Comps: So this is why people go crazy over free stuff even if it's not worth the effort

it's one thing to play for entertainment and get comps for it.
it's another thing to play more than your normal play level to get comps.

it's not worth it.
you're paying for the comps. or even MORE than paying for the comps.

in my case, it's not playing above my normal play level.
it's the time and effort to get the comp. (or in this case, failure to do so.)

I have the monthly Diamond gift in AC for Sat. You can take $50 freeplay instead.
But I no longer get constant free Sat rooms at any of the AC casinos (harrahs/ballys/caesars).
im not going to drive 6hrs round trip just for a 1 nite stay (fri nite, leave sat). I wanted the whole weekend.

In the past, i have to check the website often and once in a while, a free room pops up.
In this case, I must have checked once an hr since Thurs but no free Sat room appeared.

All that time/effort and thinking about it was not worth $50 freeplay.
so why did I do it?

1) $50 was enough to entice me to look into it
2) I don't normally get fri or sat free rooms anymore but for that weekend, I got fri. I just needed sat.
Plus the fri room was a Waterfront (premium) room at Harrahs.
maybe the casino did this on purpose to try to have me pay for sat at $199 for a Waterfront room?

3) since 1/2 the battle was already won, I just need that free sat room to complete the quest.
'Only 1 more hoop to jump through to get the prize' mentality?

4) the more I checked, the more obsessed I became.
I justified the cost by it being only a few seconds of my time.
but looking back, constantly thinking about it for 2 days (thurs/fri) was not worth $50.

Basically, once started down the road, I rationalized the cost of obtaining the comp.

Weekend Room offers in AC are way harder to get in the summer because are people actually paying $300/night to stay at the beach, where that's not the case in the fall/winter, and not the case in vegas where there's more hotel rooms than people to sleep in them. Maybe Taj/Revel reopening could help.

This thread got derailed by various so-called "moderators" but I think I have some insight for you.

Humans are psychologically illogical when it comes to "free," to the point where they make bad economic decisions if "free" is a factor.

I remember reading a study where people were offered the opportunity to buy a Hershey Kiss for 1 cent or a Lindt Truffle for 20 cents (forget the actual price, it's not important.)

People overwhelmingly chose the truffle because it was the better value.

Then they ran the same study and offered 1 Hersey Kiss for free or the chance to buy the truffle for 19 cents. You guessed it, people overwhelmingly now chose the Kiss.

This proves that humans put rationality on hold when something is "free," even at the cost of a better use of their time / money / effort.

Quote: sodawater

This thread got derailed by various so-called "moderators" but I think I have some insight for you.

Tell me how you really feel! But, yeah, the thread going off the rails is definitely on me, so I'll bust off the off-topic posts into a new thread.

EDIT: And, here it is:

https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling-outside-vegas/atlantic-city/28796-will-ten-ever-open-derail-from-comps-thread/#post588845

Quote:

Humans are psychologically illogical when it comes to "free," to the point where they make bad economic decisions if "free" is a factor.

I remember reading a study where people were offered the opportunity to buy a Hershey Kiss for 1 cent or a Lindt Truffle for 20 cents (forget the actual price, it's not important.)

People overwhelmingly chose the truffle because it was the better value.

Then they ran the same study and offered 1 Hersey Kiss for free or the chance to buy the truffle for 19 cents. You guessed it, people overwhelmingly now chose the Kiss.

This proves that humans put rationality on hold when something is "free," even at the cost of a better use of their time / money / effort.

That's an excellent point. The other thing about, "Free," is that the value of the free thing in question is entirely subjective. For example, if a casino puts a Saturday price on a room of $300, then one who gets comped the room might say, "I got a three-hundred dollar room for free," but you and I both know that room didn't cost the casino $300, is not worth $300 and would not even cost a customer paying cash $300 on other days.

That's why, when it comes to comps, the best advice is not to play for comps at all. The second best advice, in my opinion, is to put a price on comps in terms of what those comps actually likely cost the casino. That is the actual value of the comp, and if your expected loss to get the comp is more than that, then you absolutely do not have any positive value as a result of getting the comp.

Quote: Mission146

Tell me how you really feel! But, yeah, the thread going off the rails is definitely on me, so I'll bust off the off-topic posts into a new thread.

EDIT: And, here it is:

https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling-outside-vegas/atlantic-city/28796-will-ten-ever-open-derail-from-comps-thread/#post588845



That's an excellent point. The other thing about, "Free," is that the value of the free thing in question is entirely subjective. For example, if a casino puts a Saturday price on a room of $300, then one who gets comped the room might say, "I got a three-hundred dollar room for free," but you and I both know that room didn't cost the casino $300, is not worth $300 and would not even cost a customer paying cash $300 on other days.

That's why, when it comes to comps, the best advice is not to play for comps at all. The second best advice, in my opinion, is to put a price on comps in terms of what those comps actually likely cost the casino. That is the actual value of the comp, and if your expected loss to get the comp is more than that, then you absolutely do not have any positive value as a result of getting the comp.

I dont think what it cost the casino should be that much of a factor. What's it worth to me/you should be the main factor. What will it save me/you? Someone might be paying $300 for a room without a comp, I would value that comp at $300. I have been in many situations where I'm either going to pay for a room or get it comped, so getting it comped was worth the full value. Obviously, I wouldn't value a 3k per night room comp worth 3k, because that's not something I would normally pay for.

If it's something I wouldn't normally pay for or do, then I put a much lesser value on whatever is getting comped.

That's another way of looking at it, and yes, if you're needing to stay at a place anyway, then that subjective value can go up.


In the case of 100x Odds, it seems as though he was only going to go to AC if the rooms were comped, so I'd be more inclined to drop the value I'm assigning to the room way down. He's also getting $50 free play, so you have to look at time and physical costs to drive there and all of that.

100x can correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like he just doesn't want to leave any comps on the table. There are certainly cheaper hotels in the area for Saturday night were that the entire issue.

Quote: Mission146

he just doesn't want to leave any comps on the table.

No one does. If anyone else gets a lousy little bag of peanuts from the airline, I want one too. If I can get a lousy little key chain from the casino for free, I want it. It does not mean that I value it in any way.

Its similar to a poker game: if its small stakes the players want to win; if its high stakes the players want to win. Similarlly, if its a comp, the player wants to win... he 'wins' by forcing the casino to give him something. Even if that particular something ain't so hot.

Quote: Mission146

In the case of 100x Odds, it seems as though he was only going to go to AC if the rooms were comped, so I'd be more inclined to drop the value I'm assigning to the room way down. He's also getting $50 free play, so you have to look at time and physical costs to drive there and all of that.

100x can correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like he just doesn't want to leave any comps on the table. There are certainly cheaper hotels in the area for Saturday night were that the entire issue.

yes, I don't like leaving free stuff on the table. I'm guessing most people don't.
but I weigh the time/effort of getting it.

$50 is enough to get me to AC *IF* I have free rooms for the weekend (fri-sun).
don't want to drive fri then come back sat. I want a full day to relax.

but since I didn't get the free sat room, I didn't go.

it defeats the purpose of getting the $50 if I'm paying for a hotel room.

There's a human impulse to hunt, compete and "win", even if the cost of the "win" exceeds the actual value of the item. Consider an auction environment. There was an experiment conducted where auction bidders were offered a plain $20 bill. The only catch was that the second place bidder would also have to pay their bid amount, but would not receive anything.

The $20 bill sold for almost $40, mainly because the second place bidder didn't want to pay and walk away with nothing. I think the same psychology is at work with the "Comp Hunt".

Quote: Ayecarumba

There's a human impulse to hunt, compete and "win", even if the cost of the "win" exceeds the actual value of the item.

My wife and I turned a modest casino win into a $50 loss to get a comp fishing kit. Stupid! Probably costs around $10 at Walmart. I still have it, though. It's my $50 casino souvenir, and will be a great story for my grandkids.

Somewhat related: Conan O'Brien told the story of how some people recognized him and asked for his autograph—so he signed for them. Then other people came rushing up to get his autograph. After one man got the autograph, he looked at it, then let it drop to the ground.

Quote: sodawater

I remember reading a study where people were offered the opportunity to buy a Hershey Kiss for 1 cent or a Lindt Truffle for 20 cents (forget the actual price, it's not important.)

People overwhelmingly chose the truffle because it was the better value.

Wait, I don't understand... how is one thing for 20 cents a better value than a similar thing for 1 cent? I would definitely take the Kiss in that scenario....

Quote: TigerWu

Wait, I don't understand... how is one thing for 20 cents a better value than a similar thing for 1 cent? I would definitely take the Kiss in that scenario....

A lot of people think Hershey's chocolate has a sour vomit taste to it, and apparently it's because they use an acid for texture and preservation that is very similar to the acid in your stomach.

Personally I like the tangyness.

Quote: TigerWu

Wait, I don't understand... how is one thing for 20 cents a better value than a similar thing for 1 cent? I would definitely take the Kiss in that scenario....

The point is that when they were selling for 20 cents and 1 cent, most people chose the 20-cent candy.

But when they reduced the price by 1 cent, to 19 cents and free, most people chose the free candy.

This displays the contradiction. If people prefer to buy the candy for 20 cents, they should prefer as much or more for 19 cents. But they were blinded by the "free" Kiss when they didn't care about the 1-cent Kiss.