these guys are. Ticket vouchers for B.B. King & Buddy Guy were also
enclosed. §
Los Lobos at
the Orleans Showroom. §
Paul Simon,
Brian Wilson, and REO Speedwagon in Mandalay Bay. §
Grand Funk
Railroad from my 70s rock-generation at Club Madrid in Sunset Station. §
Reba McEntire
& Martina McBride at Mandalay Bay, while Belinda Carlisle and the Go-Gos play a
comp-only party right on their beach. §
Whoopi
Goldberg is going to be at Theatre des Arts in Paris. §
Hall &
Oates and Trisha Yearwood are being offered at the Las Vegas Hilton. §
Patty
Loveless and Gladys Knight at Sams Town Live! §
Brooks &
Dunn at the Star of the Desert Arena in Buffalo Bills. §
The Beach
Boys will be at the Stratosphere for a comp-only show.
A few casino
hosts also suggested what I might have privately thought to myself about the whole subject
of rebuffed players, but I was going to be too polite to mention it on my own. And that reason is that some Pit
personnel intentionally stiff some players. If you want to read about one set of reasons why
they would do that, I would kindly suggest my Are You A Friggin'
Idiot? article as
enlightening reading. One host suggested in David Letterman-type fashion that most players
who ARE idiots dont even know it. He
said its kind of like the indications that an idiot on a date would get if things
arent going well. If you catch
her giving her phone number to the guy squeegeeing your windshield, and she says,
Whoa! Is it 8:15 already? Or
if she doesn't even finish her "Whopper", and it's been four hours since she
left for the ladies room, its a good sign that she isnt looking for a second
date. And if she says "Do me a favor --
next time call a different escort service," then you know things just arent happening. Finally,
someone e-mailed me a comment about my
The Ground Zero of
Opportunity article that discussed their 100x Odds bet. He said, Great article about the low house
edge at Casino Royale, but the motel-section of that place is crummy. You shouldnt mislead people into thinking it
is someplace they should stay. Its
populated with leather-wearing cross-dressers, noisy college-kids and prostitutes. Well,
Ive played craps at CR countless times, and I count a cocktail waitress there among
my good friends, but Ive never actually stayed in one of their rooms, and I
certainly dont think that I was promoting the Motel section of that business in any
manner. But for the record, and in keeping
with that Letterman-theme, here are some indications that a Vegas hotel/motel may cater to
kinky tastes. If
their brochure mentions complimentary handcuffs on the pillow, 24-hour leather repair and
naked bell-boys, then it probably isnt the place for your family reunion. If the flashing marquee-sign flashes Sheets
changed every hour and Soccer-team-sized
LUV-tubs, then perhaps a quiet nights sleep will be found elsewhere. If the Do
Not Disturb sign has been replaced by a butcher-shop "Please take a number and
wait" dispenser, then you can be pretty sure that working-girls are near. Casino Royale is a great place to play CRAPS. What you do after your session
is between you, your conscience, your lawyer and God.
Me? Well, Ill be resting my head
in a fully-comped suite somewhere away from THAT kind of action. Good
Luck and Good Skill at the Tables
and in Life. By:
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