Casinoboss back to answer more of your questions!

Hello all,

Just got done with a long day during this busy holiday week so thought I might blow off some steam and answer more of your questions. Hope everyone has been well and your slots and tables have been hot!

Previous thread here: https://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?81608-Casinoboss-Answers-Your-Casino-Questions

 

What is the most important factor when it comes to comps? I've had trips where there have been a lot of large bets for a few hours followed by not much more gambling, trips with long days of gambling at lower limits, and trips with some days of heavy gambling and some days of no gambling. I know the theo has an important role but I ask because my last trip a couple months ago was more of a sporadic heavy/light inconsistent sort of trip, which ultimately was equivalent to 3 of my previous trips combined in terms of points, yet my most recent offers have been well below average.

From the casinos perspective I would think they'd prefer more hours at a lower denomination because that would help to decrease variance. Is there anything that deserves a second look when it comes down to the volume/duration of play and the denomination or is theo really the only factor?

 

It's really just theo. Yes, we care about denominations played but unless you're a whale and can really turn out our lights, we don't care THAT much. The only other thing we'd really consider on a consistent basis is quick loss. I.e., let's say you normally have a $5,000 bankroll and stay for a week and this trip you lost $3,000 in a few hours on day 1. Understanding that you might get frustrated and go home early or go to a different casino and that because you didn't play for a long time your theo would be low, we might consider comping you more than what your theo normally would allow.

 

How accurate is the table win/loss calculated for a given player?

Since the pit boss can't be at each table every second how accurate is the win/loss calculated?

Normally the dealer will hold the Players Club card until the boss comes over to enter the information. This may be a few seconds or a few minutes, but in any case the buy in amount would be correct.

Now if the person leaves the table without coloring up what does the boss do when entering information?
What if the person buys-in for extra cash afterward?
I have seen other people color up and leave but the boss doesn't return for a while. How does he know what to enter in as a win/loss amount?

 

Checkin in to read later

 

See below.

 

Hi casinoboss! Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences and knowledge with us at VMB.

I have two questions:

1) How much chips are in front of the boxman on a typical craps table, say like one in Downtown? I kinda figure this would vary according to the type of clients the casino caters to, so since I'm a Downtown low-roller would you know how much this is?

2) In your years working in casinos what was the longest and largest monetary "hit" a craps table took when there was a monster heater? And what was the average winnings for the players on that table?

I know these are not sophisticated comp related and theo related questions that most of the posters ask but then for me, I'm just a fun loving gambler who doesn't really give a rats ass to these things.

I gamble and if the comps come, fine. If not, fine. I don't play for comps but must admit the "free" rooms are nice.

Again, thanks for lending your expertise to this board!

 

See below:

 

How would you answer this question?

https://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?114808-Quantify-low-and-high-rollers-and-whales

 

Just wanted to thank you for taking time to answer some questions.

 

It really depends on the casino. A "whale" at Wynn is much different than at Jerry's Nugget.

That having been said, at a middle-of-the-road casino, I'd say:

Whale = $5,000 ADT
High Roller = $1000 - $4,999 ADT
Host Level = $300+ ADT
Average = $100 - $300 ADT
Low Roller = $0.01 - $49 ADT

Remember ADT = Average Daily Theoretical Worth (avg bet x hours played x house advantage x decisions per hour)

 

Thanks very much for taking the time to answer questions.

Continuing on the topic of ADT / comps, how is house advantage computed for games of skill like blackjack and VP? Do you use the house edge based on perfect strategy, or is that reduced to account for "average" player skill? Is it computed based on observing the player's skill, or is a common value used for all players of a given game?

 

Video poker is set by the hold percentage advertised on the game (e.g., 10/6 DDB). For BJ, it depends on the type of tracking system you have. Some do not let you vary HA by player so it's usually agreed upon by a committee of execs then all players get the same HA when calculating ratings. Other, more sophisticated, systems allow you to choose HA by skill type.

 

Thank you for doing this.

My question is why are pit critters so insistent on rating players? I play high limit tables but I often do not want to be rated or tracked. I do not mind showing my ID for money laundering reasons but I do not want records of my play and my cumulative losses in a players club or casino database sometimes. But when I ask them not to rate me they still do it sometimes and other times when they don't I am not sure if they are still doing it anyway in their computers.

I am not doing anything wrong and I am not an advantage player, I have big losses. I just do not want records of it.

 

First, my wife and I are probably considered "average" players near the lower level of your scale. We both put in somewhere between 6 and 8 hours per day playing. She plays slots exclusively, I play tables (mostly Pai Gow Poker) and some slots. It's easy to figure the slots by the points accumulated. My average at Pai Gow Poker is $15 to $25 per hand. Most casinos have a progressive side bet from $1 to $5. Is the side bet considered when rating the player, or just the primary game bet? I realize the side bet has a tremendous house advantage where the primary game bet has a much lower house advantage.

My real question is; would it be worth my while to stop in to see a host the day before checkout (after a 4 or 5 day stay) to ask for any reduction in our bill? At our level of play would there be any consideration given, or would we be politely escorted out of their office? In the past I have been fairly successful in simply asking the pit for buffet comps, just wondering if a host would even be willing to consider anything further?

 

CB, I love how your profile says Trips To Vegas: 1

What % of your time, if any, do you spend on the casino floor?

What % of dealers in your casino would you guess know you by name? How about floormen?

 

Do you ever rate a player a little higher than his bets if he's a decent tipper and has a good rapport with the dealers?

 

The system that tracks your ratings is the central repository for all of your information. So, generally, the same one that is used to generate your end-of-year win/loss statement as well as facilitate Title 31 (money laundering) reporting/tracking. It's also what we use to assess your comps and direct mail offers (both of which you can opt out of if that's what you're alluding to).

Since you're a high end table player, the Title 31 aspect is probably why they're super insistent. The feds can come down on us really hard otherwise: http://money.cnn.com/2013/08/27/news/companies/las-vegas-sands/

 

It certainly can't hurt to ask. The worst thing they can do is say "no" and you're really no worse off, right?

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I'm not a pit supervisor but yes, this is a common practice.

 

No questions but nice to meet you. Reading through the old threads which I hadn't seen.