Can someone help a newbie out with some comps questions?

Hi, I have a few questions. I'm not a Vegas newbie by any means, but am sort of a newbie when it comes to understanding how comps work and/or what they are looking for. I am by no means looking to just gamble for the comps, but I do want to at least make sure that what I am doing is being done in the most advantageous way for me.

Quick background. I've gambled a few times at PH and am at least smart enough to always use my players card. That being said, in the past all I've ever really played is craps, at least up until my last trip, when I dabbled in some slots and some roulette and stuff. Craps will always be my main source of fun but I do plan on spending some time on some slots, some VP, some roulette maybe, and some of the Texas Hold'em table game.

As of now, I get small offers from Harrah's. Stay at Imperial Palace for free whenever, and maybe some free weeknights at the other places if there's nothing else going on.

The thing is, I would like to get established with the MGM group. I love Aria and have seen their rooms and would prefer to eventually be staying there, if not for free then at least at a good discount. But I also want to keep the Harrah's offers coming.

So, I will be in Vegas for four days next week. Staying the whole time at IP, but willing to move around while I gamble. I'm not a high roller. Probably can afford to lose $400/day max. I still want to spend a lot of time at the craps table, but like I mentioned, don't mind branching out to other stuff.

So what's the best way to start getting established with MGM? Should I just spend all of my gambling time at one of their properties? Do they care which property you gamble at? Or should I gamble at Aria if I hope to get better offers for Aria? If I'm doing less than a $25 bet, does my craps time even count for anything? When you're playing slots or VP, do they look at how long you play, or do they look at how many spins/hands you play?

Thanks in advance.

Hi Watty, welcome to the boards. Since you mentioned you will be in Vegas for four days, I'd concentrate 1 or 2 days play at a specific Harrahs property and a day at Aria. Select the casino you like the best and play at least 4 hours with your card in the machine. Spend 1 day playing at Aria doing the same thing. Playing a combination of slots and video poker in 1 casino for at least 4 hours a day should keep you on Harrahs radar.

Bottom line - after all is said and done. They reward players based on their AVERAGE DAILY PLAY.

Hence the comment to concentrate your play for one or two days. Not another hour on the off day, as you will then lower your average.

Thanks for the responses. When you say to spend four hours playing slots/VP, how do they look at that? Obviously you could pull the reel every 10 seconds or every 60 seconds. Don't they care more about how many spins (therefore, how much money) you do rather than how much time you spend? Or if you're going to pull the lever 300 times, is it better to do that over the course of 6 hours rather than 3? Or is it the same in their eyes?

Also I have a question about the table games. I've heard they won't rate you for less than $25/bet. Could I go to a $25 roulette game and spread my $25 all over the board in a fairly low-risk way and start getting rated that way? Or would they see that I'm doing that and not rate me the same as they would rate someone who just bet $25 on black?

Thanks again.

Lisa gave good advice.
Play slots or VP at Aria one day for 4 hours running, full coin.

For craps, I think the answer is no.
If you put $5 on five spots, you'll be rated at $5, which at Aria probably means you won't get rated.
But the craps players can answer this more correctly.

Another question. You mention that they look at average daily play. Is this calculated on calendar days, where at midnight it's a new day? Or do they use 24 hour periods or what?

Oh and another question I forgot to include: how do they count your sports bets? If I want to throw down a few wagers at Aria for instance, should I make sure and also do my slots/VP on the same day so that it all counts towards my daily average? Or is sportsbook stuff separate? Thanks

I think most do use midnight as when the day starts. And you said a few wagers. I do not believe a couple bets will count for anything unless like at South Point I will get a drink coupon I can use at one of the bars.

Coin in is what will matter on slot machines and VP. The per day total.

Terry

spreading out the $25 all over the roulette wheel does not change the odds at all. so it probably doesn't change the way you are rated. It just makes it a little less boring than betting red/black.


It does matter how many times you pull the lever. or press the button or whatever. coin in is what really matters, much more than how many hours you played. when people quote hours, they are implying that you will be presing spin or deal or whatever at a constant normal rate during those hours.


where are you staying? is it some place you want to be comped?

For Harrah's related properties, I'd suggest you pick one, like PH, and play there for the majority of your day at whatever game you play at.

For MGM, I would suggest the same, but Aria is not rally marketing to folks with $400/day gaming budget. You could get lucky and have that $400 last long enough to make it look like you have a $2000/day budget, but it's not likely

Try MGM Grand or Mirage. go there and play there and nowhere else for a day and see what that gets you

Gamong days are 24 hour periods and most casinos actually start their gaming day at something like 5 or 6 in the morning. The logic is that if you are playing at 12:05AM, you were probably there at 11:55PM too

You have already received alot of good advise. Something that helped us was to read the Frugal Gambler books. Before reading the books we had gotten some mailed offers for discounted room rates, but our first trip after reading the book--received a host comp (comped our room and food charged to room). Since then--we have more free room offers than we can use (mostly low end places) and a ton of free/discounted food and our gambling budget has gone up, but only because we don't have the expense of room and food cost are way done. Our daily budget is probably lower than yours.

I was rereading a few of the chapters in the books just last night--refreshing my memory and checking for a new trick or two to win the gambling game & comp game. Please remember a very key piece of info---Don't play for comps. You will loose. We make the comp a game in itself--how much we can get for the least amount of play/$$ lost.

Listen to most of the people hear on the forums that are very insightful and well meaning---