It's not as easy to get upgraded in Las Vegas as it used to be and more and more casinos have been cutting back on the free drinks. Here are a few ways to go to Vegas and "game" the system.
- While playing a table game at a casino, secretly pocket some of your own chips so that when you color out, the pit boss marks you down as losing more money than you actually did, and spending more money gets you more comps.
Keep in mind the dealers do have an idea of how much you actually lost so you can’t go crazy with it. Also if they catch you doing it more than once, they will tell the pit boss about it. It’s not illegal or anything to take your own chips off your stack, but they don’t like people trying to lie about how much they won or lost. When you’re done at the table, ask to color out and the dealer will exchange your chips for higher denomination ones so they’re easier for you to hold/carry. They then call the pit boss over to look at the chips and make sure the dealer exchanged for the right amount. This is when the pit boss sees what you’re walking away with and marks down how much you won or lost.
- When you leave a table, always cash your chips in at the cage before going to another table and then buy in with cash again at the new table so it appears that you are spending more. In the casinos eyes, if you sit down at a new table with chips from another table, then you’re not spending more money, just the same money at a different table. You want it to look like you’re spending a lot. The pit boss keeps track of how much you are buying in for each time you sit down at a table (you always give them your players card when you sit down so they can put the info on your account.)They also keep track of how much you are wagering per hand, but in my opinion it’s not worth it to wager more than you’re comfortable with just to increase your comps. You could end up losing a LOT more money than what the comps will be worth.
- It’s becoming more and more common for casinos in Vegas to charge for parking, but parking is free for people in the higher tiers of the players club. People accidentally leave their players club cards in slot machines, and if you can find a higher tier card someone lost you can use it at the parking ticket machine for free parking. For a more ethical version, simply ask someone if they can get an extra copy of their card made for you to use for this purpose. It’s easy to get a card made up and many people have 2 or more. You can’t do anything else with it without knowing their PIN so it’s pretty harmless. You can also google which casinos offer free parking and see if there’s one within walking distance to your destination.
No, that isn't the stock market...
- If you want to watch a game or otherwise hang out in the sports book but don’t want to pay ridiculous drink prices, find out what their policy is for complimentary drinks for the people betting on horses. A sports bet will get you one comp drink voucher, but many casinos have a policy where horse players get free drinks without needing to use the drink vouchers. (This has something to do with horse betting being parimutuel; the casino makes money whether you win or lose. Horse players also tend to spend a lot of money going to the window and betting before each race, sometimes multiple tracks at once.) Sit in the horse betting area, turn your little personal TV to a racing channel, get a racing program and find some losing wager tickets someone left around so it looks like you’re betting horses and enjoy free drinks. You’ll be able to see the sports from that area too. You may have to place a bet on a race once in a while to keep the facade going, but it’s still cheaper than paying full price for the drinks (minimum bet on a horse race is $2). You would also get a free drink voucher when you make the bet; if you ask politely they might give you two of them. And who knows, maybe your horse will win ;)
- In Craps it’s not really unethical, but you’re kind of seen as a jerk if you bet the don’t pass line because you’re betting against the shooter. I don’t play craps often, but the way I see it is that they wouldn’t have the craps table if it wasn’t a money maker, so the majority of people must be losing at least some money. If you do the opposite of the majority maybe you’ll do better? I’ve found that when a shooter is hot but then something happens to delay their roll, like the dice go off the table or something, they seven out on the next roll. So that’s when I’d bet the don’t pass. Is this just me being superstitious? yeah probably.
- When you’re playing a slot machine or table game, cocktail waitresses
come around and serve complimentary drinks. If you want a mixed drink,
such as vodka and cranberry, ask for one vodka and one cranberry and
then mix them together yourself as they are quite stingy on the liquor
in the comp mixed drinks. Tip your cocktail waitress well; it will
ensure your drinks get to you quickly. Plus those poor women have to
deal with a lot of drunk assholes all day and it’s just a nice thing to
do. Besides, a buck or two is still a lot cheaper than if you’d have
paid full price for the drink.
- If you’re trying to raise enough tier points to get to a higher level
players card (free parking!) without actually spending money, you could
have the players club desk print you a bunch of copies of your card and
stick them into a couple slot machines and hope the next person to sit
down and play one doesn’t take it out to put their own card in. You’ll
get the points for all the money they spend in the machine. Go for the
“trendy” newer slots like the walking dead themed one, the Simpsons one,
game of thrones, etc. Those machines tend to have higher minimum bets
and will therefore accumulate the points quicker. They also tend to be
played more by tourists rather than regulars/locals, and the locals are
more likely to take your card out and put their own in.
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