and weeks even if you
do play! And he’s the best, mind you, the very
best. The Bride of Bulletman, who I wrote about
in my book Victory at Video Poker, made $60,000
in 1998 and $80,000 in 1999. She is not the world’s
foremost expert, just the winningest video poker
player I ever personally met. In
ten years, she is averaging close to the $56,000
per year mark as well. But she is averaging less
than a visit per week! It remains to be seen whether
she can continue such a winning streak as obviously
luck (or magic) has much to do with her success.
The best blackjack pro I ever met was the late PK
who played five nights a week 52 weeks a year. He
earned between $20,000 and $30,000 per year playing
blackjack. He had to supplement his blackjack income
with a job in a bookstore. He was the best, mind
you, the very best at what he did. For most mortals
the sky is not the limit on VP or blackjack winnings,
the ceiling of a typical lower middle-class house
is. However, for the recreational player who has
no illusions about being a “professional,”
it is always better to play with an edge over the
casino than to play without an edge. Obviously,
you want to play the very best games that excite
you and play them in the very best way. But millions?
I’m afraid it ain’t in the cards for the
majority of us.
Assumption #15:
The casino comping formula is an exact science and
is written in stone.
There is a little truth to this assumption and a
big untruth to it. Slot clubs for small and medium
players are a almost an exact science. You play
the requisite number of coins to get the requisite
number of points and you get the requisite number
of buffets or show tickets or discounts to rooms.
However, for bigger slot players (dollars and up)
and for table-game players, the comping policies
are guidelines. If the guideline says that a $150
player who plays four hours per day gets RFB (the
highest level of comps) and Mr. Jones, a very good
customer of Luckland Casino, happens to only play
three hours one evening, do you think the host is
going to say: “Sorry, Mr. Jones, I know you’ve
dumped tens of thousands here at Luckland, but tonight
you can have the coffee shop, not the gourmet room,
because you didn’t play the four hours.”
More than just a rating will often go into what
an individual on the high end might get. Such factors
as the number of good players the individual brings
with him or her would be considered; how often the
person comes to the casino, and past history. Remember
that comps are inducements to play and stay at a
certain place and would any casino in its right
mind say to Mr. Jones: “Buzz off, we don’t
want your $150 per decision, go somewhere else.”
I doubt it.
Good
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