Strategy for earning comps

[DaBurglar]

The situation in AC with the remaining casinos (or, specifically the following casinos:  Golden Nugget, Resorts, The Taj and Borgata) is pretty "open" in terms of earning some decent, basic comps like free rooms and free play, and food.  By that I mean it does not take MUCH to all of a sudden start receiving a monthly offer of some pretty good stuff....consider the following:This past year (From last november until now) my play in AC has curtailed A LOT, mainly due to the horrible winter......the precious few times I have gone to AC over the last 6 months or so has seen me play less at the established casinos (Resorts and taj) I used to play a lot at, but has also seen me play MORE at the casinos I previously did not play much at (GN and Borgata).......since much of the time I have spent in AC lately was playing live poker, my Video Poker play was EVEN less than ever before!AS such, I "Only" spent about $400-450 at the Golden Nugget in total losses the last 5-6 months (a total coin in, according to my last statement, of around $5,500 cycled thru).....this represents about a 91% return, which sucks but is typical of what AC yields given my experience.   Still a total loss of about 400 bucks over the course of 5 or 6 days/nites staying and playing and eating is not bad, and has resulted in me qualifying for free rooms Sunday thru Friday (thru MAy, and then it is Sunday thru Thursday for the busy summer), $20 free play every 3 days (or around $40 per week),  2 free buffets each week, and a few other niceties like slot torunaments, Bingo, etc.This is not at all bad, in my opinion.......The others, Birgata, resorts and Taj are as good if not better in their offers.I hope this helps any person who is thinking of going to AC .... you need not plunk a whole lot down or into the VP machines to qualify for the best, most basic comps.  Afterall, once you earn a room, some food, and a few bucks in free slot play, everything else is just window dressing, and probably not worth the risk to earn it........kinda why I never wanted to go beyond basic Diamond level when I bothered playing at CET.....the advanced diamond and 7 star benefits were just not all they we cracked up to be, and the losses incurred were too steep, irregardless of whether I could afford it or not.

[jetermacaw]

Comps are a way to try to keep you happy while you continue to lose.
Comps are them giving you a small fraction of your theoretical loss back
to make you feel like you're getting something for your money, when in
reality all they're doing is buying your buffets, rooms, etc, with your
own damn money.

[FAA]

Thanks for the detailed info, DB. Great precise documentation. Will I actually go to any of these four? GN and Borgata mean a Marina shlep. None of my area buses go there so it's $5 and time for jitneys.  Resorts was incredibly tight the last time I played there three months ago. You must resort to the jaws of death to break even. The machines are almost as old as the clientele. Taj I can grab a $30 voucher for via a bus from my area, which just about covers RT. Maybe a retro day at Taj. Not far to go for a White House sub either. Food for thought. 

[olds442jetaway]

Yes, those are indeed good offers consiidering less than 6k in coin in. My average sessions at Mohegan run about 6k, but to get those offers, I have to play there 2 or 3 times a week and I still don't get free room offers all of the time and free play is minimal. Too bad due to the current family situation, I can't get down there. Have to be within an hour of home for now.

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=jetermacaw]Comps are a way to try to keep you happy while you continue to lose.
Comps are them giving you a small fraction of your theoretical loss back
to make you feel like you're getting something for your money, when in
reality all they're doing is buying your buffets, rooms, etc, with your
own damn money.[/quote]Every now and then someone on this forum posts something of significant value, this is one of them.  For most players adjusting your strategy or the amount of your play to win comps is a terrible investment. On the other hand, if some casino is going to give you something of value for nothing by all means go for it. 

[alpax]

I second jetermacaw's and Phil's thoughts. Recreational gambling experts at casinocitytimes always advise to not to play beyond your comfort means for the sake of comps.

To add to it, I do not know much about AC, but biting the bullet and acting like a guinea pig, it might be worth while to find out like I do.

Starting at $5k coin in, I see what I get from casino X. Then $6k, $7k, $8k next visit and so on. Finding the bare minimum it takes to get free meals or hotel stays is the most optimal investment.

Folks who are in Vegas, and even more so those who are 50+ (considered senior age group there), have it good. They can play $300 coin in and get a free meal at a non-strip casino.

[notes1]

i do not know if it is unique to me (doubt it), but i am getting a bunch of casino offers now. more than in the past, especially from casinos i have not played at for a while. once i would stop going someplace, it was normal to get additional offers, but this is different. i do not know if this incease in offers is tied to those casinos who have seen a drop in business.  also noted STEVE WYNN 's company reported much lower earnings yesterday, largely due to drop in Macau. but, when asked, he also stated business was slow in vegas. lots of visitors, but not gambling as much. i mentioned before that casinos getting a bunch of young folks buying a couple of over priced drinks, was not going to replace the 50+ crowd that bangs away for 8 hours on a slot machine. 

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=notes1]i do not know if it is unique to me (doubt it), but i am getting a bunch
of casino offers now. more than in the past, especially from casinos i
have not played at for a while. once i would stop going someplace, it
was normal to get additional offers, but this is different. i do not
know if this incease in offers is tied to those casinos who have seen a
drop in business.[/quote]Definitely so. We have received two new offers in the last month, one for Tunica and the other for Atlantic City.  Both are free flights and room stays.  We have been receiving Bilxoi offers for years, but this is the first time out of that area.   We booked the Beau Rivage next month.  Still thinking about the others. 

[DaBurglar]

Good posts all......in case it got lost or muddled, my original point was to simply state that it really does not take MUCH at all to earn the basic, most important types of comps, given the state of casino gambling in general today......I would never advocate the "Chasing of comps" or anything like that.......

[Lucky Larry]

DB,
My recommendations:

Increase your Average Daily Theoretical
1) Learn when the official day begins (ex. 4:00 am) and play up until that time and then don't play the next day if you are going to play only a short time which then reduces your ADT.
2) We usually both play on one player's card to double the Coin In and rotate trips.
3) Reduce your # of trips and play more each trip if you go frequently.

Learn the Casino's Computing System for Comps
1) How much Coin In/point for VP
2) How many points per player's level-ex. 5K, 50K and 125K
3) Comps offered at each level (We just made a special trip to get Sweet C to the highest level. The difference is10% cash back vs 2% at her current level).
4) Make friends with casino hosts (they can help you if you become friends)