How Much Play Secures a Million-Dollar MGM or Caesars Credit Line?

How much play do you have to give (or agree to give) to an MGM or Caesars property to secure a million dollar credit line?

According to our understanding of casino credit lines, this question is a bit backwards.

To secure a million-dollar credit line at an MGM or Caesars property, for example, first you have to submit a credit application that indicates you have the funds to pay back the million should you lose it all to the casino.

No doubt you'd have to show liquid assets of at least seven figures; the high sevens or eights would probably do the trick.

The other way to get a million-dollar line is to make a million-dollar deposit in the cage. Of course, it's your money, but you draw markers off the cash and, like with a line of credit, settle up on your way out of town.

Here's a scene from our book Whale Hunt in the Desert that illustrates this point. A player, Mr. P, comes in and hits up Steve Cyr, the superhost, for a $100,000 credit line. Cyr pretends to agree, then asks Mr. P, "You sit down at the table. What's your first bet?"

"Two-fifty."

"Two hundred and fifty dollars?" Cyr sees Mr. P nod. "You don't need a hundred grand for a $250 average. That's 400 units. Overkill."

"I want it anyway. I hear the comps really top out at a hundred."

"Sure, but will you be comfortable writing me a check for the entire hundred on Monday morning?"

'Why would I do that?"

"To cover your losses."

"No way! I'll never lose the whole thing in a weekend."

"Famous last words, buddy. I've seen it happen a thousand times," Cyr tells him. "Are you gonna write me that check, then go up to the 28th floor, and jump?"

"Well, I wouldn't go that far."

"Hm. How about fifty large? Can you write me that check Monday morning, then go about your business, without losing your mind?"

Silence.

"No? How about twenty-five?"

"I could go twenty-five."

"You sure? You could cut me a check for twenty-five large and your wife wouldn't raise hell?"

"Yeah, I can handle twenty-five. And I'm not married."

"Fine. We'll start you off with fifteen grand and a minimum bet of a hundred and fifty."

Of course, everything's negotiable, so different strokes for different folks and different joints. But by the above scenario, with a $15,000 line of credit and a $150 minimum bet, that's 100 units. So let's extrapolate out to $10,000 minimum bets for the million. The maximum bet's a negotiating point; it will be higher at baccarat than blackjack. Those are the two games that usually merit that kind of action at the high-roller casinos.

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Comments

Gregory Jul-14-2023

Unit

Can someone define unit?

Kevin Lewis Jul-14-2023

One o' them mathy questions

OK, let's say Mr. P is, skill-wise, an average/lousy player. Mr. Cyr seems willing to grant him a 100-unit credit line. What are his chances of blowing through the whole amount, given X hours of play over the course of the weekend?
This would be based on a rough calculation, of course, based on Mr. P's favorite game and how he plays it; I understand that lousy-ish BJ and craps players are both assumed to play at a -4% EV. It's not really POSSIBLE to play baccarat that badly, which is probably why he would be wrestled into a larger minimum bet if that was his game of choice.
So how does one calculate Mr. P's average losses based on those parameters? And how precise (or back-of-napkin) are Mr. Cyr's calculations in that regard?

[email protected] Jul-14-2023

Craps & Roulette?

How does this work for Craps & Roulette?  What about other "carnival games," that much of the young like?  I was amazed how popular the Triple Zero Wheel & Casino War was at the Wynn.  That was the game in Vegas Vacation right?

John Hearn Jul-14-2023

The lesson here is...

...if you are a Benjamin bettor, deposit your stake in the cage. Be sure to bless it; you may not see it again.

Hoppy Jul-14-2023

$ ??

Pay them in Doll Hairs!

Kurt Wiesenbach Jul-14-2023

Unit definition

Gregory, a unit is the bet amount. so a $250 bet is a $100k line if you bet it 400 times, or units, in the above example.

Glenn Leonberger Jul-14-2023

Can You Pay The Marker?

That's the real question, and yes, the casino checks.  

About 25 years ago, a good friend of mine and I teamed up when he was teaching me craps.  We each put $500 into "the company pot" and started off with $50 bets.  On the second day we had a very good run with a few parlay hard ways and got it up to just under $10K.  After we each took out $2K and paid for the trip, we had $4K left for future trips.  We had a darn good run as that initial buy in ended up paying for travel, food and gambling for 6 more trips before we ran out.  During that 7-trip run where we had graduate to starting with $110 bets and bumping the bet size when we were ahead to as much as $2K-$3K.

Following those trips, I had a decent rapport with a host at the Bellagio so I talked to him about bringing my wife on a future trip and how to make things go smoothly.  He comped our room and meals and helped us get good seats at several shows (we paid for those tickets).

(continued)

Glenn Leonberger Jul-14-2023

Can you pay # 2

He also suggested I set up a credit line so I could play without having to pull out cash each time.  Mine was an interesting situation because the way they check you credit line only shows you checking account balance.  Since I kept that small it didn’t look like I could cover a $10K credit line.  We were able to do a conference call with my bank where I OK them telling the Bellagio my savings balance while we were on the phone together.  It was easily sufficient to cover the $10K credit line so it was approved.

Glenn Leonberger Jul-14-2023

Can you pay # 3

The way it worked on the trips where I had a credit line was that I would give them my card when I went to a table and ask for $2K.  They would check the computer and OK it, and give me the chips within a few seconds.  A few minutes later, the pit boss would bring me a marker to sign that was effectively a check saying it would be called in if not paid off within 30 days.  I chose to always pay my marker the following morning, so I knew where I stood but I didn’t have to.

In the end, it didn’t matter how much I had a history of betting, it only mattered whether I could cover the markers with the money in my bank accounts.
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Sorry this was so long with 3 separate entries, but I thought the context might help.

Question of the Day - 14 July 2023

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