How do casino host earn commission off me?
Quote: AxelWolfFor the most part, I was under the impression they received bonuses if the total of all their assigned players hit various action levels.
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Quote: MDawgIndependent hosts have different arrangements with different casinos, but even they get more from a player they represent who plays all week and builds up a big theoretical loss (and say, wins) versus a straight regular loss.
In house hosts, it is generally misleading to say that they always get something specific out of a player's straight losing or even playing - there are in some cases team bonuses or bonuses obtained when the aggregate of a host's players play beyond a certain level, and in some casinos there is no such structure at all and it is straight salary. As well, if a host's players all fall below a certain level and stop playing much at all, there could be repercussions as well. These sorts of arrangements are usually what is meant by "commission" bonuses.
In any case, just as a player earns more comps via long hard play versus blowouts, the same for any host who directly or indirectly gains some benefit from a player's play - these hosts will get more out of players who keep playing versus who straight lose quickly.
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AxelWolf and MDawg standing shoulder to shoulder on something Who woulda thunk it?
Since there’s really no product to “sell,” it wouldn’t fit into an extremely narrow classification of commission.
Quote: mcallister3200Whether you want to classify payment based on the extent of a hosted players play a bonus or commission is semantics at best, a distinction without a difference. In either case that would mean they are NOT being paid on salary only.
Since there’s really no product to “sell,” it wouldn’t fit into an extremely narrow classification of commission.
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The ones that I know of get a percentage of the players theo loss.
I assume they are also salaried, the commissions are bonuses, and the bonuses are a direct percentage of theoretical loss without any relation to actual loss.
The initial comps are for sure based on theoretical, and it seems like they may have some flexibility in terms of post stay additional comps if actual losses are higher then theoretical. Although I know for certain they also hve flexibility for adding comps during your stay if your current theoretical exceeds what you were initially comped even if you are playing positive.
Long story short, casino hosts (at least some places) most certainly do make commissions but they aren’t incentivized for you to lose, they are incentivized for you to play.
Quote: handsNftRmangosI can safely say with a high degree of certainty that at at least one (probably considered THE) highest end casino on the Vegas strip the hosts get a commission based off their guests and a reasonable degree of certainty that is directly related to theoretical loss.
I assume they are also salaried, the commissions are bonuses, and the bonuses are a direct percentage of theoretical loss without any relation to actual loss.
The initial comps are for sure based on theoretical, and it seems like they may have some flexibility in terms of post stay additional comps if actual losses are higher then theoretical. Although I know for certain they also hve flexibility for adding comps during your stay if your current theoretical exceeds what you were initially comped even if you are playing positive.
Long story short, casino hosts (at least some places) most certainly do make commissions but they aren’t incentivized for you to lose, they are incentivized for you to play.
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You are actually quite wrong. In-house hosts sometime threaten their jobs to get more salary after pointing out how many high end players they have under them, but they don't get a penny more whether their players play a lot or a little, other than maybe team bonuses if their entire team hits certain numbers, but even those team bonuses I've come to find out are not as cut and dried as all that, and don't even exist at all casinos.
They might get chewed out if they keep giving too many comps to a player who hasn't earned them, but otherwise, the casino does not give them any sort of commission based on play or loss.
In other words, and I believe I know which casino you are talking about when you say "I can safely say with a high degree of certainty that at at least one (probably considered THE) highest end casino on the Vegas strip the hosts get a commission based off their guests and a reasonable degree of certainty that is directly related to theoretical loss. " you are dead wrong.
Independent (not in-house) hosts on the other hand earn entirely based on their players' actual loss or theo loss, where they get a lot more based on theo if the player puts in the hours at a good average bet, which, independent hosts don't bother with players who don't play solidly, so over all independent hosts are just hoping that their guys put in the hours.
Quote: MDawg.
They might get chewed out if they keep giving too many comps to a player who hasn't earned them, but otherwise, the casino does not give them any sort of commission based on play or loss.
You must be speaking of a different Las vegas than the one that I worked in for 30 years. The one I worked in many hosts got :"commissions" based on their players theo loss.
Over the past five years especially, I have gotten quite close to at least one host at each major property in Vegas, so what I say above is based on what they have told me. I hang out with some of these guys off property, socially, including in places other than Nevada, so they’d have no reason not to tell me exactly how it works.
As well, the in-house hosts I've known who have threatened their jobs because they weren't getting enough salary did so by pointing out to management how many players they have under them - they did not automatically get more for having more players nor did they get any commission by having more players - just not the way the in-house system works.
If you go to a given casino you will find that different hosts have different salaries, of course, but this is often based on nothing specific you may even point to. A host who has been there less time might have a higher salary than one who has been there since day one, and that sort of thing is what leads to gripes and hosts' threatening their jobs.
Maybe long ago it was different. You mentioned the Tropicana and I don't know if what you mentioned about them was based also on the past. If the Tropicana works differently even today, I wouldn't know I don't even play there, but the Tropicana may be imploded soon anyway.
Quote: handsNftRmangosI can safely say with a high degree of certainty that at at least one (probably considered THE) highest end casino on the Vegas strip the hosts get a commission based off their guests and a reasonable degree of certainty that is directly related to theoretical loss.
I assume they are also salaried, the commissions are bonuses, and the bonuses are a direct percentage of theoretical loss without any relation to actual loss.
The initial comps are for sure based on theoretical, and it seems like they may have some flexibility in terms of post stay additional comps if actual losses are higher then theoretical. Although I know for certain they also hve flexibility for adding comps during your stay if your current theoretical exceeds what you were initially comped even if you are playing positive.
Long story short, casino hosts (at least some places) most certainly do make commissions but they aren’t incentivized for you to lose, they are incentivized for you to play.
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I’m aligned with what is said above. And I’d like to add some more.
For couple of decades, I too have wondered about this. I know many hosts who are no longer in the business and I did an impromptu “tell all” over drinks one night with a previous host I was extremely close with. He worked at MGM, Caesars (Total Rewards back then) and Venetian/Palazzo for over 20 years. According to him, different properties have different bonus/commission structures. It is also discouraged to let players know that the hosts make money off of theo and/or losses, but it’s true that salary isn’t the only source of salary. Some properties have the salary structured in a way that you must meet certain amount of combined Theo to make the salary. And the host can unlock different levels of bonus/commission if they meet the annual above and beyond. Some properties (Cosmo pre-pandemic) had different weight between actual aggregate combined loss and Theo as the host’s additional bonus. And yes, Hosts love getting cash gifts. They will be grateful for anything above and beyond, but cash is king. I also was told there are these legacy hosts who has been at certain properties for decades and have players (whales and mini-whales) they have developed over the years. These legacy hosts are in-house but have contracts that have very lucrative terms so that they get a large percent of the theos of their said whales. These legacy hosts are rare, but I hear they exist at Caesars, and when El Dorado took over, they had no choice but to grandfather these terms since these whales were extremely loyal to their hosts.
I don’t really care if you disagree with me believe me, but I know my info is accurate as of pre-pandemic. I can’t speak of how much it has changed post-pandemic, but I doubt it has changed much.
