The Comp Yourself system

Sounds like a great theory but you forget to take into account how lazy i am and the comps not really being a factor. I am going to get RFB, limo, tickets that is a given even before i show up. I do play all over when i get my lazy ass out of the hotel i am staying but this is a great idea that you shouldnt feel obligated to play in one spot. I even tell me host that and they have no issue with it but then again, i rarely if ever short play a trip.

 

I understand what you are saying, but if I'm comped through a host at MSS and doing crappy, I can just move to Cal or Fremont and all my play still counts towards my comp and the points, of course. I don't feel obligated necessarily, we like MSS. If things get too bad, we'll go play at Four Queens for a while.

 

I guess this works for Downtown (I havent stayed there, so I am not really sure how it works) and CET.

But for MGM, play at other properties dont transfer

 

I'm not sure where you got $3/hour from. For blackjack, assuming 1% house edge, 60 hands/hour, and 40% comps you're looking at 24% of your bet per hour. I'm not talking about chasing comps, I'm talking about maximizing your value on money you're going to be playing anyway. Chasing comps is when you're betting more or playing longer just to get comps.

A change of scene is good sometimes, so play at places like CET where you still get credit for playing at other properties. I'm not saying you shouldn't play at other properties at all, but the majority of your play should be at the home casino or within the same group in order to maximize value.


Here's an example of the cost of spreading your play on a regular basis. Let's assume you are staying 3 nights at MGM (Friday-Sunday) and have a Theo of $900.

All Play at MGM
Comps (40%) = $360, which is enough to cover all 3 nights ($100 comp value/night) plus $60 F&B


Split play evenly between MGM, Cosmo, and CET
MGM Theo = $300
MGM Comps (40%) = $120, which is enough to get one night comped on the back end

Cost of Room (Sat-Sun) = Depending on the weekend about $350-400 all in


So the freedom to play wherever you want is going to cost you about $640 (lost comps + hotel cost). I would rather play at one property and add that money to my bankroll or use it towards other food, etc. like others have said as part of the "self comp" system.

 

As I've written in a couple different threads over the past two weeks, this information is wrong. I'm not really sure where it is coming from ....

 

Typo on my part. Left out a zero and meant to write $30.00, not $3.00. I think we have different definitions of what constitutes chasing a comp. I understand your definition, but for me, continuing to play somewhere you no longer want to play for the sake of maximizing a comp is chasing. I always try to take advantage of a comp, but not at the expense of doing something I don't otherwise want to do

 

I must have missed those threads...

So if you are staying at MGM, and play mainly at Luxor you can get backends comps from your MGM host?

 

He wont want to and it will really be limited. I play at several casinos that belong to a large group and the hosts dont get any credit for my theo at another property. The host only gets paid on what you play on his property. CET may be different but most casinos work this way.

 

That was my understanding as well...

 

I really like this idea, totally ran into this problem this trip playing in CW wasteland. Would have enjoyed myself a bit more if I had just bought a few more drinks.

 

This is correct, but this statement is very different from saying that you cannot get comps for playing at mlife properties that are not staying at. I will try and break down simply: every MGM casino you play at, you get EC. That is a backend comp. It can be applied to room charges at the end of your trip. In fact, from my understanding, that's exactly how a CET host initially comps their players at the end of a trip (using your TR points). In that sense, it's the same as CET because you accumulate EC at every mlife property, regardless of whether you stay there or not (I have accumulated EC when not staying at any mlife property).

But I will guess that you're probably also wanting to know whether your mlife host can comp you at the end of a trip if you either don't have sufficient EC to cover your room charges or are wanting to save them for a future trip. Again, the answer is yes, regardless of where you play. Mlife calls those comps (the discretionary comps) "primary comps". They do not accumulate EC. Whatever mlife property is giving you up front (rooms, free show tickets, etc.) is coming out of that primary comp account balance. Whenever you earn comps at an mlife property, regardless of which property you play at, you add to the comps in your primary account balance as well as your EC balance. At the end of your trip, if your primary comps exceed the value of whatever upfront comps the hotel already gave you, then your room charges can be deducted from that primary comp account and you can save your EC for a future trip.

Here's the important part that was discussed briefly in another thread that somehow has eluded a lot of folks: you DONT even need a host to use your primary comps. At the end of your trip, you can always go to the mlife desk and they can check your primary comp account balance and apply any balance to your room charges (usually by simply contacting the host on duty and having them check). All of that happens regardless of how many different MGM properties you play at.

There is, however, a few small advantages to concentrating your play if you have a host. In your example of staying at MGM, but playing at Luxor, your MGM host only gets credit for your play at MGM, not Luxor (remember, you're still accumulating primary comps and EC; its only your MGM host that is not getting credit). So if you don't play at MGM on the trip, if you call that host a few months later and ask for upfront comps that may be borderline considering your historical level of play, that MGM host is probably not going to go to bat for you. In other words, I think spreading your play around multiple mlife properties on one trip will impact your probability of being OVER-comped upfront on the next trip. The MGM host could still offer you whatever the corporate upfront offer is (which is based on your play at all MGM properties), but if you're asking that host to go the extra mile and overcomp you upfront, he or she is taking a risk. And why would they take that risk if they think they are not going to get anything for it (i.e., the credit for your playing at MGM Grand)? Similarly, hosts do have some discretion on back-end comps. We all have experiences or know stories of players that lose a large amount quickly. In those cases, hosts have discretion to give you more back end comps than your theo justifies based on the large loss. Again, though, that is the host's discretion and he or she doesn't have much incentive to use that discretion on you (and have to justify it to his or her boss) if they are not getting anything for it.

So, you get credit for all your play at MGM casinos, regardless of whether you stay there. The only way spreading your play may hurt you is if you are asking for something extra. Even then, your mlife host still has discretion. My Bellagio host has overcomped me on low play trips and trips where I ended up doing most of my plat at Aria because he wants to keep me happy and knows there could be (and several times has been) a five or even six figure loss I might drop on Bellagio my next trip. Not every host may do that, but they have the discretion to do so.

Finally, keep in mind that we're only talking about situations where you are asking for a bigger than usual upfront comp or asking to be overcomped on the backend. Neither of those situations happen with great frequency. Mainly because those situations tend to only apply to gamblers playing at a certain level (I don't know exactly what it is, but I would guess its gamblers with a four figure average bet). If your average bet is black chips or (probably) a purple chip, no host is going to stick his neck out for you unless you have an outstanding relationship with him or her. And if you're playing at a level of yellow chips and higher, the host is usually wise enough to want to keep you happy regardless of where you play (in the hope that your next significant loss will come at his or her casino). Most of the time when an mlife host takes care of you on the backend, all they are doing is applying your primary comps balance to your bill; they aren't going out of their way to give you something you couldn't get from most any other host.

Sooooo, I still don't know where the myth that you have to play at the mlife casino you're staying at to get comp credit started (it seems to have been circulating on the Board for the past month or so), but its just not true. They definitely don't make this stuff clear or easy to understand (probably because they don't want players going to the mlife desk or their host to ask about applying primary comps to their bill), but hopefully this post puts an end to this myth. At the end of the day, play where you will have the most fun, whether it be MGM Grand, Caesars, Cosmos, Wynn, or wherever!

 

Well said uk

 

Thank you for the detailed explaination UK!!

It makes a lot more sense now

 

Thanks

Now, someone educate me, because I am not as familiar with the CET comp system as I am MGM. I understand that you accumulate tier points and comp dollars regardless of which CET Vegas property you play at. And I know you can charge to your room just like MGM or apply your TR points at the point of purchase (I love me some Munchbar and have done it many times there). But how does their comp system work on the back end?

One of several things I like about MGM is that I can often times get my charges comped on the back end and then save my express comps for a future trips (my friends like this too, as that's how they often get free trips to Vegas, lol). I have read/heard that with CET for back end comps the host first deducts your TR points down to zero, but that the host then has discretion to take care of additional room charges, provided your play warrants it. Is that how it works? Or are there other fine points I am missing?

 

You're welcome. I was a little concerned that my explanation didn't make sense. Glad it was clear enough!

 

I am a small time CET guy. I can get free rooms including weekends for up to 5 nights but don't come anywhere near to having a host. While I don't chase comps in a sense of playing more than I want to just for comps I do limit my play to CET properties. If I am going to play it may as well be at CET, they have enough horses in their stable that I can find somewhere to go and I do like to casino hop a bit. That is except for the Quad, the last time there I couldn't have lost my money faster if I lit it on fire. Maybe that is a sign I am due?

 

GREAT post UK!!

 

Couple of thoughts/my experience on the MLife system. UK seemed to explain it pretty well, but I think a couple of points need to be clarified. Playing at a property other than the one your comped at through a host won't get you any discretionary comps. If you stay at MGM and only play at Mirage, your host isn't getting credit, and probably won't comp you anything in addition to any upfront comps you received up front. They will take off whatever you have in ECs, but that's it. If you only played at MGM (and played more than enough to cover whatever up front comps you had) your host will take off additional charges WITHOUT touching your ECs. This has at least been my experience, which is why I have accumulated $1000 in ECs. I frequently will get $2-300 in F&B up front, charge $400+ to the room, and I always get it all taken off, but my ECs are never touched. I don't know for certain, but I think only hosts can do this. Going to the Mlife desk is only going to get your ECs applied to your bill. So if you are spreading your play all over, a host isn't going to take any additional off your bill and you could end up leaving comps on the table so to speak.

The second thing that I've noticed, is that there are two types of offers at MGM properties. You have offers that will come directly from a property specific for that property, and the corporate offers, which come from the "parent company" and are good at any MGM resort. The corporate offers seem to be much more sporadic and unpredictable in my experience vs. the property specific ones. They're also usually only about once per quarter, where most property specific offers are monthly. So if you go frequently, the property specific ones tend to be better, more reliable, and can be used more often.

What I've noticed on the offers is that if you play only at one property, say MGM, you will get offers/better offers directly from MGM. You will also get corporate offers that are good anywhere. If you spread your play around you will still get corporate offers, but your property specific offers either won't be there or won't be as good. Let's assume you have two trips each with a total theo of $5000 for the trip. On trip A you only gambled at MGM. That's going to trigger offers from MGM directly, as well as corporate offers. Both offers will be very good and both will be similar, as they're both based on $5k in theo. Now on trip B you had the same theo, but lets assume the theo was split evenly ($1k) at MGM, Luxor, Bellagio, Mirage, and Mandalay. Your corporate offers from both trips should be the same, as in the eyes of the parent company, you were equally valuable on both trips. However, your property direct offers on Trip B will be significantly worse, because each property is only looking at you as a $1k theo player, not a $5k theo player.

At CET properties, if you stay at Caesars and only play at Harrah's, they won't care one bit as long as you gamble enough to cover your comps. I think these two things are why people say it matters where you play at Mlife.

 

That's why I really like the CET system. Enough properties to hop around if luck is not going my way at one.

 

I have always wondered if you spent your RC's, at CET, if your host would still comp off the normal amount..for me, somewhere between $600 and $800 charged to the room. It would be fun to go to a store that takes RC's and just buy a lot of fun souvenires.