Courtesy Comps

When I first started playing in the Casinos things were a little different compared to todays system. I started before Ticket In Ticket Out and before Players Clubs Started to pop up. I still have cards with very low player card numbers. I laugh every time I am at Club Fortune out in Henderson for a drawing and they call this guys name and say his player cards number which is number FOUR! I have some low numbers but nothing like that. I didn't really get into Courtesy Comps for some time. I had a few players tell me that if I took them it would impact my offers and that it would show my face around more than I might want. Years later when I started to play mostly by myself I started to ask for things. I almost always ask for 1 or 2 packs of cigarettes when I play. Sometimes they tell me that I don't smoke but I just tell them that I know people who do. I also figure that 2 packs is equal to 10 dollars cash back. I ask a lot nowadays when I play in places that offer them. I don't really see any change in my mail when I take them compared to when I do not.

I was just curious if anyone else has information or experiences that they would want to share on this site to help the community. Although all my play is in Vegas, a player can share whatever they like either in Vegas or outside of Vegas. Perhaps a player who is just starting out doesn't realize that they can ask for these which are separate to points and comps earned on the card. I find that if I have a large loss I can get larger CC's compared to when I have a big win. Sometimes I win too much and they hesitate but I usually still get 30 dollars or so for lunch.

I quite often wonder the samething. My local used to give me $10 food comp. I would use it every 2 weeks to get a small breakfast and a salad to go for lunch. Last month they changed my food comp to $40. I was like wtf, there goes my free breakfast and lunch. But now I can get dinner for 2. So anyways, last week I finally asked while playing for money. I hear people ask all the time for food but never an amount. I specifically asked for $10 and he put it on there immediately. Was wondering if that will mess with my next comps.

I've always heard it called discretionary comps. In Las Vegas the standard for off strip is betting $10 at the tables for an hour can earn you a $10 food comp during slow times. Just ask and a pit boss can write one for you. Won't affect mail at all. I used to wait until the pit saw one of my bigger bets ($50 or so), then I would ask how much longer until I could earn a buffet. When there's a lot of free time good way to relax, earn money low roll counting and get a meal.

I do not smoke, never have. (Other than frequenting an IRA bar which is probably the equivalent of smoking two packs a night).

Eons ago, I was body guarding a woman who smoked like a chimney. So when I went to a Seminole property in Immokalee, FL I happened to ask for a pack of cigarettes. They were very helpful and pointed me to an alcove where there were cigarette vending machines.

So much for comped cigarettes!

Vegas used to have packs of cigarettes available, though I don't know if they were free or what. As I said, I don't smoke.

As to meal comps in Immokalee a floor man once wrote me a twenty-five dollar three-day meal comp when my luck was particularly bad and I went thru my bankroll way too quickly. Note: it was a twenty five dollar comp that could be used ONCE anytime in the next three days, so it was clearly designed to bring me back another day and they clearly wanted that 'another day' to be darn soon.

If you earn 1200 points in a day at South Point, you can ask for a pack of cigarettes and nothing is deducted from your comp balance.