Casino Free Play/Comp Strategies

[Lucky Larry]

We always try to understand the casino's player club requirements and then plan a strategy to maximize our benefits, cash and comps. We gather the information from hosts, VIP reps, Slot Directors and Marketing personnel to gather information. The key is asking questions sometimes getting answers from multiple sources about how the system works.

Casinos are in the business of making money so most "player's club" system help the casino not the player. This past week we caught another tidbit of the Isle's program that we have to plan around. It may apply to other casinos as well.

We learned, "Anytime you use your card it activates your player's club account."   Why does this matter? We get weekly cash offers from Isle. These offers are based on our "Average Daily Play-ADP" (coin in/points acquired). For example, we often play/stay and then go to the buffet before we head home the next day. If we use our cards for our comped buffet we both have the day counted in the ADP - even if we don't play. We knew this and have tried to maximize our ADP by often playing on multiplier days, jointly playing on one person's card to double the points (usually whoever gets the room comped). So if we play hard the night before, go to the buffet and eat but don't play we get a "0" coin-in for the day. This is "0" is averaged into our ADP. This knowledge allows us to plan alternative strategies.

Here are a couple of strategies couples/families might use to maximize cash/comps. Maybe they will help you increase your comps. First, determine if your casino player club has linked accounts-husband and wife accounts are joined together for one account. If they are linked disregard the suggestions below:

* Determine which player club level you want to achieve and work together to achieve it. We often both play on the same card to maximize points. One person at the highest level can often get benefits that will help both.
* Play on multiplier days and double up on a card.
* Try to learn when the official ADP play day is at each casino. This is often proprietary information and hard to learn. For example if the day is from 3:00 am to 2:59 am the next day, then playing past 3:00 am puts your play into a new day and if you have short play it hurts your average. One way we overcome this is by then playing on our daughter's/grand-daughter's cards the next morning. Since they don't come as often we build up their weekly cash/comp offers and we play their weekly free cash using their pin. It becomes a "Win-Win" situation. They get more cash and comps - we get the benefit from their cash offers.
* When we comp rooms for family we provide them with our cards to have them play on them if they are infrequent players.   

Like VP the more you learn the better your your returns.

PS: Sorry about the long post but hope it helps someone.

[wilcoxfun]

Question if you hit a cash pay on your daughter's or granddaughter's card will they pay you?

[BillyJoe]

Question if you hit a cash pay on your daughter's or granddaughter's card will they pay you?
The short answer is 'YES'. The casino attendant may whine, but the person that made the bet is the person that collects the winnings, regardless of what Players Card is in the machine at the time. If they make a fuss, just say "Oh Crap - I grabbed the wrong card when I started playing... Sorry"

[Lucky Larry]

Yes, they will pay. I've recently seen two situations where hand pay was made with the player not having a card in the machine. One stated to those of us around that she played w/o card so the casino wouldn't know how much she was playing because the casino would lower the pay table.

The other just didn't have a card.

[DaBurglar]

Question if you hit a cash pay on your daughter's or granddaughter's card will they pay you?
 In AC you will encounter problems in this situation, depending on which casino, how much the payout actually is, and whether YOU personally also have a players account. AC is a disaster as I have stated many times before, they do everything in their power to shoot themselves in the foot with regards player relations and treatment....it borders on the comical and the absurd. If you are playing on a friend or relative's card, and that person is nearby and readily available, then you probably wont have a problem, but the person whose card you are using might have their account penalized or even closed simply because if you read the fine print on most cardholder agreements, it states the card is the property of the casino and they have absolute rights and authority over it.....getting credit on your account for someone else's play is generally a no-no so if a hand pay is hit while playing another person's card in AC, the person whose name on the card may have more problems. Now, suppose you hit a jackpot on someone else's card and that person is no where to be found on the property....now you have a potential problem.  I have seen this happen four times in 3 years in AC.  The first, someone hit a royal on a 50 cent machine in the Borgata....2000 dollar payout, someone else's card (their friend's it turns out) and the Borgata paid no questions asked once the person satisfactorily pointed out why and how they were using the friend's card (I didnt hear the explanation, but the slot person was satisfied so...?) The second time, someone hit a 5000 dollar slot jackpot on a 25 cent Blazing sevens-variant, in the Tropicana.  They were using a sister's card but the slot manager said they would need to contact the sister and verify " a few things" and after a little *****ing, they all retired to some office I assume to call the sister.  That's all I ever heard so I assume they got paid eventually (maybe I shouldnt assume???) The third and fourth times both happened in Trump Plaza, both one dollar VP Royals for the usual 4K payout.....one lady claimed she was using her sister's card by mistake, but she was BUSTED when the slot guy examined the account and saw the lady had downloaded some of the sister's slot dollar play during the session in which she hit the Royal.   <BUZZER SOUNDS>  EHHHHHH!  Sorry, no soap lady, how and why do you have your sister's PIN number on the card?  Both the sister who lent the card and the lady using it were in trouble on that one....I dont know how it ended because once again they retired somehwere else and that was all I heard or saw.   And the last time in The Plaza, some guy who was clearly inebriated could give NO explanation why he had another guy's card, so once again, they didnt handpay him there but instead escorted him somewhere else to investigate further, but the fact it was SECURITY who escorted him away with the slot manager did not bode well. In short, I think it pays to ASK beforehand wherever you play about the "What if" scenarios.....I do know using someone else's card to download benefits like free play or free food is a BIG NO NO in AC.

[faygo]

I used the wife's card one night at the Hilton in AC. She had free play coming and was tired and decided to stay in the room. I played her money in a $5 Double Diamond Slot and hit for $4800. The attendant said it didn't make any difference whose card was in the reader. The person hitting the button was the winner. Coughed up the SS# and Drivers license and did a Happy Dance.

[olds442jetaway]

Good information. It works pretty much the same way in Ct. Our host is very helpful in explaining how the system works. I never knew until recently that just swiping your card and not playing counts as a zero day for your average. The gaming day is different at the two Ct casinos. Even stopping for gas at one casino at their station and shooting over to the other one without playing about 9 miles away will trigger a 0 day for the average too.

[Than01]

Wife and I play Caesars properties mostly and have two cards in my name.  We have never had a card in her name.  Whenever she hits a jackpot, they just call me over and give me the W2G and also count the money to me no matter what jackpot size.  Never had an issue. Don't know why anyone would want a seperate card in husband and wifes name.  It gets us to Diamond level that way.  My brother and his wife (newbies to casino play) went to Caesars last year and of course they issued cards to each.  Told them that was not the way to go.  Has anyone else had an issue with husband and wife using the same card?

[faygo]

Wife and I play Caesars properties mostly and have two cards in my name.  We have never had a card in her name.  Whenever she hits a jackpot, they just call me over and give me the W2G and also count the money to me no matter what jackpot size.  Never had an issue. Don't know why anyone would want a seperate card in husband and wifes name.  It gets us to Diamond level that way.  My brother and his wife (newbies to casino play) went to Caesars last year and of course they issued cards to each.  Told them that was not the way to go.  Has anyone else had an issue with husband and wife using the same card?

 
Why would they do that? If you had been playing a machine in which someone left their card and hit, you are telling me they wouldn't give you the money? 

[mendon]

I used an extra card of my husbands by mistake one day......... he misplaces his cards or leaves them in machines, anyway I had one of the misplaced cards and didn't know it, just grabbed a card, put it into the machine and the reading came up...........card already in use.........so I don't think at the casinos we play in here in Michigan allows you to both use one card...........???? At least that was how I took it