Section 2 of 2 - Prev - Next

spoke before. Tell him when you want to visit. Tell him how much you line is.
He'll make the reservation for you. By the way, if you don't have time for a
credit check you can bring funds with you and deposit them in the cage (front
money) against which you can draw markers.

If you see advertised specials in your newspaper you can get the host to bring
you in on one of these, but with a better class of room. Sometimes these
specials are much less then casino rates.

If the trip is your first you may get a reservation under a "will qualify"
theory. That means that you will be comped only if you play up to the agreement
that you made with the host, i.e., you must qualify for the comps. Just charge
everything to your room as instructed and read the rest of this section.

OK, you arrive. Go to the cage and get your credit finalized by proving that
you are you, signing a couple of ledger pages and getting your ID card. Find
and meet the host. Glad hand him - He'll glad hand you. If you haven't had
lunch he'll give you a starting comp. Now, whenever you go to a table show the
floorman your card and make sure you are being rated. They will do it
automatically if you take a marker, but you should ask. You'll be amazed how
quickly they will recognize you and start calling you, "Hey, Miss R, How are
you."

Charge everything to your room. Breakfast, lunch and room service. Ask your
host to make reservations (use the word "reservations") if you want the gourmet
room.

Remember that tips are NOT included in comps. I always sign the check and pay
the tip in cash directly to the waiter. That way the total of the room bill
does not include tips.

At the end of your trip you should find your comps deducted from your statement
at check out time. If it is not immediately call for your casino host. If he's
off insist on a casino representative. You will find that your play is on the
computer so any host or shift manager can get your comps straightened out. Be
nice. If they stonewall you, well, you've been the subject of a group of jerks.
Write the casino manager, threaten to write to the travel editor of your local
paper. You will probably find a credit forthcoming. No casino wants to be
marked as a bunch of crooks. If it is your first trip to that hotel I suggest
that you try to check out with time to spare just to avoid a last minute
hassle. Also see Carla's special recommendation on comps below.

Now some hints:

   * About the middle of the second day check with your host to make sure you
     are getting what he promised. Also, remember this - If you win, keep on
     asking for markers and getting rated even though you've got the cash to
     pay them back immediately. That way you show your playing time in the
     casino. If I win I deposit the money in the cage for two reasons. I don't
     want to carry the money with me and it pays back already drawn markers.

   * If you have never been seriously comped before, why not start at one of
     the less exclusive hotels and casinos where you don't have to play like a
     Maharajah. Try the Lady Luck or Fitzgeralds down down or Sam's Town or the
     Maxim. They want your action and they will comp you at $10 or $20 a hand
     black jack. That way you can learn how its done before you move up to
     Bally's or the Sahara.

   * The way to never get a comp again is to take advantage. Don't order a
     bottle of 25 year old scotch and expect the casino to comp it. Don't take
     your cousin and his three kids to lunch and expect the casino to comp the
     check. Be realistic and remember what your discount includes.

   * Play at the casino. Sure, you can go elsewhere, but remember that you have
     an obligation if you want to get comped.

Carla's Special Recommendation: I really hate having to beg for comps so I
refuse to do so. My gimmick is to tell the host at a casino I am not known at
that I have specific requirements and I don't give a flying folly for their
policy. I insist on being picked up at the airport and a suite with a few
amenities in it waiting upon my arrival. Though I look forward to meeting the
host I will not seek her out when I'm going to depart. My comps are not a
subject for discussion or argument. I expect the casino to credit my account on
the night before my departure with what my play warrants and I let them know
that I know exactly what my play does warrant. In other words I expect the
casino to treat me like a pro. This works for me and for others that I know.
What it does is avoid that little scene where the host tells you all he can do
for you is comp the coffee shop when you thought you deserved the gourmet room
and then you start begging and whining. I will neither whine nor return if I am
treated shabbily.

Gourmet room tips: If you are comped in the gourmet room it is expected that
you will tip at a higher rate then if you were in the coffee shop. I hate
tipping the waiter, the captain, the wine steward, the maitre d', etc.,
separately so I have devised a way to leave one tip. I call over the captain
and tell him that my tip, in cash, covers the whole room. Most captains
understand this. In the gourmet room I always tip 25 percent of a comped meal.
I thank the maitre d' and tell him that the tip I left includes every one. It
works for me.

Carla's few special words for the ladies: Most gamblers are men, most high
rollers are men, most people getting comps are men. So, ladies, please, do
yourselves and all of us a favor, do not get pushed around in Las Vegas. If you
are playing with your money, and I don't give a flying fig how you got it,
demand to be treated well. Demand the same comps the men get. Don't put up with
rude dealers and floormen and casino hosts who don't have time for the "little
lady." If you stand up for your rights by giving your complaint directly to the
shift manager or the casino manager you will be surprised how well you will be
treated. Remember that your money is as good as a man's money. I have walked
out of hotels and casinos and been called by the casino manager apologizing. I
take a hard attitude and I get away with it. I insist on being picked up at the
airport by limousine, I insist on a one bedroom suite (never a "junior" suite),
I insist on a fruit basket and beer and wine in the room (I'm now also getting
a bottle of Irish whisky).

Sure, I'm loud and a bit brassy, but I expect to be treated like a lady all the
time. I demand it and I get it. I insist on having my chair pulled out for me
when I arrive to play baccarat or for dinner. I once stood by a chair in the
baccarat room until the floorman asked if I needed something. I looked over at
him, smiled, and said, "Why, yes, an employee of the casino who is gentleman
enough to pull out my chair for me." He huffed and walked over, pulled out the
chair, I sat down, stood up, smiled at him and told him I was walking until he
learned some manners. I got an apology from the room manager within ten
minutes. Truthfully, ladies, they won't learn unless we teach them. So, please,
don t get pushed around.

Well, I hope that you will now be able to start on your career as a full
fledged Las Vegas schnorer. Enjoy yourself!!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q:G9 Where can I get casino quality chips?
A:G9 (Abdul Jalib M'hall)

   CHIP SUPPLIER        CITY, STATE      PHONE     REGULAR        PERSONALIZED
  ================= ============== ============== ============== =============
  The Poker Store    Stanton, CA   (714) 895-3783  ?               $55/100
  Paul Son           Las Vegas, NV (702) 384-2425  $.35/each       $.40/each
     "               ???, NJ       (609) 348-8771  $.35/each       $.40/each
     "               Reno, NV      (702) 786-2465  $35/100         $40/100
  Bud Jones Company  Las Vegas, NV (702) 876-2782  ?       1 color:$25/100
     "                "                            ?       2 color:$40/100
  Gamb. Gen. Store   Las Vegas, NV (800) 322-CHIP  ?               $40/100

Note that the chip prices above are for CASINO QUALITY, which means they're
heavy clay and thus rather expensive. The suppliers also have lighter clay
chips and cheap-o plastic chips.

One reason you might want personalized chips, other than for vanity's sake, is
to have dollar amounts put on them. Several places said they can put your
initials on one side and the dollar amount on the other, which is kind of neat.
For their unpersonalized chips, you had a choice of a starburst or a horseshoe
insignia. Paulson was the most flexible, since they'd let you order any
quantity (not just multiples of 100) with no minimum order. All of the
suppliers had a wide variety of colors. Bud Jones Company had solid one color
chips as well as the two colored chips that many casinos use.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q:G10 Are chip colors standardized?
A:G10 (Dave "4" Everett)

Yes and no.

In the United States, almost all casinos use red for $5 chips, green for $25,
and black for $100. In Las Vegas, other denomination chips can be any color
whatsoever, though $1 chips are generally white or blue.

In Atlantic City, they use the Munsel Color Code system, and is a matter of
regulation. In addition the "inserts" or edge marks used by each casino must be
different in color(s) than those used by all other A.C. casinos for the same
denomination.

  chip value              color           Notes
  --------------------------------------------------------------------
  $0.50                   mustard         Never issued.
  $1                      white
  $2.50                   pink            Used for paying blackjacks
  $5                      red
  $20                     yellow
  $25                     green
  $100                    black
  $500                    purple
  $1000                   orange          larger diameter than those above
  $5000                   gray            same diameter as orange chips

Foxwoods and Turning Stone use the same scheme, though neither uses yellow.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q:G11 What are matchplay chips
A:G11 (Chuck Weinstock, Dave Everett)

A matchplay chip is a non-negotiable chip, usually given by the casino to
induce play at their tables. The chips are good at any table game, but only for
even money bets. Thus you can bet them on craps (line bets), blackjack,
roulette (odd/even, black/red), but not, for instance, the field at craps. When
you play a matchplay chip you must match it with a chip of your own (hence the
name). For the Bally offer I understand the chips have a value of $5.00, so you
must play each one with $5.00 of your own money.

If you lose the bet, you lose your $5.00 and the matchplay chip. If you win
your bet you win $5.00 on your $5.00 and $5.00 (real money) on the matchplay
chip. However, even if you win they take the matchplay chip. (I'm not sure if
this is universal, but it certainly is typical.) I'm not sure how they pay off
Blackjack (which pays 3-2). [ They always take your matchplay chip, win or
lose. Blackjack pays even money on the matchplay chip. - FAI ] [Most casinos
don't take the match play chips on pushes and do pay even money on the match
play portion of blackjacks. Some casinos (e.g. Four Queens) pay 3:2 on the
match play portion of blackjacks. -- Abdul Jalib M'hall]

If you are playing in an even expectation game, you would expect to win half of
your bets. Thus the $200 in matchplay has an expected value of around $100. Of
course this is only an expectation, and you could win or lose much more than
that.

There are also such things as match play coupons. They work just like match
play chips, but they are coupons, printed on paper. It is typical for match
play chips and/or coupons not to be allowed on games where the payout odds are
other than 1:1. In most casinos, a bet consisting of a $5 regular chip and a $5
match play chip will result, if it wins, with a payout of $10 and forfeiture of
the match play chip. If a blackjack occurs, the payout will generally be $7.50
for the regular chip and $5 (even money) for the match play chip, for a total
of $12.50, not $15. At some casinos, they _do_ pay that blackjack as though it
were a $10 bet, and it gets $15.

Another aspect of match play chips/coupons is whether their face value counts
toward meeting the table minimum. At some casinos it does, and at some it does
not. At some casinos, a $5 regular chip and a $5 match play coupon played
together will be considered a $10 bet and will qualify for play at a $10
minimum table. At other casinos, the match play value must be played in
addition to the table minimum in regular chips.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q:G12 What are "pit critters"?
A:G12 (Steve Jacobs)

Casino personnel who are responsible for supervising the games and dealers are
often "affectionately" referred to in rec.gambling as "pit critters". The
various species of pit critters are described below:

floorman
     the lowest level of pit critter, and the most likely to be encountered by
     players.
     The floorman is usually responsible for only a few tables.

pit boss
     the next level of pit critter, responsible for several floormen and their
     tables.
     This pit critter supervises one "pit" in the casino.

shift supervisor
     the head pit boss during a particular shift.

casino manager
     the mother of all pit critters [and usually the owner's son. -- Blair
     Houghton]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
rec.gambling FAQ index

Section 2 of 2 - Prev - Next

© allanswers.org | Terms of use