How much VP play is required for "sustaining" comps?

Where do you find 99% machines on the strip?
The casino knows the games aren't 99%, so obviously they're not setting the theo that tight.
Usually, it's set at 2x what "perfect play" would return. (Since who really plays perfect?)

 

How much bankroll do you need to put $5k coin in? 50k coin in?

 

To subjective of a question.
$1 - $50,000

 

Potentially even .01 can be parlayed into 5k coin in.

Nick

 

What you're looking for is "risk of ruin". There are a bunch of websites out there that can help you calculate it meaning you have a x% chance of surviving a session without blowing your entire bankroll. That could mean you only $5 left or you could be profiting.

 

This! For a typical weekend, where I generally get 2 solid days of play, I will generate 100k+ coin-in, mostly from VP ($10 single line, and $1 or $2 multi-play) and some slots. My theo is only about 2.5-3% of my coin-in. At least it seems so, as I also generally play about 4 hours of UTH at around $500 avg, per trip. I usually end up with $5500-$6500 in theo to work with. The times I lose, I am nowhere near that theo...more like triple it!

 

Just to name a few: Aria, Caesar's, Cosmo, MGM. Most are $1 or higher but Cosmo has 10 cent 99% games.

All of the newer player tracking systems use the theo reported by the paytable of the machine. It is not like the old days where the slot director assigned a theo % to a game.

 

You're eight there...but not ALL casinos use the latest players club systems...but, those who do, are in effect, punishing those who play video poker terribly?

 

Out of curiosity, then, what's the point of 100%+ VP machines? I can imagine that the allure is the possibility of making basically guaranteed money... when in reality most people can't play a tight enough game to exceed 100%, let alone meet it. Is it just a marketing ploy to attract this kind of player?

 

They will limit the amount of money you can bet though. Yeah you might find 100%+ DW but if you can't bet more than $1.25 a hand your edge is minuscule. The positive plays tend to happen when there are point multipliers or some promotion that makes a 99% game positive EV. The players that can consistently play perfect are few and far between.

 

I stayed in Vegas hopping between mostly Boyd casinos for a whole month on comps due to a good run and some free time because I have a seasonal career. Indefinite? No. But $5000 coin in a day will get you 3 night room offers from any of the Vegas Boyd casinos, 2 night offers from lower tier CET and 2-3 nights at most of the downtown casinos. You won't get full food and beverage, but you can certainly come close if you're frugal. Up it to 10k if you want to eat well. You're also going to have to get on their radar first.

I stayed the second half of one month and the first half of the next. Most of the Boyd casinos send separate offers good each calendar month. I may try to do it again in May. I have enough offers to do it if my budget holds. Long term sustainability would be tough though. Eventually the comps will dry up due to light days at certain casinos, a bad run or a lack of discipline (playing those games you know are bad...)

 

Ha! I am grinning Sin. I've seen your live trip reports. (And thanks on that, it was fun living vicariously through you!) I think you're safe on comps whether its regular slots, or VP...you definitely know how to stretch your money on VP and still high roll.

I was just saying for we mere mortals who are big cheapos on what we're willing to spend bankroll wise, (not coin in, but actual bank roll) we have better luck maximizing comps on low-mid variable slots versus VP. I am very happy with my comps on regular slots, but if I applied that same moderate bank roll to VP, I wouldn't get much. If he/she is a table player looking at slots for comps only, my guess is the less spent on slots, the more they can play on tables. Thanks again for the trip report, I enjoyed it!