Casino Comps - what are they exactly?

Casino Comps

You've probably heard of "comps" in a casino. Maybe you saw a casino manager use the word in a movie to pacify an upset guest at his hotel, but did you really understand what the word meant? Well, you've come to the right place. Read on to learn about both of these casino conundrums.

Casinos want to keep their best customers coming back. Players who have shown they will give the house a shot at their money are treated like royalty. Free beverages for customers while they are playing, discounted rates on hotel rooms, and free meals are the most common complimentaries given by casinos. For high-rollers -- people who bet hundreds of dollars a hand -- the casino might give free airfare, room, food, beverages, or limousine service.

"Comps" are most frequently distributed through player rewards clubs. Members are issued credit-card-sized plastic cards, usually with an encoded magnetic strip on the back. The card is inserted into a magnetic reader on the machine the member is playing, and the amount and duration of play are tracked via computer.

In most player rewards clubs, players earn points for play and can redeem the points for comps. When the card is inserted into a reader at a slot or video poker machine, a display on the reader might say something like, "Welcome, member. You have 42 points. Coins to next point: 24." After the required number of coins have been played, another point will be added to the player's total. A list is issued detailing the comps available for various point totals. Some clubs allow players to redeem points for cash; others offer meals, rooms, or merchandise.

Other slot clubs don't issue a point table but require the player to ask an attendant at the player rewards club booth. The attendant will check the computer, and if the player qualifies, the attendant will issue the comp.

Comps work similarly at table games. At most casinos a player may use the same card issued to slot club members as identification to be rated for comps at table games. The pit boss overseeing the table takes note of the player's buy-in (the amount of currency exchanged for chips at the table), the average bet size, and the duration of play.

It's common for casinos to kick back in the form of comps an average of 10 percent to 40 percent of the amount it expects to win from the player.

The basic formula for the player's expected loss combines the amount of time played, the number of hands per hour, the average bet, and the house percentage. So if a blackjack player bets $5 a hand for an hour at a busy-table speed of 60 hands per hour, and the house figures it has a 2 percent edge, then the player is betting $300 per hour, and the house, on the average expects to win $6, or 2 percent of $300. If the house is issuing comps at a generous rate of 40 percent of the player's expected loss, the customer's play for an hour is worth about $2.40 in comps, regardless of the actual win or loss, whether he's won $50 or lost $50.

A side benefit of being rated for comps is that the casino puts you on its mailing list for special offers. Rated players frequently get free or discounted rooms and tournament invitations from casinos. Cash vouchers by mail are an often-used incentive for players to return.

Article above courtesy of John Grochowski. John writes about casino games and the gambling industry in his weekly "Gaming" column, which is syndicated in newspapers and Web sites across the United States. The author of six books on casinos and casino games, he hosts a weekly casinos talk show on WCKG-FM (105.9) in Chicago. He also is a regular contributor to International Gaming and Wagering Business, Slot Manager, Indian Gaming Business, Midwest Gaming and Travel, and Southern Gaming and Destinations magazines.