More from 2001
4. Decide whether you want to count comps in the total return of your play. Brad and I did count comps when we first started, and many casual recreational gamblers may want to always do this. And if you were going to take money out of your pocket in the same amount for the rooms, food, shows, and other non-cash perks you get comped, it is quite correct to count them in your total return. I know many gamblers who stay in the big Vegas Strip resorts where the best game with the cashback still doesn’t quite come to 100%. But with all the non-cash perks and comps, they are playing well over 100%.
However, you must be careful in your calculations here. We didn’t count comps in our total return for very long, because we soon were getting so many comps that we were increasing the number of our casino vacations and the luxury of our casino lifestyle to a level that we could never have afforded on our own budget. So we started counting comps as “gravy,” and chose playing opportunities that were over 100% in CASH return. If you want to count comps, figure the average amount you will lose over the long term by playing at a percentage below 100% in actual cash return. If you can’t afford that loss, you can’t “afford” all those luxury freebies.
[This is still how we do it. We figure EV counting only machine return plus cash or cash equivalents, which can be free play or gift cards that we can use to buy things we would buy anyway. Free cruises, shows, restaurant meals, merchandise and hotel rooms DO have value for us – thousands of dollars worth every year – but we still count them only as “gravy.”]