Comps are always getting tighter it seems...

Question for the more seasoned Vegas visitors here: Have comps ever improved?

I ask because I've read conflicting comments here that are explaining the same thing: less comps this year than last year.

"Back before the crash, casinos were really competitive with each other for gambler's money and could afford to be more generous with comps because they were raking in so much cash overall..."

"As things pick up in Las Vegas, casinos don't have to do as much to entice potential guests, so they're getting tighter on the comps..."

So which is it? Comps are tied to the economic cycle? Or they have always gotten worse? Or we always like to think of the past as the good old days?

I can buy any of these, but I just want some insight from the veterans here (and examples would be great!). I only started playing in 2013. Thanks!

 

I don't know about the general trend but my upcoming trip has the best comps yet and strangely, it's from smaller play than the previous ones.

 

I actually had the same experience myself, Kolmeseiska. I guess I meant "this year than last year" more figuratively.

 

Normal business decisions would dictate making efforts to give away less every month as they increase the amount of gambling. Those two things of course are a conflict and management decisions then come into the picture. Without a doubt,if the hotel is filling up and the casino is busy, then less comps are a result.

Then there are individual issues. If the casino realizes you will continue to come, even with less comps, the cycle will continue.

 

I only started going to Vegas in 2007.

Comps definitely got looser immediately after the crash and it was a couple of years before they started to tighten up.

One reason was the simple fact that room rates had to be dropped.

I'd say the peak years for loose comps were 2009 and 2010, I'm mostly talking about CET, MGM and V/P. After that, they slowly started to tighten.

And I'd put a twist on nostress's point and say that the more casinos shift away from gambling, the tighter comps will get given the same amount of play. A guy who wants to pay $500 for a $20 bottle and you don't even have to comp his room is more valuable than a guy who loses $500 in the casino but you have to give him a room, and besides, sometimes he'll win.

 

Chuck is absolutely right. They are making so much more money from the clubs than gambling & they don't have to do anything for them. I think the only exception is for slot players. Casinos LOVE slot players for the obvious reasons. Times have changed ~ LOL, just look at out presidential choices!!!

 

Started going to Vegas in 2000 - totally ignorant of the ways comps worked, so for the first few years paid our own way, then started getting free room offers for two nights and minimal free play. Over the years I found casinos do love slot players - for a reason. Comps for slot players are different than comps for table players. I'm a slot player and can't speak to comps for table games although I think I read on here that various comps have been tightened on table games recently?

Agree with Chuck, the best and easiest comps for me were around 2009-2012 timeframe and some tightening after.
My personal experience in the past few years is comps are more more seasonal. Room comps and types of room pretty much remain constant. But I seem to get significantly higher FP and RC offers in the last quarter and first quarter. Second and third quarter offer/stays are always lower Free Play and Resort Credits. I see this pattern at mlife which is my 'home'. I think smaller up front comps are trending with more emphasis on possible back end comps.

I also agree we are in a 'nightclub' phase where the casinos are raking in mucho revenue plus they don't have to give them 'free' stuff to keep them coming.

Lots of variables and ever changing formulas make it hard to say there is a one size fits all regarding 'tightening' of comps - seems to be an incremental game.

 

The first two.
The economic cycle affects everyone and everything, including us gamblers, degenerate or not.
As the comps always getting worse (harder to get), I believe it's true.

 

We are about the same. I started going in 2005 and considered I was among the younger generation gamblers.
Of course I know I am not young anymore. But when I go to the off-Strip casinos and play and eat together with those grannies,
I realize I am still among the younger generation.

 

I think probably this year and last year have been my best comps overall for both free play and offers. It does seem that CZR's is starting to pull back some but that's nothing new as they seem to have some months with a great offer and some with a less great offer. For me, they seem to be moving more towards gift cards and concerts versus free play, which I actually prefer usually. I have seen some cool shows on recent trips though and the value of those is much higher than the free play they typically give me.

 

It seemed that they were best a few years ago but that probably doesn't effectively include room rate. With room prices climbing even midweek downtown it's fair to say that for the value of total comps to remain the same food and free play portions of the offer must be lower.

 

Not only are they slowly comping less, but they slowing adding fees left and right.

 

For table game players (such as me), comps have definitely tightened over the last 5 years. From CET, I get free rooms for Sunday - Thursday only, and only at their lower-end hotels (excluding Caesars, PH and Paris). In the 2000s, I got free rooms anytime, anywhere (except Caesars).

I know they give slot players the big comps, but I don't want to play something with an 8-10% house advantage just to get comps.