Question of the Day - 18 December 2014

To answer the second part of your question first, it is illegal in Maine to comp drinks to casino patrons. Furthermore, even paid drinks can be served only once per half hour. "I don’t know why the law exists. We just have to follow it," says Marketing Director Jane Hoyt.

"Everyone thinks, when they come into a casino, they’re getting free alcohol," Phil Everett, food and beverage manager told the Bangor Daily News. "There are people who haven’t been to a Maine casino before or haven’t gambled in the state. They do question it, and they’re upset by it, but soon learn to deal with it." The ban certainly hasn’t crimped Oxford Casino’s style. In its first nine months of business, the casino grossed $950,000 – or $3,500 a day – in liquor sales. Obviously that state ban is paying off for the alcohol vendors.

As for Seminole Hard Rock Tampa (yes, the Seminoles do own it), Tampa.About.Com reports, "Unlike Vegas the only drinks available free … are sodas, juice, water and coffee. Cocktails and beer are slightly discounted while gambling but they are seldom free. The only hope of getting free cocktails is to earn them with the Player’s Club rewards card."

Seminole tribal spokesman Gary Bitner confirms that "under most circumstances, drinks are not comped. There is an issue with alcohol at many Indian tribes" and comping drinks "is not a policy the [Seminoles] are comfortable with. The issue with alcohol and Indian tribes is historic and impacts Native American tribes throughout North America. It's an issue of biology and processing of alcohol, and is a struggle for many tribes."

(Ironically, halfway across the country, the Pueblo of Pojoaque is battling with the state of New Mexico over this very issue. The irony is that the Pojoaque want the right to serve alcohol – comped or otherwise – on the casino floor. The state’s compact with the tribe forbids it.)

So, different no-comp policies for different reasons. The basic lesson to be drawn from this is not to expect a comped drink while gambling but be pleasantly surprised when one is offered.

• "In Washington State, casinos, both tribal and private, charge for alcoholic drinks. State law forbids selling, or giving away, alcoholic beverages below cost."
• "Re: Maine's liquor laws. In the 1970s I used to take weekend ski trips to Maine. In bars, if you wanted to take your drink to another table, you had to ask a waitress to move it. You couldn't move it yourself."
• "Maryland law does not allow casinos to comp alcohol either. That has been a surprise to some patrons - especially in the Horseshoe Baltimore Diamond Lounge. On the bright side, the drinks are inexpensive and they have a higher quality liquor selection than you find in Las Vegas Diamond Lounges.
• "As for California (at least Native American) Casinos, alcohol is not free to players. Players have to pay for it. And I think that some Native American Casinos may not serve it at all, at least in the casino." [Ed: That was our experience at Barona when we visited a few years ago.]
• "In regard to your 12/18/14 QdD, at the Mountaineer Casino in Chester, West Virginia, wine and cocktails are complimentary in the high-limit ($50-and-up) blackjack area.