I’m a Southern California native, and Las Vegas has always been one of the easiest getaway locations around. My parents used to take me and my siblings every year and I remember having fun playing the carnival-style games at Circus Circus as a kid. It also happens to be the gambling center of the world, and there are plenty of shows, restaurants, and other things to keep you busy there as well.
Unfortunately, Vegas has become expensive again after the dirt-cheap rates they had in the years following the recent recession. Rooms on the weekend now cost $200+ a night if you stay at the nicer places on the strip, and can be even higher if there’s a convention of some sort (which is always a possibility). Thankfully a few years back I unintentionally stumbled upon a way to get complimentary free nights, resort credits, and more, and I’ve experimented over the last couple of years to see what works best.
First, let me show you the offers I’ve received just from July 1 to August 1:
I received a whopping nine offers during the month of July, which is usually peak season. Some of these offers had travel dates into the Fall, but I personally prefer that time of year as it starts to cool down a bit. So…how did I earn all these? Bear with me as I explain how I figured this out and how you can replicate it.
In the past I posted about a way to manufacture spend online through a fantasy sports website, which I considered to be gambling (although the government does not consider it to be). Let me say right now that I’m not a fan of gambling, but I don’t consider my method below to be “real” gambling. You’ll see why as you read on.
How to Get Comps in Vegas – Stumbling Upon the Answer
In 2011 I was in Vegas and just walking around Circus Circus waiting for a friend to finish up playing blackjack. I’m not really into gambling so I wasn’t interested in joining, but while I was waiting I decided to drop $20 into a nearby penny slot machine. I know I know…slot machines are like throwing money away. Every penny I put into a slot machine is money that I expect to lose. If you’re hoping to win money…you shouldn’t. You’re probably going to lose it. That’s how these casino owners can build 4,000 room hotels in the middle of the desert and still make massive of profits. But over the next ten minutes I happened to win $100.
I went back to the MGM Grand where I was staying. I decided that the $100 was free money, so I might as well spend some time at the casino and blow it on slots again. I found the same penny slot game and over the next 2 hours my $100 turned into $500. Normal people would stop there, but I’m anything but normal. I didn’t really feel like going home with gambling winnings (again, I’m not a fan) so I upped my bet to the max on the penny slot, which was about $5/spin. After doing this a few minutes, a casino worker noticed me and yelled “Hey! You need a player’s club card!” I replied “I’m not really into that sort of thing,” and she said “But you’re betting so much money!” She wouldn’t take no for an answer, and she literally signed me up on the spot and handed me the card. I inserted it and continued playing that night and the next day. Eventually it was time to go home, and I was back down to a $100 winnings. That was totally fine with me, as I got plenty of time in at the machines and it turned out to be somewhat fun.
Over the next year, I received email after email and letter after letter from MGM resorts offering me free nights, free play, and all kinds of other complimentary benefits to come back to Vegas. I knew immediately that it was because of the Mlife membership I signed up for combined with the amount of money I was playing with. I took them up on a few of the offers and didn’t play slots again. The offers mostly dried up after the one year mark.
I went back to Vegas again (I go about 2-3 times a year) and, as a self-proclaimed travel hacker, decided to test the system to see how much I need to play with to actually earn me comps again. I played with $150 this time. I lost it all over several hours of playing (again, I always expect to lose every penny I put into a slot machine). The offers started coming in again, though not as strong as before – it was mostly discounted rates, free play, resort credits, or show tickets. I went back on one of these offers, which included free play (basically they match your money up to a certain amount) and spent another $200. I lost it all as expected, but the offers that came my way were much, much better after that.
The process of earning comps comes down to these two things: 1) Time spent gambling; 2) Total money wagered per hour. It’s not that complicated from that perspective, but each casino calculates comps its own way based on your play. The one thing that’s certain is that casinos love slot machine players more than anyone else. Why? Because slot machine players almost always lose money! The casinos run a (very profitable) business, so they want people that will come and provide them with profits. Slot machine players are the best at doing that, so they want them to return to the casino as much as possible.
Over the last year I continued to maintain that same amount of play – about $400 total a year on slots, playing slowly (maximizing my time in front of the machine), and on most occasions losing all the money.
Let me be clear here – the comps I earned shouldn’t be considered true comps. That $300-$400 a year I’m spending is essentially in return for the “comps” I earn in the future. The difference is, however, that the value of the comps I receive are far, far in excess of that $300-$400. It’s rare that I pay for a room in Vegas anymore – the only time is if I’m staying on an Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts Rate.
Maximizing Your First Time
If you’re going to Vegas and not using points, I recommend booking your hotel room using the Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts program. You’ll get early check-in, free breakfast, a $100 resort credit, and late check-out among other benefits. There are several MGM/Mlife properties (my recommended properties and program) on this list, but the Palazzo is also a good option. The $100 resort credit will help keep your Vegas costs down.
I also recommend MGM properties because of Hyatt status recognition. The standard/free Hyatt status gets you Mlife Sapphire tier status, Hyatt Platinum status ties to Mlife Gold, and Hyatt Diamond gets you Mlife Platinum status. These will get you Mlife tier multiplier credits (basically more comps for playing) plus food/shopping discounts and other benefits. You can see all Mlife benefits here.
Most of my offers have come from Mandalay Bay, which leads me to think they have low occupancy compared to other resorts. I don’t know if it will have an impact, but playing slots there might help if that’s possible. Most of my play comes at other casinos for reference.
Summary and Key Takeaways
Spending money and time at slot machines is the best way to earn complimentary free nights and other goodies from Vegas casinos. MGM’s Mlife program is the one I’ve experimented with the most, although I’ve done the same with The Venetian/Palazzo’s Grazie program and had success. I did a bit with Total Rewards (Caesar’s Palace, etc) but it did not yield the same results in my limited trial.
- I recommend MGM’s Mlife program because they have the most hotels/casinos and because you can potentially use your Hyatt status to earn additional comps/benefits at these hotels.
- First of all, make sure your Mlife Club card (or other program if you’re at another casino) is inserted!
- Play at slot machines. Spend $300-$400 and play slowly. Expect to lose all this money!
- Remember to keep handing in your club card when you buy food, check-in to the hotel, etc. It won’t help as much as gambling/losing money, but it’s something.
- Wait for the email offers to start rolling in!
- Repeat roughly once a year, spending about $300-$400. That’s where I’ve found the sweet (suite?) spot to be.
Is this a risk? Absolutely! Technically I guess this is till gambling since you’re giving $300-$400 up front for the hope to earn complimentary nights and other benefits. It’s been working for me for years, and that small price is definitely worth paying to earn me free nights and resort credits.
I’d love to hear if anyone else has experience with this or comments on this process!
free rooms on rooms on rooms
This one isn’t for me, but I applaud the creativity of this and the fantasy sports one. I’m sure it works for many. I’m just not in to Vegas.
I disagree with your sweetspot, you can’t say X wagered (unless it is considerably more than $400. It’s your coin in (CI) that matters, reflects the THEO. Playing $400 won’t get you comped 3 nights at the Delano, but playing from a base that is even less than that could if your CI is high enough.
Also, playing slowly doesn’t help. It reduces CI.
The time you won, then lost, then won, you had many hours of play and a much higher CI than your bankroll might suggest.
But the year following my initial win, I stopped playing and the offers dried up. I had to restart with the $350-$400, and the offers came back.
Yep, they will dry up – but it is still all about Coin in not bankroll. Play $400 slowly and lose 100% of it over 2hrs = less comp than playing fast and losing $40 over the same two hours.
Untrue, because I started with $20 and played about 4 hours and *profited* about $80, and still got the comps. I don’t think the calculation is as simple as you’re making it out to be.
Sorry Travel Summary, but Matt has it exactly right. Source for all of this: my buddies and I had the system down to a science as poor grad students in San Diego. Let me break it down:
The casino looks at your gambling, not in terms of how much you lost, but in terms of how much you bet. They determine your THEO (THEOretical, short for Theoretical Daily Loss) according to the following formula: Daily Coin In X House Edge
– Daily Coin In: How much you wagered in total over 24 hours
– House Edge: The theoretical percent of each wager the house expects to win, assuming an average player and random distribution of outcomes.
How does this work in real life? Let’s assume we’re going to play a slot machine with 90% odds (a 10% house edge), and we’re going to play 60 spins an hour.
Scenario 1: $20 start, $100 finish, 4 hours of play
Let’s imagine in your first hour, you play a $2 machine, and go from $20 to $100 – wagering $120 in the process. Then, in your next three hours, you play a $5 machine, and go from $100 to $500 back to $100 – wagering $900 in the process. The casino doesn2’t say “Oh shoot I lost $80”. The casino says “That person bet 1020 over the last 24 hours”. They then calculate your THEO, which is $1020 Coin In X 10% House Edge = $102.
Scenario 2: $150 lost in 2 hours
– Assuming you play $2 per spin and 60 spins an hour, your two hours of play equals $240 “coin in”. You have a particularly bad stretch, and manage to lose all $150 in two hours. The casino doesn’t say “Wow that person lost $150!”. The casino says, “That person bet $240 over the last 24 hours.” They then determine your THEO, which in this case is $240 Daily Coin In X 10% House Edge = $24. So, in their mind, you made the casino $24 on average – that’s how much value you pose to them in the comp system.
Scenario 3: $400 lost in 2 hours
– Assuming our $5 per spin and 60 spins an hour, your two hours of play equals $600 “coin in”. You have a particularly bad stretch, and manage to lose all $400 in two hours. The casino doesn’t say “Wow that person lost $400!”. The casino says, “That person bet $600 over the last 24 hours.” They then determine your THEO, which in this case is $600 Daily Coin In X 10% House Edge = $60. So, in their mind, you made the casino $60 on average – that’s how much value you pose to them in the comp system.
At the end of the day, the player who brought less money shows up as the more valuable player to the casino. And this is the great challenge with playing specifically for comps – to do it reliably, you need to bring a large enough bankroll to survive big swings. That is fundamentally the strategy you have ended up at – you are bringing a 20x bankroll now ($20 becomes $400), which is why the comps are now more “reliable”.
A few other slight tweaks to your story:
– The casino likes slot players because they lose, yes, but it’s much more the margin than the variability. Your $2 slot machine at 60 plays an hour makes the casino $12. My $25 blackjack table at 60 plays an hour (with a 1% house edge) makes the casino $15 on average. On top of that, you cost next to nothing – for me, they have to pay the dealer and the pit boss!
– Video poker is a far superior path to comps – it’s not quite as quick as the slot machines, but it’s far more valuable to the casino (good edge, high volume, limited overhead), and if you’re a savvy player, you can find machines that approach even odds (with admittedly complicated rules to play perfectly). Caesars’ has (used to have, it’s been some time) a pseudo-high-limit just past the old school lowered casino that had $5 JoB machines with perfect odds – that’s how I first ever made Platinum with Total Rewards!
Sorry for the lecture, you can tell I clearly spent a lot lot lot of time on this. Back in the day, Total Rewards was far better for comps than MLife. Can’t say it’s still that way, but I found the frequency of free rooms (and the much lower resort fees) made life much better. Plus, we were cheap, and TR would rate our blackjack play at $5 a hand, whereas MLife won’t even put you into the system until you play at least $25 a hand on table games.
Theo is calculated by game edge x wager x hours played for table games.
For slots it is calculated as coin in (spins per hour x wager x game edge) lower denom slots have higher house edge.
If you win, lose or draw it means nothing to comp calculations, other than if you lose a noticeable amount and can bring it to the attention of a host.
I ran casino comps for many years, tracking players and issuing their comp allowances.
Can’t forget about the $20 trick! Not much of a gambler, but I am going to test this theory out and try and combine it with the $20 trick.
They calculate comps based on amount wagered and time played. Each game in the casino has a house advantage that is also taken into consideration. So average bet per hand/play, time played and casino advantage results in something called theoretical loss. Of the theoretical loss, you are given back a percentage as comps.
A $1 slot player is worth more to the casino than somebody who plays $100 a hand at blackjack though. This is because slot players will generally play faster than blackjack is dealt. Plus they don’t have to pay an employee while you are playing slots.
There used to be a play to “game” the system so to speak for comps. If you played baccarat on the big table it could take 3-4 hours to get through one shoe. Play 1-2 shoes a day, you were golden. Plus, in baccarat players don’t normally bet every single hand, so you could play maybe half of them and get credit for playing a full shoe. However, now most of the bigger casinos give you one hour of credit of play on baccarat no matter how long it takes for the shoe to end.
This is an excellent and much shorter version of my response.
For baccarat, who still has the big boy tables at a reasonable price? I remember Harrah’s used to bust one out on special occasions that was $25, but that was ages ago – now it’s tough to even find a midi table, let alone a big bac.
Very true. When you play on the big table you expect the table average to be quite high. I remember when they would occasionally have the table minimum at $25/hand when things were really slow, even at Caesar’s or Mirage. Now you’re looking at $200-$300 at the higher end places like MGM, Bellagio, etc.
I got into an “argument” with my host about the way they look at baccarat now. I asked him, When’s the last time you saw a shoe on the big table to take only an hour?” He didn’t have a response to that. Damn corporate policies. I love the old days when you would get comps just because you knew the pit boss, or had a good relationship with your host, which is still possible depending on your history of play.
this is a good option for people that do go to vegas for fun anyway. by the time most people factor in the money spent on the trip, it is equal to or way above the amount suggested by you. again its an investment for future vegas trip if vegas is your thing, especially for people from the mid west. by no mean its a free lunch, just betting on a better return on the dollar spent.
Great post! A wonderful report and very timely as I will be in Vegas in 6 weeks. You have made me even more excited. I can’t wait…