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[WTMHouston]

An article I ran across.

http://www.esquire.com/style/esqna/011128_wqa_vegas.html

How do I get comped in Vegas?

You gotta have three things: a roll of money, a lot of time and a fairly bad jones for the green felt. Most casinos expect you to throw down five grand before they even think about "rating" you as a player. Still, there are ways to get yourself lower room rates, better rooms, and free meals. Here they are:

1) Ask about the comp rates before you go. Most casinos will give you these over the phone. In order to get rated, you'll have to play a certain amount of time at a certain level of stakes. Don't let the high numbers scare you. A fairly conventional comp rate at the better Vegas casinos is five to six hours a day at $25 a hand. This may knock you out entirely. But remember, part of getting comped is giving the appearance of being a player.

My note: my experience is that they want at least $50 a hand for 4 hours to even think about comping anything other than a meal or two. A suite will need an average bet of well over $100

2) Join the player's club right away. When you throw down your buy-in at the first table, tell the dealer you want to sign up. When you join, you are essentially agreeing to have your gambling tracked. The pit-boss will take your driver's license and then disappear for a moment to enter you into the system. He'll record your buy-in and the stakes you are playing. Casinos won't comp you for nagging out a slow game at a $5 blackjack table, not unless you happen to put in a lot of time there. So make your first buy a strong one. Buy $1,000 worth of chips, even if you plan to risk $50. When the pit-boss returns, he'll have your newly minted player's club card at the ready and he'll likely note your pile, provided you still have it.

3) Cash out your chips every time you leave a table. This means lots of trips to the cashier, but on every return trip to the action, you'll get to lay down cash and your player's card. Even if you gamble low stakes, the odds are better that a pit boss will see cash as fresh action.

My note: it also never hurts to slide a few chips into your pocket while playing. They say that they don't care whether you are winning or losing, but the comps I have received have always been better when I have lost. By sliding a few chips (the big ones) into your pocket and off of the table, it will look like you have won less or lost more when you color out.

4) Make yourself visible. When the pit boss looks in on your table, say something to him. Use his name. Blow a little sunshine up his ass. Remember that a pit boss is watching about 75 things at once. In order to get rated, particularly if you are playing fairly low stakes, you'll have to get yourself noticed.

5) Raise your stakes now and then. Double your bet from time-to-time. Or triple it. Don't be a pussy. What's twenty bucks, except two tickets to a Steven Segal movie? You want to be a player? Play! Just understand: you will lose.

My note: try and do this when the pit boss is looking.

6) Stay at a hotel where you like to gamble. The easiest comp to get is food, but room rates can always be adjusted at the end of a stay if you play hard enough. Still, if you're gambling at the Mirage and staying at The Venetian, about the best you can hope for is a free plate of crab claws at the buffet line.

7) Track your rating from time-to-time by visiting the player's club desk. Even if you're a low roller, they'll tell you where you stand. Also, save time before check-out to go to the player's club to get your comps put on your room folio. This is almost never automatic.

My note: not just occasionally, constantly. If there is a mistake you must correct it immediately. After the boss or host who rated you has gone for the day, it will never change. Of course, if they have made a mistake in your favor (rare, but it does happen) just keep your mouth shut.

8) Don't count on a free lunch. According to Tom Carillo, casino marketing director at the Luxor Hotel, too many low-stakes players come to Vegas chasing comps. "If you have $1,000 and you last twenty minutes at one of our tables, the comps attached would be pretty negligible. You'd do better to take your time, enjoy yourself and plan on spending the fifty bucks for a cocktail and a nice steak."

My note: that same $1000 maintained at a table for a couple of hours with a decent average bet ($25+), will likely get you a low end meal comp -- especially if you have struck up some kind of conversation with the pit people.

--TOM CHIARELLA