You Can Do These 6 Things to Get More Casino Comps

Casinos offer comps to encourage you to play more and make return visits.

These rewards can include everything from steak dinners and limo service to cashback and free slots play.

Comps are anything but free because you must earn them through gambling.

Nevertheless, it still pays to get as many of these “freebies” as possible.

Casinos offer different avenues for building your loyalty status and picking up more rewards per dollar wagered. You can also take measures to fool land-based casinos into giving you extra comps.

That said, I’m going to discuss both basic methods and tricks for earning more rewards.

The house edge is one factor that casinos use to determine how much you should be comped. Gambling venues are willing to give out more rewards to players who take a greater risk.

But casinos don’t meticulously tailor rewards to every game’s house edge. They instead use broad gaming categories to determine rewards.

Slot machines, keno, and scratch cards (online) offer the best comp rates because they have the highest house edges. Slots are the most common path towards more rewards since they’re far more popular than keno and online scratch cards.

Land-based slot machines have house edges ranging between 5% and 12%, while online slots house advantages range from 1% to 7%. In either case, you’re going to get the most comps by playing slots.

Casinos normally comp slots players at between 0.1% and 0.2% of their total bets. This may not sound like much, but it adds up over time.

Here’s an example.

• You bet $10,000 throughout a session
• The casino’s slots comp rate is 0.1%
• 10,000 x 0.001 = $10

Table games and video poker, in contrast, offer a much lower comp rate than slot machines. These games have smaller house advantages on average, which is why they also deliver fewer rewards.

Oftentimes, table games only give you one-fifth or one-tenth of the value of slots comps. Here’s an example.

• You bet $10,000 on baccarat
• The casino’s baccarat comp rate is 0.01%
• 10,000 x 0.0001 = $1

I’m not recommending that you should dive headfirst into slots just for the rewards. But if you’re already a fan of slot machines, then it’s worth playing them more often to pick up additional freebies.

Both online and land-based casinos feature loyalty programs with multiple levels. You’ll be privy to better rewards by moving up the VIP ladder.

Most land-based establishments refer to their levels as follows.

• Player
• Room and food (RF)
• Room, food, and beverage (RFB)

The vast majority of gamblers are at the player status. They’re eligible for free drinks, meals, cashback, limo service, and hotel stays — depending upon their activity.

RF gamblers automatically receive a comped room and meals during their stay. RFB gets the same perks, with the addition of having all their soft drinks, beer, and liquor comped.

Some casinos can only offer RF because they’re in jurisdictions that don’t allow them to give out free drinks, but this isn’t a problem in major gambling destinations like Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

Online casinos give generic names to their VIP levels. You move up in status by earning a certain amount of comp points over time.

Here’s an example of an internet casino VIP program.

• Bronze level (requires 1,000 lifetime comp points)
• Silver level (requires 10,000 lifetime comp points)
• Gold level (requires 100,000 lifetime comp points)
• Platinum level (requires 1,000,000 lifetime comp points)

Understandably, gamblers can’t get free drinks and meals from an online casino, but they will be eligible for better cashback rates and bigger deposit bonuses by improving their loyalty status.

Always check out VIP plans at both online and land-based casinos before committing any play. Doing so gives you a strong indication of what kind of rewards you can look forward to.

Most casinos are similar in terms of the reward rate they offer players. But some venues have a reputation for being more generous with comps than their competitors.

One easy way to spot these casinos is by looking at their cashback rate for slot machines. For example, one land-based casino may offer 0.2% cashback while their local competitors may only give 0.1% cashback.

Of course, the matter isn’t always this cut and dried. You’ll likely have to perform 15-30 minutes of online research to find casinos that are known for good comps.

If you’re visiting Las Vegas, for example, you can Google phrases like “best comps Las Vegas” and “best casino rewards Vegas.” You’ll find what you’re looking for within the first page of results.

Some gambling forum users have helpful suggestions based on their experiences in dealing with casinos. The goal is to find composite opinions from a variety of people in order to determine which casinos comp well.

It’s possible to fool brick-and-mortar casinos into giving more rewards than your play warrants. The reason why is because they use an inexact method to determine your comps.

This process begins with you obtaining a player’s club card from the casino. A player’s club card gives casino employees the information they need to track your play.

You then hand this card to the dealer and tell them that you wish to be rated. The dealer will then give your card to the pit boss, who’ll rate your play.

The pit boss is a busy person who’s in charge of managing the table-games area during their shift. They don’t have all day to watch you gamble.

They only check out your first few bets before moving on to do other work. The pit boss writes down your bet sizes and uses this to help determine your rewards.

But you can trick them by betting more when they’re watching, then moving to a lower wager once they leave. Here’s what this would look like in practice.

• You bet $100 per hand during the first few rounds
• The pit boss records your bets and leaves
• You lower your wager to $10
• The pit boss rates you as a $100 player
• You receive 10x the rewards that you deserve

Keep in mind that this method doesn’t always work. The pit boss could later catch you betting less and lower your rating, or the dealer could tell on you. But it’s worth trying if you really want to get the most comps possible.

Another way to trick the casino is by sitting out some rounds. After all, casinos use the length of your session (multiplied by table’s average hands per hour) to determine rewards.

You’ll especially have an easy time sitting out rounds in games like roulette and craps. You’re not dealt into these games, making it easier for you to skip turns without anybody noticing.

The pit boss will think that you’re playing the whole time as long as you’re still at the table. Again, they don’t have time to watch your entire session. They must give you the benefit of the doubt unless they can prove otherwise.

Not every reward that casinos give out is part of the loyalty program. They also feature plenty of offers via their email newsletter and social media pages.

You can sign up for a casino’s newsletter online or by giving the front desk your email. This makes you eligible to receive special deals that they send out.

The deals featured in newsletters differ based on whether you’re dealing with a land-based or online casino. Land-based venues may advertise a free slots tournament or comped meal, while a gaming site might offer you a large deposit bonus. Whatever the case may be, you don’t want to miss out on these offers if you’re going to gamble anyways.

Every casino uses their Facebook and/or Twitter accounts to promote their brand. These promotional efforts include giving out special offers to their social followers.

For example, a land-based casino could award free show tickets to anybody who presents a specific Facebook ad at the gate. These types of deals make it worth following your favorite casino’s social media accounts.

One common myth about comps is that they only relate to gambling. But most casinos have expanded their loyalty programs to encompass all areas of their resort.

You can earn points by purchasing meals, shopping, booking a hotel stay, and buying drinks. These points can then be used within the parameters of the program.

Large casino companies allow you to use your points at any of their properties throughout the world. This is convenient if you like to stay at casinos owned by MGM Resorts or Boyd Gaming, for example.

Visit a casino company’s website and look into their loyalty program to sign up. You’ll receive a card that you can then use at their various casinos.

You can see that there are plenty of ways to improve the amount of comps you receive from casinos. But there are also things that you want to avoid doing to boost your rewards.

Some methods of increasing your comps will actually drain your bankroll in the end. Here are the main things to avoid when pursuing casino freebies.

You likely have a good idea of how long you want to gamble going into a session. Furthermore, you probably don’t want to spend 12 hours or more in the casino.

But many a player are convinced to extend their sessions just to pick up extra rewards. This leaves one open for more theoretical losses.

Here’s what that could look like.

• You play the same slot machine in two separate gambling sessions
• You bet $1 per spin
• The game’s house edge is 5%
• The casino’s comp rate is 0.1%
• You play for four hours in session #1 (2,500 spins total)
• 2,500 x 0.05 = $125 in theoretical losses for session #1
• 2,500 x 0.001 = $2.50 in comps for session #1
• You play for eight hours in session #2 (5,000 spins total)
• 5,000 x 0.05 = $250 in theoretical losses for session #2
• 5,000 x 0.001 = $5 in comps for session #2

You can see that it’s hardly worth doubling your time for the rewards in the second session. Nevertheless, many gamblers make this mistake under the assumption that going for the extra rewards is a good thing.

It’s definitely not! Only gamble for whatever amount of time you feel comfortable with, rather than extending your time for additional comps.

I mentioned earlier how casinos reward you more for higher bets. But you don’t want to make large wagers just for the sake of more freebies.

This mistake is similar to playing longer. Placing bigger wagers exposes you more to the house advantage.

Take a look at the example below.

• You play a blackjack game with a 1% house edge
• The comp rate is 0.05%
• The table is averaging 100 hands per hour
• You bet $10 per hand in session #1
• 10 x 100 x 0.01 = $10 in theoretical losses for session #1
• 10 x 100 x 0.0005 = $0.50 in comps for session #1
• You bet $100 per hand in session #2
• 100 x 100 x 0.01 = $100 in theoretical losses for session #2
• 100 x 100 x 0.0005 = $5 in comps for session #2

It’s perfectly okay to play higher stakes if you have the bankroll. However, you certainly don’t want to make larger wagers just to get additional comps.

One more thing that you want to avoid doing involves playing games with high house edges for rewards alone.

Earlier, I explained how slot machines, keno, and scratch cards offer more comps due to their larger house advantages. Playing these games is fine if you truly enjoy them.

The problem comes in, though, when you purposely seek out games and bets with large house edges. Here’s yet another instance where your rewards don’t match the theoretical losses.

• You make 100 craps bets at $10 apiece
• Your first 50 bets involve pass line wagers (1.41% house edge)
• You’re comped at a 0.05% rate
• 10 x 50 x 0.0141 = $7.05 in theoretical losses for pass line bets
• 10 x 50 x 0.0005 = $0.25 in comps
• Your second 50 bets involve “The Horn” (12.5% house edge)
• You’re comped at a 0.5% rate
• 10 x 50 x 0.125 = $62.50 in theoretical losses for The Horn
• 10 x 50 x 0.005 = $2.50 in comps

It’s hardly worth picking up an extra $2.25 in rewards when you’re losing $55.45 more in the process. Stay away from games and bets with high house advantages because the comps never measure up to potential losses.

You shouldn’t have much difficulty earning adequate rewards if you play slot machines. These are the best games for generating comps as quickly as possible.

You’ll collect even more freebies if you continue playing slots and working your way up the loyalty ladder. Land-based and online casinos offer better rewards to preferred VIPs.

It’s wise to research loyalty programs before fully committing your play to a casino. Some gambling venues stand out with regard to how many comps they give out.

If all else fails, you can always fool land-based casinos into thinking that you’re a bigger player than you really are. Making larger wagers when the pit boss is watching and sitting out rounds are both ways to pull this off.

While there are many ways to get more comps, you want to avoid certain practices. These practices include extending sessions, making huge bets, and playing games with high house edges.

Doing all of these things does result in extra rewards. However, the cost is never worth the additional comps.

Above all, you want to earn rewards in a responsible manner. It’s perfectly fine to set a goal for moving up in a VIP program. But don’t do so if you have to break your bankroll in the process.