Comps and Credit

26 May 2024

By Royal Flushes

CINDY: I will not deny that I like to get comps, those supposedly “free gifts” from the casinos. Oh, they could be for food as in those monstrously good buffets that cause you to eat so much you can hardly move and that make you swear you will never eat again. Then the next morning “boom!” again. It’s hard to stop until you can’t quite fit into your clothes.

ABBY: Supposedly free rooms, sometimes free suites, shows, sporting events, more food, maybe even gourmet restaurants and parties. Wow! Do they ever stop rewarding you? Hmmm.

CINDY: Now, we all know that comps are not free; not free at all. All casino players actually pay for their comps. They pay from the past into the future, all at once usually.

ABBY: Correct. A comp is a simple formula for a casino to make. Is your betting level, the game, or games you play and how you play them, the amount of time you play, enough to warrant getting something back in the form of supposed “free” stuff?

CINDY: The casino will figure it all out in a formula to decide what you are worth to their bottom line and then give you such comps. Yes, they actually look to your future losses as an indication too. Slot players also have a comping formula. It is the landscape of the wild casino world.

ABBY: The casino world is actually not wild at all. It just seems so because players are usually all hyped up about their play. The players’ emotions bring a sense of action to the casino. The players are roiling but the casinos are not roiling at all. However, underneath it all, the casinos know exactly what they are doing and just continue to do it, steady, inexorably. And players generally love it all.

CINDY: Now, what about money? Many medium-rolling players do not like to bring a lot of cash to the casinos, especially casinos that might be in so-so neighborhoods. What do many of them do?

ABBY: They ask the casino to give them credit that they can get at the tables or in the machines in order to play. This credit is not free money and must be paid back either within two weeks or within one month, depending on the size of the credit played. Some players can make private deals with the casinos too.

CINDY: Now, do we recommend getting credit?

ABBY: Yes, we do, if you do not splurge either the amounts requested or the amounts actually given. Everyone it seems asks for more credit than they would really play with. This is dangerous if such players do not have a handle on their spending. They may be playing a lot more than they should.

CINDY: It is in the casinos’ interests to have their players play just a little too much in time and money – heck, that’s their bottom line. If you want credit just ask for what you can afford to pay back in the time allotted. And make sure what you play fits your true bankroll, not your wish-for bankroll.

ABBY: Free stuff is great but comps are not free.

CINDY: Take that to heart.