Measuring the Value of Non-Percentage based comps

How would you factor $5 of free gambling money given once per week at a casino into your overall comp return %? To me the logical way to assess this is to retroactively look at your total amount of play and calculate it as a percentage "cash back."

The difference between free gambling money and "cash back" is of course, the free money needs to be cycled through the machine once, and then any winnings become real cash. So, I would consider $5 gambling money played once on a 98% return rate to be worth $4.90 real cash.

Over the course of last year, I received $150 in non-play-based free gambling money (we're talking peanuts here!). My total playing for the year eligible for cashback was $22,500. From this, I received a ridiculous 0.2% cash back (One cent per $5 played), totaling $45 for the year. As you can see, I got more in free gambling money than I did in cash back.

So the math I came up with is this:

[(.002 x total play) + (free money x .98)] / total play = total comps

[(.002 x $22,500) + ($150 x .98)] / $22,500 = total comps
[ $45 + $147 ] / $22,500 = total comps
$192 / $22,500 = .0085333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333

So the way I see it, last year I was given a total of 0.853% cash back. Is this flawed thinking?

Of course, the more I play, the smaller of a percentage I get cash back from free casino money not based on play.

Quote: jakesorbetter

The difference between free gambling money and "cash back" is of course, the free money needs to be cycled through the machine once, and then any winnings become real cash. So, I would consider $5 gambling money played once on a 98% return rate to be worth $4.90 real cash.

I think, this is the common way of looking at it, but I disagree. This would only make sense if you were not going to ever gamble with your own money. But as long as that is not true, the $5 free play coupon is as good as your own $5 bill you would put into the machine if you did not have the coupon.

Quote: weaselman

I think, this is the common way of looking at it, but I disagree. This would only make sense if you were not going to ever gamble with your own money. But as long as that is not true, the $5 free play coupon is as good as your own $5 bill you would put into the machine if you did not have the coupon.

Thank you for your thoughts. I do think that the free $5 is an important consideration. I average about $1 in cash back per week, which is much less than the $5. Since most people consider cash back as part of your return, it's strange for me to consider the cash back to be of more value than the free five dollars of gambling money. I don't know any other way to calculate the significance of that five dollars gambling money, and I *feel* it should be worth at least another .2% of my return, if not the estimated additional .65%. Again, that figure is dependent on how much I play to maintain the $5 value. *Head scratch*