Question of the Day - 02 March 2021

[Editor's Note: For this answer, we prevailed on Jean Scott to come out of semi-retirement. Here's what she recommends.]

Oh dear! I’m afraid I have to start this answer with two words I’ve worn out over the last 20+ years when I receive questions about casinos.

It depends!

Why? So many factors are involved. Here are just a few. Is it a large or small casino? Is it a Strip or local casino? At what denomination(s) do you play? How long do you play for on average? Do you have a host? How long is your play history at the casino?

I’ve had to face this dilemma dozens of times over our 35 years of casino play, from when Brad and I started with quarter VP until we were flying high in the high-limit rooms. Here are some general guidelines that sometimes might help you.

First, you usually need a host to give you this information. And not all hosts can if a secretive marketing department doesn’t play nicely with player development. Occasionally, an experienced players club employee can give you this information. Sometimes it pays to have developed relationship with other players who might share their experiences. And sometimes one can pose this question about a specific casino on an Internet forum and elicit some helpful information.

Second, if you're low-rollers, you might find a helpful host in one of the smaller and less fancy Strip or downtown casinos or at a locals casino even if you're out of towners.

Third, if you play higher denominations or put heavy play on the lower ones, you might get the attention of a host at most any size casino. It helps if you have a substantial history of play at that casino. It also helps if you have a non-demanding tone. Back in the glory days, I used to say that your nice attitude will allow the host to give you more inside information (and more comps), because they have a range of options. In recent years, I've found that many casinos have taken away so much of the host’s “power of the pen.” And this has seemed to make it harder to have a more personal relationship with one.

And fourth, to answer your question specifically, in some casinos where a couple has separate accounts, a host can personally look at both accounts jointly and you'll get credit for your totaled play. However, the marketing departments routinely send out mail offers to individual accounts based exclusively on the play of that account holder. So if you both play every day on your own cards, both of your mail offers will probably be weaker, due to the lower play. Therefore, Brad and I often played on the card of the smaller of our two accounts on check-in and check-out days when our play was lighter. On our full days of play, we really pounded the machines all one the bigger account.

One caution here. Most casinos won't give you a problem if you're playing on a spouse's or partner's card, especially if your last name and/or address is the same. You should not do this, however, if you're playing on a competitive promotion, like a contest for the most or best of something.

But the best advice is to always remember this: “Daily average” is a powerful weapon!