History of Comps Part 3

For the past couple of days, we've been reviewing the history of casino complimentaries. Today, we look at comps in the future.

The prospects for casino freebies is somewhat uncertain, as online gambling -- igaming, mobile sports betting, esports, and fantasy sports -- accelerates the inexorable and inevitable subversion of brick-and-mortar casinos. Because the destiny of casinos large and small seems (to us) to be slowly shriveling, what constitutes comps in cyberspace will be very interesting to witness.

They're bound to take a number of different directions. Peering into our crystal ball, one approach we see is an expansion of an annual program that some casinos offer their players.

At MGM Resorts, for example, it's called the Holiday Gift Shoppe. In addition to M life base and bonus points and tier credits, members earn gift points for their play. Players receive one gift point for every base point they earn all year long. Then, just before Christmas, gift points can be redeemed at express-shopping and catalog-browsing kiosks at M life counters, along with in actual showrooms full of products (this year, Showroom Weekend #1 at Bellagio takes place November 26–28 and Showroom Weekend #2 at Aria December 3-5).

To make a long story short, gambling online will earn comp points just as easily as, if not easier than, having a players club inserted into a slot or video poker machine. Initially, points will be redeemable as they are today at the holiday gift fairs for jewelry, electronics, sporting goods, handbags, housewares, appliances, tools, watches, and the like. But as more people accrue more points and as igaming marketing extends its reach, points will be employed to pay for more practical prizes, such as restaurant meals (this is already happening in casinos), supermarket food, utilities and other bills, rent and mortgage payments, cars, houses, college tuition -- the sky's the limit.

From there, it's one more step to comp points becoming a tradable commodity, with a value that fluctuates against the worlds’ currencies. You go to buy something and the clerk asks, “Will that be cash, credit, or comppoints?”

And at that point, gambling operators the world over will have achieved the pinnacle of their wildest dreams: They'll be minting their own money.

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Comments

Pat Higgins Aug-27-2021

Big Tex

This has been a most informative 3 day QOD.  Thanks to Deke Castleman for his research.  My bride and I do not do any online gambling as actually going to a casino is what we do enjoy the most.

Bobby White Aug-27-2021

Good Info

Not always happy with our comps, but we appreciate them.

VegasVic Aug-27-2021

Comps

They key is to never play for comps.  Play how you normally would play and whatever comps you get are gravy. I know many who are obsessed by  what level they are.  They play way more than they should to get "diamond" or "sapphire" or whatever the next level is.  They see it as a "status".  Dumb.  But casinos know how to get every dollar out of you with extra "perks" that are a fraction of your expected loss.  Same goes with drinks.  I've seen people bust out having reached their loss limit but they buy back in because they ordered a "free" drink and it hasn't  come yet.

Dan McGlasson Aug-27-2021

Echo the accolades for Deke!

I will add my thanks to a VERY good three day examination of comps.  Deke, you outdid your self on the depth of the history of comps.  All of your history pieces are fascinating to me.  I always enjoy QoD and thank you for your efforts!

Dave_Miller_DJTB Aug-27-2021

Deke?

No disrespect but how do you know Deke wrote this?

But, yeah. Good job, good info no matter who wrote it.

Roy Furukawa Aug-27-2021

MGM HGS

You need some serious points to get some of the swankier gifts at the MGM Holiday Gift Shoppe, but even worse is you HAVE to be able to go during those dates at the end of the year or the points go up in smoke. I've been with MGM for at least ten years now and I've been able to go once. They do allow you to pay the difference if you fall shy of points for a product you want though.

Luis Aug-27-2021

it's one more sign

the history of comps is a very interesting one, but, what has been happening to the comps in our recent history is just one more sign of corporate greediness, and is one of the signs of how they are running Vegas to the ground. All that made Vegas a welcome place for all has been systemically taken apart, that means, if nothing changes, Vegas will be a shell of it's self, with closures, bankruptcy, growing violence, unsavory aspects, rundown places, etc.Corporate bigwigs know what's happening, that's why they are unloading physical buildings and the land, they know that sooner or latter they are going to kill the goose that lays golden eggs the way they are conducting business, with greed.

AL Aug-28-2021

Horror story!

I (and a lot of other senior citizens) hope that brick-and-mortar casinos do NOT come to an end, especially the old downtown ones.  Las Vegas would not be Las Vegas without them.  I hope that the horror-story prediction turns out to be nothing but a horror story, not reality.  A lot of people see Las Vegas as the ultimate getaway destination, and Vegas would not be Vegas without the physical-building casinos.  For us older folks and for the legions of people flying in from Hawaii, downtown "is it".  For the quartets of military guys driving up from the bases in San Diego County, and for a lot of other people, the Strip "is it".  Playing casino games on a computer is just not even close to the experience of actually playing in a casino.  And the millennials' obsession with playing games on their smartphones?  Unimaginable and totally unattractive to me; it would be pathetic and astronomically far from the experience of playing in an actual casino, and thus has zero draw for me.

Question of the Day - 27 August 2021

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