Playing the "host game" and the "comp game."

Whenever I talk to folks about going to Las Vegas and staying at a casino the subject of having a host and getting comps always comes up. And always someone tells me how they "ripped off" the casino by asking for comps (freebies, complimentaries) they did not deserve based on their level of play.

Some folks think they are really "ahead of the casinos" doing this. Maybe they are.

But I have to wonder: if the casino hosts somehow know who is a high roller and seem to exchange this information or carry it over from one casino property to another -- wouldn't they also know who the casino goers are who aren't worth the comps they've been getting? Wouldn't they also know about the low level players who have been milking the casinos? And wouldn't that information come back and bite these players?

The casino host game is simple: you don't need one except in rare circumstances where you really want something outside the scope of what you know you're entitled to.

So many people are so misled and under-educated on this subject: misled because they're familiar with the baloney that comes from the likes of a very amatuerish but over-commercialized person such as Jean Scott (who obviously only puts out her babble because her English teacher's pension alone is insufficient to keep up with her penchant for gambling).....and under-educated because casino customers are usually so mesmerized by it all that they never take that important step BACK to see the whole picture.

If you studied and know how the majority of casino hosts and the comp systems work, you'd see that the most lucrative offers--by FAR--are generated by the casino marketing/player development computers. You use these to your advantage by never making contact with your "assigned" host on any casino visits. These hosts are too busy to look you up even if they saw in passing that you responded to one of the mailers. However, if you red-flag your stay by contacting your host, they now can confirm one of their players is on-property, and they will track your every move while you are there. Then, they can notate how they would like to directly be informed the next time you respond so they can track you even closer. The big problem is, if you play large they just sit and smile, but if you play under the requirements of the offer, they take note and pass it onto the marketing dept. which will reduce the value of your offers sooner than would have happened with no contact at all.

Jean Scott is an advocate of talking to your assigned host because she's not a professional and has no clue how to do things that are most advantageous to the player. Simply telling people what they want to hear and to solicit "gee, you're so great and helpful" pats on the back does nothing to enhance your comp advantage and does a lot to reduce it. And if you're dumb enough to give any host a Christmas gift WHEN IT IS ONLY THEY WHO SHOULD BE GIVING YOU SUCH A THING then you truly are on the wrong path.

One more thing: those smiles and good luck "wishes" that these people bestow upon their players? Write them off fast. Hosts at the majority of properties get commissions on your true losses, and get nothing when you win. You hear all the so-called "experts" and gurus saying something different like it's all based on "theo" (yeah right, there they are again quoting theory when they don't understand reality....) or that they aren't on commission at all, and this is because they want to and have to believe WHAT THEIR SACRED HOSTS FEED THEM. But I did several investigative articles on this subject for Gaming Today because I and my readers wanted to know what was REALLY going on.

It is true that hosts get paid based on their players' losses, so you are right about that Rob. I think the confusion about "theo" is that a player's offers are based on the "theo" because the casino figures that even if you have a winning trip you'll be back to lose what you won.

The last thing a casino is going to do is cut back offers for a player who had a winning trip. In fact, what I've been told is that a casino will do everything possible to get the winning player to stay longer and come back sooner. The exception might be players who are smarter than the casino and consistently walk away with the casino's money.

A friend of mine who is a host at a major Strip property told me the number of hosts is being cut and there are now fewer hosts for more players, and this means that they don't have time for the "small frys" anymore. And that might be good-- it gives you a chance to be "under the radar" longer if you just "drop in" to pick up your offers and leave. I remember when hosts actually had the time to stop by and "see how you're doing" or even invite you to dinner so that after dinner they could escort you back to the table or machine.

Sometimes, no attention is better if you just want to check in, pick up your offer (cash, gift cards, etc.) and leave.

I have never understood playing the charade that is host relations. Their income is based on your losing -- they are the enemy. You are their enemy -- if you hammer the house, they pay the price. So why pretend?

I recommend Huntington Press's "Whale Hunt in the Desert." Great read, and it makes clear the predatory nature of hosting.

As to Alan's questions, hosts are replaced all the time; ownership and management of casinos change all the time, so both stay optimistic regarding their ability to seduce even the most frugal player into loose play. Rarely does a player get tagged as someone who cannot be seduced and broken at some point. Plus, people go through life changes, which the casinos know can alter their behavior and make them more profitable to the casinos and hosts. Divorces for example, which half the population experience, can lead to "wife gets half--starts to gamble" scenarios. Husbands can loosen their behavior after divorces and become more profitable. Inheriting money has the same effect. Hosts realize a formerly tight, disciplined player can cave at any time, so rarely is anyone labeled "unprofitable." Casinos do not think that way.

It would have been helpful if Anthony Curtis (aka, CF) had made that book required reading prior to allowing his troupe of "AP's" to make up all that stuff they tell people. When the owner/publisher of Gaming Today, Chuck Di Rocco, called me in to ask me to write their main video poker column for them after he fired Bob Dancer for "being ineffective and writing garbage", he required I get to the bottom of issues like this--which of course I did, leading to nearly 8 years of Undeniable Truths being published weekly for a refreshing change.

Of all the years I've been playing since shedding my AP tag--and I played some high & very high limit games most of that time--I have never gotten cozy with or gotten to know even one casino host, and I would bet I have one of the highest comparative rates of getting comps of all time, simply because I know how to work the system probably better than anyone.