Page 25 - June 2013 • Southern California Gaming Guide

Bill Burton: About Gambling
The Most Valuable Card in the Casino
he most valuable card in the casino is not an ace or deuce, or in any table game. It’s a players club card, and you’ll nd it at the players club. Also known as a slot club card or comp card, this little piece of plastic is worth a lot more than many players may think.
irty years ago, only table players received a comp, which is short for complimentary. A comp is a sort of rebate the casino gives you for your loyal play. It can come in the form of free meals, rooms or shows — or even free play or cash.
everyone. e person who played at multiple properties owned by the same company is now getting credit for his or her combined play in one national account instead of a little play at several individual casinos.
Email and Social Media
Several years ago, casinos started asking for email addresses when a guest signed up for a players club card. is turned out to be a good move. During the nancial meltdown in 2008, when casinos had to cut expenses while trying to attract players, the easiest way was to limit the number of printed promotional pieces, and concentrate on reaching players with email promotions.
I used to get one or two promotional pieces a week in the mail. Now I see about one every two or three months. I do, however, get a few promotional emails a week. While I want to get o ers from casinos, I don’t really need a lot of extra emails to go through every day. So I found an easy solution and opened a free email account that I use only for casino players clubs. Now, when I’m planning a trip to the casino, I can log onto that email account and check for o ers. ere are several places where you can sign up for a free email account. Google and Yahoo are two of the biggest Internet providers you can use.
Many casinos also have Facebook pages you can join, and Twitter accounts you can follow. In the near future, you’re going to nd promotions targeted to your demographics and your preferences. is means that if you are in your sixties, you probably won’t be o ered tickets to the next
Justin Bieber concert. Now that’s real progress.
Until next time, remember: “Luck comes and goes... Knowledge Stays Forever.”
Bill Burton is the author of 1000 Best Casino Gambling Secrets and Get the Edge at Low Limit Texas Hold’em available online at billburton.com. Burton is also an instructor for Golden Touch Craps: thecrapsclub.com.
In the last 15 years, casinos realized that slot players are the bread and butter of their business. ey make more pro t from slot machines than table games. Years ago, table games accounted for the majority of casino pro ts. Now 75–80% of the pro t comes from slots.
Players clubs were born in Atlantic City in the early 1980s when the casinos there were trying to nd a way to
keep players from hopping from one casino to the other. By o ering a reward for their loyalty they were able to keep players coming back. Now, players clubs are found in most major casinos around the country. In the early years, some casinos had separate cards for slot players and table game players. ey quickly combined the two, but there are di erent rating systems used for table games.
Everyone can earn comps that include rooms, food, shows, and in some cases free play and cash rebates. By signing up for a players club card, you will also be eligible to receive information about special promotions going on at your favorite casino. Earning comps is a way of getting something extra for your casino dollar. But you can’t get them if you don’t have a players club card — and use it.
Get Paid to Play
It amazes me to see people sinking their money into a slot machine without having a players club card inserted in the card reader. It makes me crazy because I hate to think of casino players not getting any credit for their play. I’ve asked people why they don’t use a players club card and the most common answer is,“I don’t play enough to earn anything.”
You would be surprised to see how quickly players club points can add up. Most players sit at a slot machine and play back small wins. e casinos call this “churn.” It’s not uncommon to churn hundreds of dollars through a slot machine in an hours’ playing time. Why not get some extra return on those hundreds?
Another misconception I often hear from players is, “When I use my card, the machine knows, and doesn’t pay o .” is is probably one of the most common casino myths. ere is no connection between the card reader and the slot machine’s random number generator which determines winning combinations. ere is no way that using a players club card will a ect the way a slot
machine pays.
e best advice I give anyone visiting a casino is to sign
up and use your players club card. Never put a penny in a slot machine until after you have inserted your players club card. Get paid to play!
Players Club Improvements
Over the last decade there have been a number of
technological changes to the noticeable are slot machines graphics and surround-sound games.
e changes have not been
the casino. Advances in technology have helped casinos streamline their players clubs. Casino corporations that own more than one property were able to link their players clubs together. is proved to be a win-win for
casino oor. e most
with outstanding video that rival the best video
limited to the games in
JUNE 2013
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
PAGE 25