There is no doubt that comps can be a nice perk even for a local, but their
value is highly subjective and they have inherent limitations that can
often and easily make them of far less value (even no value) than cash/EV.
In your example, if you already had a hundred buffet comps ready to use in
your account, would another one be of value to you? If you didn't like the
buffet, would a buffet comp be of value to you? If you weren't hungry at
the time, would that buffet comp be of value to you? If you were in a hurry
and didn't have time to eat at the casino, would that buffet comp have value
for you? If you had to travel 1 hour to use that buffet comp, would it be
of value to you? If you already had $1000 in a comp account that were due
to expire, would that buffet comp have value to you?
Happily there are times when these comps are worth their cash equivalent to
me. It is subjective, but as a local Chicago area gambler I find that comps
often have less value to me than they do as a tourist. Many of the dining
options in the NW Indiana casinos have little if any local competition,
their prices are inflated and the majority of the people eating at them are
on a comp. With maybe one or two exceptions, if it weren't free and the
only dining option in the vicinity, I wouldn't bother with them. It is not
exactly the ideal recipe for a satisfying dining experience. Rooms and
meals at a local casino are mostly a matter of convenience to me. I have a
couple of dozen restaurants that are a better value within a 15 minute walk
of my front door --No drive to the land of the 3 eyed fish necessary. I
suspect I would find more opportunity for value as a Las Vegas local where
casinos are multifaceted enterprises.
Even as a tourist, comps can have their limitations that lessen their,
admittedly, subjective value to me. Somehow I managed to accumulate an
amount of Caesars comps this year that come close to maxing out my account.
It's not usually a problem I have with my modest play. These Caesars comps
have a limited shelf life and I prefer to play elsewhere on my next LV
sojourn. To use them and stay with my preferred game plan, among other
inconveniences, I'll need to stiff Caesars which means less generous
marketing offers in the future. At this point I would be far more satisfied
with even half of the cash value of my banked Caesars comps... An amount
that, coincidentally, would put me positive in what has been a very rough
gambling year.
Chandler
···
-----Original Message-----
From: vpFREE@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vpF…@…com]On Behalf Of
thymos_one
Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 3:47 AM
To: vpFREE@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [vpFREE] Re: Do we all want the same thing? / Poll Proposal
I suspect there is a strong bias towards maximzing EV on your home
turf, with a shift towards comps in tourist markets. But, don't
neglect the value of comps in local markets. Recently I was at a
local casino that I visit infrequently, and got a comp for their
buffet, since this casino is not near any restaurants. The price of
the buffet was $18, I would have been quite upset to have to pay $18
for such a mediocre buffet.
It is easy to forget about the small comps or discounts we use all
the time for snacks and buffets.
A while back someone posted that "Bob Dancer really likes his comps",
presumably not at the expense of EV.
thymos_one
Casino Comps
New Group Dedicated to Tracking Casino Comps
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/casino_comps/
vpFREE Links: http://members.cox.net/vpfree/Links.htm
Yahoo! Groups Links