Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Frugal Gambler
Dan Rather nicknamed Jean Scott “The Queen of Comps.” She's spent 2
decades pitting her frugal (to put it nicely) nature against casinos and
taking from them whatever she can. Slow and steady like the tortoise, she
and her husband, Brad, realized early on that slot club cards and casino
hosts were their tickets to paradise-free meals, free shows, free vacations,
and jackpots galore—all for doing what they already enjoyed: gambling.
They once stayed 191 days out of a year in hotels, eating, playing, being
entertained—and outside of their consistent gambling, they didn't pay a
dime. And they had more money when they left than when they began.
That's nothing compared to their most recent win. Brad Scott won first
prize in a slot tournament at Caesars Palace, bringing home $500,000.
“One thing I say is you put yourself in the path of luck, stay there long
enough, you're going to run smack dab into Lady Luck with a wallop,” says
Jean, the author of
The Frugal Gambler, More Frugal Gambling,
and
Frugal
Video Poker,
all published by Huntington Press.
She offers the following tips to get more bang for your gambling buck:
1.
Choose the good games so you don't lose much while you're earning
the comp. That means selecting the video poker machines with bet-
ter odds and more return. (See the box on Anthony Curtis on p. 256
for the best video poker recommendations.)
2.
Always sign up for slot cubs. What's the point in gambling if the
casino doesn't know you're doing it? And don't be afraid to ask for a
comp.
3.
Sign up for promotions and drawings.
4.
Play in slot tournaments. Entry fees can be high (the entry fee Brad
recently paid was $10,000, and he won $500,000). But so is payoff.
tested strategies and win more than the average gambler, the comps are sheer
bonuses. But average gamblers should know that if they're spending hundreds of
dollars just to win a free buffet, they need to re-examine their strategy.
Many people are wary of handing over their personal information to the casinos,
which, frankly, is a healthy concern in this day and age. But the experts say giv-
ing up that info is about the best thing a gambler can do. Think of it like this: If
a gambler slips a dollar in a machine in the middle of a casino and no one hears
the machine accept it, did the gambler really play? You get the picture. If there are
certain perks available for spending money you'd already planned on spending
anyway, why wouldn't you take advantage of them? Once you sign up for the slot
club (which, in many places, you can do online, or through the mail, or directly
at the property) the casino will also include you on their mailing list, which means
you'll get coupons and more incentives to play, including discounts on rooms and
sometimes, at the cheaper casinos usually, even free rooms.
