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Thread: Playing for Comps

  1. #1
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    Default Playing for Comps

    I used to play very big, not to the point where I got the million dollar Villas at say Bellagio, but to where I could pull down the penthouses at Bellagio and one or two other top Strip casinos simultaneously, to where I'd get a standard room in a casino I wasn't staying at while playing just to use its bathroom because I didn't want to go to the public bathroom.

    I took a very long hiatus (well over a decade) from gambling because real life intervened, and I was no longer interested in putting all the energy into gaming, even though I did manage to quit ahead.

    I started up again in 2018. Four trips later, mostly spent at Encore Vegas and the Cosmopolitan, I find that Vegas is not comp'ing as readily as they used to. Granted I am not playing at nearly the same level (back then I'd average a few thousand a hand, nowadays more like a few hundred (on my latest trips, I'd say more like a thousand average a hand though), but my credit lines are as high or higher than they were back then ($50K) and I WILL play up to a few thousand dollars on a hand when I am press/winning), but anyway - some of my observations are:

    1. Back then, getting RFB (room food beverage - comp'ed) status wasn't as difficult as it is now. Nowadays they will comp the room/suite pretty readily, but want to wait until after they see your play to decide whether to comp the food.

    2. At some resorts, like Encore, they want to nickel and dime you for things like "resort" fees, which practically did not even exist back when I used to play big. They don't seem to want to comp these "little things" every trip.

    3. Back then they would comp all spa charges off my bills. Nowadays, okay, I get it, I'm not a whale (or even mini-whale), so her $600. treatments and massages are not always going to disappear off the bill (although lately - they have!), but how about comp'ing off these average $40. - $65. "day passes" to the spa, which are softer than soft. Back then no VIP PAID to go to the spa just to take a steam / sauna, it was always comp'ed off. "Spa use" charges are pretty soft.

    4. They don't seem to like you to stay (at least not on a room/suite comp) as long as they used to. Back then I would think nothing of staying at the Bellagio penthouse, or the 2nd largest suite at the Venetian, for two weeks at a time. Nowadays, after I've stayed over ten days they start talking about how my line is only $50K and that's all they may win from me (not that they are going to get that from me anyway, I have gone home a winner after every single trip since returning to gambling in 2018), and joking about giving me a "Nevada resident card" if I stay any longer.

    5. Trying to get extra rooms for friends/family, nowadays not only are they tighter about it, but they want you to be present in the hotel during their check in. Back then, I'd call my host and he'd hook up whomever I wanted with a free room, and if it was family, he'd put them on RFB status even knowing I wasn't coming into town. Again, I get it, I'm no longer playing as big as I used to, but obviously my play is good enough to get a free suite for three weeks straight in Vegas (which is how long we stayed last trip between Encore and Cosmopolitan), so what's the big deal about throwing in a couple standard room nights for friends/family even if I am not present.

    Again, granted we are talking about different levels of play - I played 10x harder back then, than now, but then again, nowadays we are staying in much smaller suites, and I'm not ordering comp'ed $800. shots of cognac for friends - we're living relatively modestly in Vegas in suites under 1000 square feet, and not eating $200 - 300. meals nightly.

    Has anyone else, who is an old timer with gambling noticed the clamping up? Maybe I notice it the most because I LEFT for so long, and am now back, so the differences are right in my face.

    Another big difference is that back then, they'd only seem to get annoyed when I won BIG (six figures), nowadays they seem to get annoyed at me just for leaving a winner, since it is happening so consistently. No one is SAYING anything, they all clap me on the back and say Job Well Done, but if they're so happy, why do some of the well wishers look like someone just stuck lemon juice in their beer?

  2. #2
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    Nowadays, they've gotten so used to making money off non-gaming (parking, resort fees, NIGHTCLUBS, restaurants, etc.) that they are hard pressed to not collect such real world money from players.

    I don't smoke but oon one of the more recent trips I wanted to get a cigar for a family member, from the cigarette girl. The other player at my $100. minimum Baccarat table was a smoker and wanted a pack of cigarettes. They made a big deal out of getting approval on the computer for both of us, and even asked me if I was going to smoke it myself, which at first I answered honestly, NO! it's for _____ at which point the pit boss, who was friendly, told me to "change your answer" (which I did), but anyway, bottom line I had already tipped the cig girl a $5. chip and had to wait nearly ten minutes before I got the cigar.

    I could half understand the $50. cigar, but the pack of Marlboros for the other player? Same rigamarole.

    Later the dealer told me "not to take it personally" that it was like that all over the Strip now - that the pit bosses could no longer comp any food, and even for little things like this had to get computer approval against my account. I half expected to see a bill for the cigar at checkout (but luckily, no).

    After the cig girl gave it to me, she asked if I wanted her to cut it.

    At that point I wasn't sure if she had heard all of the discussion, because if she had, then her request would have been just more of the same "you better be smoking it yourself," but later I thought, well maybe she just said that out of habit, maybe she didn't mean anything one way or another.

    I left the cigar in its tube on the table for a while by my chips, then after about ten minutes in a "what the hell, why do I have to play games" move just put it in my coat pocket.

  3. #3
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    After the cig girl gave it to me, she asked if I wanted her to cut it.

    At that point I wasn't sure if she had heard all of the discussion, because if she had, then her request would have been just more of the same "you better be smoking it yourself," but later I thought, well maybe she just said that out of habit, maybe she didn't mean anything one way or another.

    I left the cigar in its tube on the table for a while by my chips, then after about ten minutes in a "what the hell, why do I have to play games" move just put it in my coat pocket.

  4. #4
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    When I started playing again in 2018, after a decade or so hiatus, it was just for the purpose of having fun and comps. I used to play much much harder, and did usually win (over all way ahead), and since returning I actually haven't had a losing trip yet (better knock on something...I am prepared to lose but haven't yet) and get comp'ed a fair amount.

    I recall reading something somewhere online to the effect of that they will not comp you if you do not lose. Nonsense. My comps are based solely on the theoretical loss since I have not lost only won. We just spent a week at a different resort here and everything was comp'ed. We left that resort to go to the current one where the suite is again all paid for up front, for a full week, most if not all of the food and beverage will be covered, and even though I am not a madman player any longer (my usual average I think is around $300. per hand although they have me down for $800. on this current trip, so maybe I am wrong about my average and it is higher than I think, it is the occasional high bets to couple thousand etc. that bring it up without your realizing it), perks we recently got include free tickets to Bill Burr and Duran Duran, with the DD tickets being front row center. I actually was surprised we got front row center, my play is good but then again maybe it's also to do with that I sent my host three very expensive Italian designer ties after the last trip. That last trip he comp'ed us two full weeks in a suite and I won a fair amount of money too.
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    Last edited by MDawg; 11-12-2019 at 04:22 PM.

  5. #5
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    What it comes down to is that if I lost money at gambling I wouldn't bother with it. Not that I am trying to make a living out of it, but I'd just pay cash for everything versus gamble if I were unable to maintain a consistent "ahead" status.

  6. #6
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    Just got back to the suite still hopped up on green tea. I was back and forth for a number of shoes, was down as much as $16K at one point, which is the most I have been down in any session since resuming play in 2018, but I won three big hands 5000 , 5000 , 5500 and made it back to even. Those were, I'll admit it, the biggest hands I have played this entire year and I am not proud of that I "had" to play like that to catch up, but anyway it worked out. In the old days I'd play five grand a hand routinely, but these days, not so much.

    And then recharged and ready to go, I caught this shoe
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    I cleared over twenty five grand on it
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    yes that's my lucky Paul Newman red sweep 18K Daytona next to my chips.
    I was banging the winning cards so hard on the table during the runs that the clasp on my lucky 18K gold bracelet bent open.
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    I was barely even betting though, the cocktail crew and others were crowded around me saying that I should have cleared $200K on this shoe, and they are right, but even the one and only guy who played with me at the table, who was a non-streak believer, barely cleared any money on the shoe. Still, clearing over twenty five grand on a shoe is nothing to scoff at. The pit boss kept saying "shoe of a lifetime." Who cut the shoe? ME, that's who.

    All I did was just keep pressing into each run, but not even hardly hard enough. No brainer, easy shoe.

    Anyone who doesn't recognize that this is an easy winner's shoe is a moron who has never won a nickel at gambling in his life.

    CHEERS! This is why I love gambling, finishes like this. I actually free handed two more hands after this (to finish off the shoe) which were unpredictable I mean after the last run ended, how could it get any better? Why is it so hard to explain to peeps that after a shoe like this you just get up and leave?

    HELLLLLO!

  7. #7
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    I like to play the Baccarat where I may touch the cards.

    And yes on the Cosmopolitan, but no on the top floor suites - those are for million dollar credit line or million dollar deposited front money players I am not at that level, at least, I don't WANT to be at that level. I have read that Bloomberg article before. It's hilarious, but it's not far from the truth. When we were at our front row center seats at Duran Duran at The Chelsea all this confetti started raining all over us when Rio was being played and I grabbed a piece out of the air and later stuck it into my player card wallet for luck. If you read that article closely some Asian gambler starts freaking out because a lucky piece of cellophane candy wrapper or some such gets thrown out by mistake and he sends the Cosmo butlers to search for it in the hotel trash.

    All gamblers are superstitious, when I left the elevator on the way to the high limit this girl got out of the adjoining elevator in front of me half naked walking with her ass right in front of me, I mean so scantily clad that when she walked by security they called out to her and just as I was entering the high limit area, I noticed that they caught up to her and pulled her over and told her she couldn't walk through the casino like that. I viewed it as a lucky sign to be placed randomly behind such an awesome exposed ass, it rivals my wife's.

    Anyway, our Cosmo suite is nice, but not quite like those! million dollar ones. One thing I like a lot about the Cosmo suites is the view from the balcony, which at the moment is:
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    I used to stay all the time at the 1980 sq. ft. Renaissance Suites at the Venetian, and yes I am a player there although these days the suites they toss me are not as large. Unwittingly, I may be getting sucked back into playing big and that was not my intention. Today was a great run, but I intend to take a full day off to get grounded again I actually don't want to be playing five thousand dollar hands again that was not my intention when I started gambling again in 2018. It worked out great this time but I'm not here to play like a madman.

    I will say that the general Bacc. players with their systems and trying to read the doughnuts, the fries and the whatever on the computer screen, all seem to lose when run time comes around because they find complicated reasons to disbelieve the runs. Perhaps the reason that I win consistently is that I await these runs patiently and press into them. Also I am old school with two sided pen and paper I don't use the computer screen much. This guy who was at my table who kept leaving the run or betting very small along it told me later that it never occurred to him to play runs he always tried to anticipate what would happen next and usually convinced himself that a run was about to end. I told him that in my opinion the only way to win at Baccarat is to wait for a shoe with runs and press into them, hoping that the runs will repeat, one long line after another, which is exactly what happened today. I tend to get at least one shoe like the above per session, meaning - no, this was not a "shoe of a lifetime" as the pit boss said, but it was definitely a great shoe.

  8. #8
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    These days I play at Wynn/Encore, Venetian, T.I., Cosmo and...going to stay and play at Palms later this month. I'll update on the "new" (as in newly remodeled) Palms after staying there. T.I. has only 1 or 2 tables it is very old school no electronic shoe.

    I have not played at Aria yet but it looks like great action in there when I have visited their high limit pits.

  9. #9
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    By the way, since this thread is about comps, one thing I found out is that whether you take forever or blaze through the Baccarat shoe the way I do (I've done an entire shoe as quickly as thirty minutes, opening and reading the cards alone), you get one hour of play credit per shoe.

  10. #10
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    I'll be honest I thought last night was going to be the night that I would lose, when I was down $16K, but at the same time my inner voice was saying NAH, they won't get you. And they didn't.

    My credit lines per casino are $50K. When I was down $16K I pulled another marker and used that. At some point after that I won the three hands 5000 , 5000 , 5500 , and was even. Then I was up and down slightly, nothing big either way, and more or less even when I hit that last shoe, and walked with over 26K to the good. If I had been down, or angry, when that shoe came up I would have won a LOT more than $26K. However, since I was grateful to be even, I wasn't playing so very hard into it, but you'd really have to be clueless to not win a lot on a shoe like that.

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