High Roller, Big Pimpin!

[BFC]

A friend of mine's father plays a lot of blackjack at one of the upscale places on the strip fairly regularly. He plays enough that they comp spa, shopping sprees, and rooms on the penthouse levels for the family, as well as sending gifts throughout the year inviting him to come back.

After reading this board I'm under the impression that blackjack comps dont come cheap... so .... how much is this guy dropping to get that kind of treatment?

the claim is that he wins a lot and the casino wants their money back.... would that be true?

I'm just curious to know how deep you have to get for this VIP treatment

 

[moo321]

It's generally based on your bet size and number of hours played. They generally rank you as 1. a total donkey 2. average or 3. a good player. So you will get more comps if they think youre a total donkey than if they think you're close to basic strategy.

 

[Mimosine]

I'm just curious to know how deep you have to get for this VIP treatment

$1000+ a hand, probably more.

 

[BFC]

It's generally based on your bet size and number of hours played. They generally rank you as 1. a total donkey 2. average or 3. a good player. So you will get more comps if they think youre a total donkey than if they think you're close to basic strategy.

hmm he's def not a donkey, i'm sure understands at least BS - but maybe i'm overetimating ability

 

[EasyRhino]

It's probably best to ask (since I'd like to know).

From a theoretically standpoint, a casino's comps work like this:

Theoretical loss * acceptable portion of losses to comp = total comp value

The theoretical loss (theo) is calculated by multiplying the total action times the house edge given the estimated skill level. The acceptable comp portion is, I hear, between 25% and 40%.

So, let's assume the value of a single trip as calculated by the casino is, I'm just spitballing here, $5,000. (It may be much more or less, I don't know how those shopping sprees work). And let's assume the casino is comping at a 33% ratio. That would mean that Pop's expected loss is $15,000 for the trip.

Let's assume he is a fairly good, but not perfect BS, blackjack player, and the house has a 1% edge over him. In order to lose an expected $15,000, he would need to wager $1,500,000 (wow, that's a big number).

If you assume 100 hands/hr, then he could do that by betting $1,000 a hand for 15 hours, or $5,000 a hand for 3 hours, or $500 a hand for 30 hours.

I would recommend that he read Comp City by Max Rubin to get some ideas on how to milk this to its fullest, and if he's really big, read Whale Hunt in the Desert by Deke Castleman to get an idea of the "deals" that true whales get.

 

[moo321]

Very few people actually know complete basic strategy. Most big bettors know hitting and standing numbers, to split aces and 8's, generally when to double down, and some idea of when to split other pairs. But they are still probably losing at least 1-2%. Most people really don't know how to play soft hands, and when exactly to split.

 

[zengrifter]

After reading this board I'm under the impression that blackjack comps dont come cheap... so .... how much is this guy dropping to get that kind of treatment?

They give back 40% of their "theoretical" - the amount that they should win based on his total action - they assume a 2.5% advantage on the average player. So statistically he's a big chump loser - all that comp = about 1% of his action. zg

 

[GeorgeD]

A friend of mine's father plays a lot of blackjack at one of the upscale places on the strip fairly regularly. He plays enough that they comp spa, shopping sprees, and rooms on the penthouse levels for the family, as well as sending gifts throughout the year inviting him to come back.

After reading this board I'm under the impression that blackjack comps dont come cheap... so .... how much is this guy dropping to get that kind of treatment?

the claim is that he wins a lot and the casino wants their money back.... would that be true?

I'm just curious to know how deep you have to get for this VIP treatment

That Penthouse room may be billed out at $1000 / night, but costs the resort almost nothing to give away (assuming it won't get rented). Even the $200 spa treatment only costs them salaries and overhead, and shopping sprees are probably less that 50% of retail. The casino will gladly give these things away to get someone in the door who they expect to lose a few thousand ... or keep him from going elsewhere. A fair BS player at $500 bets can lose $300 / hour ..... play for 10 hours = $3000 .... variance can make the loss several times that, and they know he'll be back to lose any big wins.

My wife plays with about $100-$200 at slots maybe once a month, rarely loses more than $100, sometimes wins a bit. Joint offered her a weekday room that rents for $175 ... they probably figure get her in the door with a room they won't rent, and if she loses $50, and we buy some food and drink, they come out OK. Of course me playing BJ with more money and I'm lucky to get an occasional buffets.

 

[BFC]

there's definitely some of the "keep him coming here" aspect to this, because I think they 'threatened' to stay elsewhere once, and got these comps.
Anyhow, I guess there's no way to know other than to ask, which I'm not going to do for various reasons.