Casino comps and rewards are an important part of the casino experience that many uneducated gamblers ignore. Comps aren't just for high-stakes players, and we want to make sure our readers get the best casino comps and rewards regardless of how often they gamble. Casinos are good at sucking players in to chase comps and tier scores which often results in them playing less than optimal games. If you want to get the most out of Vegas, choose the best casino for you based on the game you like to play. From there forget comps, but at the same time take advantage of them. Nov 30, 2005 This $35,000 is what the in casino is interested in. Most casinos think a player loses about 5% of his total action. But here we know we can kill that 5% down to a +.025. Better for us! 5% of $35,000 is $1750. $1750 is what the casino thinks we have loss and are will to give us comps on this number. But how much you ask.
by Steve Bourie
The Seminole Tribe of Florida has six casinos in the state: Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino-Tampa; Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino-Hollywood; Seminole Casino-Coconut Creek; Seminole Classic Casino-Hollywood; Seminole Casino-Brighton; and Seminole Casino-Immokalee.
All of their casinos offer slot machines and five of them also offer blackjack, as well as other kinds of house-banked card games. According to the Miami Herald, it was estimated those casinos generated about $2.3 billion in profits in 2016 http://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/article166085722.html. Since the average U.S. casino generates about 65% of its profits from its electronic gaming machines, it would be fair to estimate that the Tribe’s machines earn about $1.5 billion a year for them.
The only other competition for the Tribe’s casinos are the eight local pari-mutuels in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties which all offer slot machines, but are not allowed to offer live table games, such as blackjack. All of these pari-mutuel casinos, also known as racinos, are in competition with the Seminole’s three Broward county casinos, but the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood alone generates more profits than all eight of the racinos combined.
Florida gaming regulations require all of the pari-mutuel casinos to report how much their slot machines actually pay back to the public. This “Average Payout Percentage” information is available to the public and can be seen on the state’s website at http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/pmw in the “Slot Revenues” section. Additionally, each racino must post a sign in the casino showing the average monthly payback percentage for all of their gaming machines. Usually, the average for all of the casinos is around 92.5%
The Seminoles are not required to release information on the payout percentages for any of their casinos and they keep this information a closely guarded secret. They say that their machines pay out at a rate comparable to the pari-mutuels, but no one knows for sure, and the topic is sometimes a source of controversy.
If you read reviews of Seminole casinos on Yelp, Tripadvisor, or on our website at americancasinoguide.com you will see some reviewers say they believe the machines are set to around 60%, or lower. As someone who has written about casino gambling for more than 25 years, I know that isn’t true. The procedure for deciding what a slot machine is set to pay back to the public is rather simple. When a casino orders a slot machine the manufacturer will offer them a choice of chips to put in the machine and that chip is what controls the long-term payback percentage in that machine. Generally, there are about six to eight different chips to choose from and the payback percentages can be as high as 98 percent to as low as 82 percent.
Casinos, almost universally, put the highest-paying chips in the highest denomination machines and the lowest-paying chips in the lowest denomination machines. This means that $25 slots will have chips returning around 95-98 percent and the penny machines will have chips returning around 86-89 percent.
The lowest payback I ever heard of for a chip was about 80 percent, so I knew that the 60 percent number in the user reviews was not correct, but could there be some way to find out what the machines at the Seminole casinos really paid back to the public? After a lot of research, I believe that I have correctly calculated this information and what follows is my story of how I did it, plus a simple formula to show how anyone can do it. Additionally, we’ll take a look at the returns on some specific machines at some Seminole Casinos and see how they compare to the returns at other casinos. Now, in order to start this discussion properly, you’ll first need some background information on how casinos work.
When discussing how casinos make money, it is important to know the term “theo,” which is short for theoretical. This is how a casino expects to make money on its games. It’s referred to as “theo” because it is a theoretical number that is not guaranteed. However, the casino knows that the longer you play, the more likely your loss will approach the theoretical win for that particular game.
As an example, if you play a slot machine that has a 10% theo, then the casino would expect to keep about 10% of all the money you play through that machine. So, if you played $1,000 through that slot machine, the casino would calculate its theoretical win as $100 because 10% of $1,000 is $100. Now, since this is gambling, anything can happen when you play that machine. You may win $600, or you may lose $400 and, actually, the casino itself doesn’t know what will happen. All they know is that as long as people continue to play that machine, the casino will end up keeping about 10% of the money that goes through that machine because the machine has a “theo” of 10%.
In order for a casino to calculate your total theo for your visit, and what you are worth as a player to them, your play must be tracked and that is done by the player’s club at each casino. All casinos have a player’s club where visitors can join and have their play tracked on the machines in order to earn “comps” such as free food, free drinks, free shows, free gifts, invitations to special events and more.
To track your play you are issued a card, similar to a magnetic-striped credit card, that is inserted into the machine and it will track your wins and losses, as well as the total amount of all your bets. Naturally, the more you play on the machines, the more free stuff you will get from the casino. When deciding how much to give you back in benefits for your play, the casino must first calculate your total theoretical loss to determine how much they have earned from you. Then, based on that total, they will rebate a certain percentage back to you in the form of comps and free play. The actual percentage rebated to the player is a trade secret for each casino but, again, it is always based on a player’s tracked theoretical loss.
I live only one mile from the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood and I joined their Seminole Wild Card player’s club shortly after the property opened in 2004. Although I did not play much in the ensuing years, in late 2013 I began to play rather heavily and it continued through early 2017. My game of choice was video poker rather than slot machines because there is a skill involved in video poker and I used software to learn how to play my hands properly. Eventually, I played at an expert level that allowed the casino to have only a slight mathematical edge over me.
Overall, my results were pretty good as I hit quite a few royal flushes in 2016 and that helped me to come out ahead for my three years of play. In early 2017 the casino made some changes to their video poker games, which made them less desirable, and I stopped playing. During my period of play I used that opportunity to analyze the Seminole Wild Card Player’s club and, following, is what I discovered.
The set-up of the Seminole Wild Card Player’s club is somewhat unusual because at most casinos when you play a machine you will earn points based on the total amount of money you put through a machine. On some machines it may be that $5 earns one point, while on other machines it may be $10 or $25 earns one point.
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The Seminole Wild Card Player’s club is different because players don’t earn points on each machine, instead they earn comp dollars. As an example, for playing $10 through one machine you might earn six cents, while on another machine you might only earn three cents. So, if you ended up playing $1,000 for the day on the same machine, your comps would total $6 on the first machine, or $3 on the second machine. As a player, you wouldn't really know why one machine gave more comps, but you could correctly theorize that the machines that had a higher rate meant that the casino was making more of a theoretical win from you and that's why they could give you back more comps.
The comps you earned could then be spent like regular dollars at hotels, restaurants, bars, lounges and retail stores at any of the six Seminole Casinos. Besides earning comps, each day's play also earned you status credits and those enabled you to reach a higher player's card level. Interestingly, there was no information on a formula for how the status credits were earned. As a player all you knew was that you could check your account each day to see how many status credits you earned for your previous day's play.
The player's club only has three tiers: Platinum, Elite and X Card. All players start at Platinum and to reach Elite you need to earn 3,750 status credits within a three-month period. X Card is reserved for the casino's biggest players, but there is no public information available on what is needed to attain that level.
I easily attained Elite level and after tracking the comps and status credits I earned each day, within a few months I began to realize that the status credits actually represented my total theoretical loss for each day. I was able to confirm this through test play on certain machines, as well as speaking with other knowledgeable players.
Once I knew that the earned status credits represented my total theoretical loss I was then able to compare that number to the total comps I earned on that same day and I realized that there was a relationship between those two numbers. As an example, one day I earned $48.75 in comps and I was awarded 828 status credits. By multiplying $48.75 by a factor of 17 the result was 828. Another day I earned $30.83 in comps and 524 status credits. Once again, by multiplying $30.83 by 17 the result was 524. That relationship was absolute and no matter what day I played, I found that I could always multiply the amount of my earned comps by 17 to determine my status credits (theoretical loss) for that day.
Since I now knew how to calculate my theoretical loss for the day, based on the comps I earned, I then realized that I would be able to calculate what the casino had set as its theoretical payback percentage for any electronic game on the floor.
How to Calculate the Theoretical Payback Percentage on a Slot Machine - I believe that anyone can calculate the theoretical payback percentage on any gaming machine in a Seminole Casino by using a formula that I created. The key to calculating a machine’s theoretical payback percentage is to track how many comp dollars you earn for putting exactly $100 in play through a machine. For example, if you bet $1 a spin, just track how many comp dollars you have earned after making 100 bets. Once you know that number, you can simply multiply it by 17 and you will know the casino’s theoretical win rate for that machine. Deduct that number from 100, and you will then know the theoretical payback for that machine.
As an example, let’s say you put $100 through a penny slot machine and you earn 54 cents in comps. Just multiply .54 x 17 and you will get 9.18, which represents the casino’s theoretical win rate for that machine - 9.18%. Then, deduct 9.18 from 100 and you get 90.82 which would represent the casino’s theoretical payback percentage for that particular machine - 90.82%.
I found this method to be accurate and I tested it on dozens of machines at four different Seminole casinos. It should also work at the other two Seminole casinos since they all share the same player’s club. One word of warning, however, is that I found the method to only be accurate for single-denomination machines. If you play a multi-denomination machine the method cannot be relied upon to give you an accurate payback percentage for all of the denominations.
How Do Slot Paybacks at the Hard Rock in Hollywood Compare to the Other Local Casinos? In trying to determine an average payback percentage for slot machines at the Hard Rock in Hollywood, I realized that it would not be possible to get an actual accounting and I would just have to make an educated guess based on the results of playing some machines in different denominations.
Therefore, I randomly played 10 different machines throughout the casino in three different denominations: pennies, quarter and dollars. As mentioned previously, I had to play exactly $100 through each machine and in some instances it wasn’t possible to play exactly $100, so I might have gone over by a few pennies.
In the table below you can see the results for playing 10 random penny slots and the average theoretical return was 88.37%
| Date Played | Machine # | Name | comps earned for $100 coin-in | Theoretical Hold | Theoretical Payback |
| 30-Nov | 012714 10130 | Moon Maidens | $0.68 | 11.56% | 88.44% |
| 17-Aug | 040312 04892 | Quick Strike Mystery Rewards | 0.69 | 11.73% | 88.27% |
| 30-Nov | 010103 11114 | Desert Dawn | 0.59 | 10.03% | 89.97% |
| 17-Aug | 034106 09083 | Quick Hit Platinum | 0.64 | 10.88% | 89.12% |
| 17-Aug | 050907 10010 | Fu Dao Le | 0.69 | 11.73% | 88.27% |
| 30-Nov | 012106 11952 | Jungle Riches | 0.69 | 11.73% | 88.27% |
| 17-Aug | 013504 10609 | Super Wheel Blast Lion of Venice | 0.70 | 11.90% | 88.10% |
| 17-Aug | 013510 10618 | Wild Leprecoins | 0.70 | 11.90% | 88.10% |
| 17-Aug | 043702 08245 | Buffalo Special Edition | 0.72 | 12.24% | 87.76% |
| 14-Oct | 051502 12178 | Rumble Rumble Bison | 0.74 | 12.58% | 87.42% |
| Average | 11.63% | 88.37% | |||
In the table below you can see the results for playing 10 random quarter slots and the average theoretical return was 90.89%
| Date Played | Machine # | Name | comps earned for $100 coin-in | Theoretical Hold | Theoretical Payback |
| 30-Nov | 067510 11231 | The Enforcer | $0.45 | 7.65% | 92.35% |
| 30-Nov | 032301 32091 | Triple Double Diamond | 0.53 | 9.01% | 90.99% |
| 30-Nov | 013704 09830 | Thunder Eyes | 0.54 | 9.18% | 90.82% |
| 30-Nov | 074701 11731 | Quick Hit Platnum Plus | 0.63 | 10.71% | 89.29% |
| 30-Nov | 101406 08598 | Cash Cove | 0.49 | 8.33% | 91.67% |
| 16-Oct | 064103 09534 | Colossal Cash Grand Dragon | 0.47 | 7.99% | 92.01% |
| 16-Oct | 034708 12048 | Double Hot Fire | 0.54 | 9.18% | 90.82% |
| 16-Oct | 075307 10059 | Black Diamond | 0.59 | 10.03% | 89.97% |
| 16-Oct | 101309 09950 | Mystery Rewards Glistening Jade - Rapid Hit Fever | 0.53 | 9.01% | 90.99% |
| 30-Nov | 075305 09528 | Crystal Star | 0.59 | 10.03% | 89.97% |
| Average: | 9.11% | 90.89% | |||
In the table below you can see the results for playing 10 random dollar slots and the average theoretical return was 91.40%
| Date Played | Machine # | Name | comps earned for $100 coin-in | Theoretical Hold Hold | Theoretical Payback |
| 17-Aug | 075504 50787 | Spin & Win Instant Spin | $0.47 | 7.99% | 92.01% |
| 17-Aug | 069001 09079 | Quick Hit Platinum | 0.51 | 8.67% | 91.33% |
| 12-Oct | 069710 09348 | Wild Red Sevens | 0.44 | 7.48% | 92.52% |
| 12-Oct | 069707 09345 | Triple 777 Red Hot 3 Reels | 0.44 | 7.48% | 92.52% |
| 12-Oct | 041806 05563 | Black & White 7s | 0.47 | 7.99% | 92.01% |
| 30-Nov | 067804 10546 | Double Jackpot Lions Share | 0.59 | 10.03% | 89.97% |
| 14-Oct | 065405 10508 | Midnight Eclipse | 0.47 | 7.99% | 92.01% |
| 30-Nov | 068904 08728 | Dragons Luck | 0.59 | 10.03% | 89.97% |
| 30-Nov | 068105 10158 | Sky Rider | 0.58 | 9.86% | 90.14% |
| 16-Oct | 055307 50806 | Blazing 7s 3 Reel | 0.50 | 8.50% | 91.50% |
| Average: | 8.60% | 91.40% | |||
So, now that we have analyzed the theoretical payback percentages on these machines, how do they compare to the actual returns on slots at other South Florida casinos in those same denominations?
Well, unfortunately, Florida’s Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, which compiles the statistics on payback percentages for all racetrack casinos only releases information on the average payout for all machines within each casino and not for specific denominations. We did put in a public records request asking for a breakdown of those stats by denomination, but we received the following reply: “The Division does not maintain information responsive to the following request: slot machine gaming revenue reports by denomination (one cent, nickel, quarter, dollar, etc.).”
Since we couldn’t get information on payback percentages by denomination, it was not possible to compare the Hard Rock’s machines with those at the pari-mutuels. However, it was possible to make an educated guess about the overall returns on the Hard Rock’s machines. For the 12-month period from July 2016 through June 2017, the pari-mutuel casino with the highest average returns was Magic City at 93.55% and the lowest returns could be found at the Isle in Pompano where they averaged 90.91%. Therefore, based on the numbers shown in the tables above, I would have to agree that the Hard Rock Hollywood’s slot paybacks are “comparable” to those at other local casinos and they are not set to pay back at the low rates that some people would suggest.
How Do Returns on Machines at The Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa Compare to Returns at Casinos in South Florida? On the American Casino Guide website visitors can leave a review for any U.S. casino and the Seminole Hard Rock in Tampa has gotten almost 200 reviews - https://www.americancasinoguide.com/florida/seminole-hard-rock-hotel-a-casino-tampa.html The vast majority of those reviews are complaints about how bad the paybacks are on the slot machines. The thinking seems to be that, once again, the machines are set to pay back at a very low rate, especially since the Tampa casino has no competition because the nearest non-Seminole casino is about 250 miles away. That sentiment seemed somewhat logical to me so I thought I would investigate further by making a trip to Tampa to visit the casino.
I arrived late in the day and I spent a few hours that evening, as well as a few more hours the next morning testing various machines using my formula. My thought was to find some of the exact same machines I played at the Hard Rock in Hollywood and to see if the theoretical payback percentages were lower. This turned out to be harder than I expected as I found it difficult to find the same machines in the same denominations. One other thing I noticed was that there did not seem to be too many penny slots. Instead, the vast majority of the lower denomination games were two-cent slots. This was not the case at the Hard Rock casino in Hollywood, where penny machines were abundant.
Eventually, I did find a few machines, in three specific denominations, that were the exact same as the ones I played in Hollywood and the table below shows how the results compared.
For penny games there were three machines I tested and, interestingly, all three had the same theoretical payback percentage as at the Hollywood Hard Rock.
| Date Played | Machine # | Name | comps earned for $100 coin-in | Theoretical Hold | Theoretical Payback | Location |
| 14-Oct | 051502 12178 | Bison Rumble Rumble | $ 0.74 | 12.58% | 87.42% | Hollywood |
| 23-Oct | 082802 05797 | Bison Rumble Rumble | $ 0.74 | 12.58% | 87.42% | Tampa |
| 17-Aug | 050907 10010 | Fu Dao Le | $ 0.69 | 11.73% | 88.27% | Hollywood |
| 23-Oct | 092206 6026 | Fu Dao Le | $ 0.69 | 11.73% | 88.27% | Tampa |
| 17-Aug | 070712 04056 | Buffalo Special Edition | $ 0.72 | 12.24% | 87.76% | Hollywood |
| 23-Oct | 043702 08245 | Buffalo Special Edition | $ 0.72 | 12.24% | 87.76% | Tampa |
Finding quarter games proved to be a bit harder. I only found two machines that were identical to ones at the Hollywood casino and, once again, the theoretical payback percentages matched up for both casinos.
| Date Played | Machine # | Name | comps earned for $100 coin-in | Theoretical Hold | Theoretical Payback | Location |
| 16-Oct | 075307 10059 | Black Diamond | $ 0.59 | 10.03% | 89.97% | Hollywood |
| 23-Oct | 324002 30380 | Black Diamond | $ 0.59 | 10.03% | 89.97% | Tampa |
| 30-Nov | 075305 09528 | Crystal Star | $ 0.59 | 10.03% | 89.97% | Hollywood |
| 23-Oct | 015205 30371 | Crystal Star | $ 0.59 | 10.03% | 89.97% | Tampa |
At the dollar level I found four machines that matched up with their Hollywood casino counterparts. On the first one, Triple 777 Red Hot Three Reels, the comps earned were the same as at the Hollywood casino. This was great because the comp rate on every machine was matching up perfectly, so far, but that soon stopped.
| Date Played | Machine # | Name | comps earned for $100 coin-in | Theoretical Hold | Theoretical Payback | Location |
| 17-Aug | 069707 09345 | Triple 7 Red Hot Three Reels | $ 0.44 | 7.48% | 92.52% | Hollywood |
| 23-Oct | 380605 50232 | Triple 7 Red Hot Three Reels | $ 0.44 | 7.48% | 92.52% | Tampa |
| 16-Oct | 055307 50806 | Blazing 7s Three Reel | $ 0.50 | 8.50% | 91.50% | Hollywood |
| 23-Oct | 040111 50330 | Blazing 7s Three Reel | $ 0.39 | 6.63% | 93.37% | Tampa |
| 17-Aug | 069001 09079 | Quick Hit Platinum | $ 0.51 | 8.67% | 91.33% | Hollywood |
| 23-Oct | 180209 50437 | Quick Hit Platinum | $ 0.41 | 6.97% | 93.03% | Tampa |
| 17-Aug | 075504 50787 | Spin And Win Instant Spin | $ 0.47 | 7.99% | 92.01% | Hollywood |
| 23-Oct | 353601 50197 | Spin And Win Instant Spin | $ 0.56 | 9.52% | 90.48% | Tampa |
On the three-reel blazing 7’s machine the comp rate was 39 cents, which would correspond to a theoretical payback percentage of 93.37%, which was higher than the 91.50% figure for the same machine in Hollywood. A similar thing happened with the next machine I tested: Quick Hit Platinum. The comp rate on this game was 41 cents which would equal a theoretical payback percentage of 93.03% which, again, was higher than the 91.33% figure for the same machine in Hollywood.
Then, on the last dollar machine I played, Spin & Win Instant Spin, the results were slightly worse. That machine gave 56 cents in comps, which would correspond to a theoretical return of 90.48%, versus the same machine in Hollywood which came in at 92.01%
So, interestingly, the theoretical payback percentages for the first eight slot machines in Tampa were either equal to, or better than, the same machines in Hollywood. This was very surprising as I thought they would be lower at the Tampa casino because they had no direct competition.
But what about all those player reviews complaining that the slots in Tampa paid less than the slots in Hollywood? Well, my research showed that the machines were set to pay back at about the same rate in both places. However, there didn’t seem to be quite as many penny machines in Tampa, most of them were 2-cents and higher, and this could offer an explanation.
Penny machines are the most common denomination found in U.S. casinos. For example, at the two Indian casinos in Connecticut, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, penny machines make up about 60% of all the slots on the floor. While I didn’t take an inventory of all the machines in Tampa I was struck by the fact that penny machines were not in abundance. Since the Tampa casino has no competition, it could be that they were forcing players to make a higher average bet simply by having fewer penny machines available. If so, a higher average bet would result in players losing their money faster, thus explaining the sour sentiments of some players. Keep in mind that the Hollywood casino would not be able to easily do the same thing because of competition from other casinos. If a player in Hollywood didn’t think there were enough penny games available they could just go to a different casino. A player in Tampa would not have that option.
Now, looking back, it is true that one slot machine in Tampa did come in with a lower theoretical rate, but that could have simply been a mistake. Keep in mind that the casino knows what the chip in each machine is set to pay back to the public on a long-term basis and, in turn, they will set the player’s club comp rate to approximate that number. Sometimes mistakes are made and the rate could be set too high, or too low. That could be what happened here, or perhaps it was intentional and there was a specific reason for that particular setting.
In conclusion, I hope that everyone reading this report understands that it is not a complete analysis of all machines at either casino. To undertake such a project would have required a huge amount of manpower, plus a rather large bankroll to withstand the gambling losses that would be expected.
I am just one person who set out to investigate this subject as it is my area of expertise. I have been writing about payback percentages at casinos for more than 25 years and I believe that my work is accurate. Should anyone from Seminole casino operations want to present any further information on this subject I would welcome hearing from them. I would be also be glad to print any rebuttal that they might want to send to me concerning this article.
Say you have a pretty high Theo, how do you know what is reasonable to ask for and receive in comps (in addition to the room)? For instance, should every meal be comped, how about money for the gift shop, other things?
That depends on the casino and depending on which casino it is, it may depend to a lesser or greater degree on the host.As was also stated in another post, 'it never hurts to ask.'
Many casinos are tied to the amount that you've earned on your player's card and the hosts (or pit supervisors whom you can also talk to about a comp) will only give you a comp up to that amount on the player's card. This system removes any discretion that hosts used to have in comping their players. [The 'bean counters' in management don't like it when a hosts or pit supervisor overcomps a player. The hosts and pit supervisors don't like it that they are unable to handle things as they previously did.]
Other casinos still allow the hosts to make decisions based on your play and what you request regardless as to what may be currently on your card.
I was at the Wynn last year and discovered that they allow the hosts to make the decisions on the comps. However--since it is the Wynn--the amount of the comps may be quite small compared to a different casino based on the exact same level of play.
You are correct to recognize that the amount of your comps will be based, to a great extent, on your Theo. That is why it is a good idea to ask--while you are playing at the tables as well--about your ratings including average bet and Theo. You will likely discover that not all casinos rate in the same way and, indeed, even different pit personnel within the same casino will rate your play differently. This lack of consistency for determining your average bet within the same casino is a continuing problem for casinos and for the player.
If you think you've not be fairly rated, then talk about it with the proper personnel--which would not necessarily be a host or anyone from the player service department, but rather a table games supervisor.
In addition and separate from your Theo is the fact that the casino and/or host can increase your comps based on your losses. In other words, you may have earned a certain level of comps based only on your Theo, but if you've had a large loss (or several large losses!), the casino/host will typically add a percentage of those losses (perhaps 20%) to the amount which they may comp you. This additional consideration based on your losses will not necessarily show up on what you've earned on your player's card.
If you do have a pretty high Theo, then you should try to get a host assigned to you or at least routinely call the same host for all of your needs. You should find that you may be treated a little better as the result of that one-on-one relationship with a particular host. Again, it will depend on the casino as to whether your play justifies the decision that you will be assigned a specific host.
This arrangement of having an individual host assigned to you is more likely accomplished if you do most of your play at the same casino. Guess what? That is what the casino wants. So in assigning a host to you, the casino will be better able to attract and retain all of your play.
Another thing to note is, obviously, not all comps are valued (by the casino and/or host) in the same way that you may value them. For example, the cabana by the pool at Caesar's for the day may have a larger comp value assigned to it than a suite for the weekend.
Also keep in mind the offers and coupons that you may have received. Even if your play justifies a specific host being assigned to you, that host may want to apply a coupon offer to your comp. Depending on the casino, the 'payment' of your comps could come out of two different budgets. For example, a particular casino may have a 'player development budget' and this is the budget that the hosts have available by which they can comp. In addition, the same casino may have a 'marketing budget' and it is from this budget that the coupons (for rooms, cash, meals, etc.) are paid for. Your host may prefer to handle your needs out of this 'marketing budget' and keep his/her 'player development budget' available for additional things.
Not only do different casinos handle the whole matter of comps in various ways, these ways often change from time to time. So what I say here may not apply to your own individual experience at your own casino.
Let me qualify the above remarks by saying that I have not worked in a casino, nor have I worked for player development. I've started this thread in response to the question in hopes that other people may be able to shed more light on this subject.
I've never tried gift shop comps, I never thought to. I think meals are always easier, because they seem more like hospitality than gift shop items.
This is an often rehashed topic, but you have added some fresh topics with the discussion of the different budgets available to the host. It does pay to learn as much as you can about your casino's comp guidelines. Once you know what they look for, you can be sure to maximize the potential comps you receive.
One word of caution. Don't get so focused on comps, that you lose sight of how much you are spending to get those comps.
It is pretty easy to get used to the nice treatment, the quick check-in lines, the free rooms and spa treatments, etc. But it is also easy to start playing with higher amounts than you should be, which seems okay when you are breaking close to even. But getting slaughtered is always a possibility, and then those free comps become VERY VERY EXPENSIVE.
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Casinos will often comp somewhere between 15-35% of your theo loss in comps, so playing the machine with the best ratio of house-calculated theo loss to actual theo loss can yield a big advantage. At most casinos, I would guess there is something that if played with correct strategy, on the right days, will yield significantly over 100%. The best things I have seen have yielded somewhere between 105-110%, after mail, for a large amount of money.
Finding the best machine at a casino that can give huge mail is not an easy task, however, and when you do find it your account may have enough visits that it's not really feasible to play it to a huge theo loss. Oddly enough, many of the people I've seen who are very methodical in managing their play and picking the best machines still seem to blast their money away on dumb things at the casino.
Sure there are sweeteners for major wins or major losses and some sweeteners for 'player investment' purposes if they think you have long term potential. Places like Tuscany have very good deals in their gift shop, other places usually have crap in their gift shop and just how many sun-caps with a casino logo would you want anyway?
Best thing to do is decide what you really and truly value and go only for straight comps that don't involve items of little real interest to you. I've heard people ask for free travel miles on their airline cards... as if some host could tap into the airline's computer and get those miles for them!
There is one thing that I learned: one computer system bills 'handicapped' or ' assisted-device ' rooms not to the player's comp account but to some ADA Compliance Account.... so its now easier to get a comped room if you ask for one that is wheel chair accessible or has a seated shower or something like that.
How To Get Casino Comps
How Do Casinos Determine Comps
Do you think one hour $25 ante Mississippi Stud is worth a buffet comp?
How Casino Comps Work
No, but 3 hours might be. Remember that you are asking for something over and above what is getting put on your account for that play.