I'm sure any of my regular readers know by now I'm a slot player. Yes I know the odds are better at most table games. I just like the instant riches possibility of those slots. Turning my $5.00 bet into a $500 bonus game is a return on my risk that I simply will not see playing Black Jack, if I could even find a 'playable' BJ game on the Strip that is.
Plus, I like moving up in a Player Club, getting those fat comps that only Slot Playing Suckers earn, without having to be a semi-whale on the tables. Yes, your offers are based on your ADT, and not the color of your club card. But these comps I'm speaking of, like free access to lounges, shows, attractions and the like DO come with your card level.
So, I have to ask, have you ever stopped to think what sort of Slot Player you are?
I have written of the exploits of my younger Brother before. He often tags along on my gambling trips. I know what sort of player he is, and it always throws me for a whirl knowing many people play the exact same way that he does. I have dozens of emails and messages from readers stating as much.
I walk into a casino and I look for games that I know I should have a better chance at either winning, or at least sitting on for awhile so I can build up some coin in, and advance my tier at that casino. In other words, I give myself a fighting chance.
Can you pull a major win out of your ass by playing willy-nilly? Yes, Luck is a Beauty sometimes. But the odds are still against it. Please save your hate mail with the 'I once bet 80 cents on a Stinking Rich game and got a bonus for $800'. Good for you, I once won on the slots at the airport, even though the odds are stacked against me. I once saw two different black midgets, at two different gas stations, during the same week. Crazy odds, but it did happen!
For this article, I'll focus on MGM Casinos and their Mlife card. Since that card is full of holes to exploit, and yet so many players either don't know, or simply do not care how they gamble.
Two Grid's walk into a casino...
For today's class, we will assume both my Brother and I are starting at zero tier credits. And we both have $1,000 a day to gamble with
Player One
My Brother walks in and immediately runs to the newest themed slot he can find. It was the one he saw on a few Youtube videos as he was getting himself psyched up for our Vegas trip.
$10 coin-in on his game to get a point, and he starts chasing that $1MIL progressive jackpot. The problem is, his game probably has an 88% return if he is lucky. And since that major progressive feeds into the overall returns, his experience might be 80% return on most sessions, since that progressive needs to be plucked in order to feed into the long-term returns.
He plays the same types of games all over the casino. He loves those fancy new penny slots! Wonka, Wizard of Oz, anything with a famous movie or Celebrity. Like a moth to a flame, he hunkers down at each one. Laughing at me as I play the Double Diamond machine across from him.
At the end of his run, he has $5,000 of coin-in, with the expected 80% return without jackpots, and baring some crazy variance, the math works out the way it should.
He now has a whopping 500 points, which nets out to 5,000 tier credits.
For his play, he spent his money in a few hours, and treated the casino like it was some sort of arcade. He had fun, he played what he wanted to and he chased his mega-fortune. With his play, he now has $5.00 in point play and $5.00 in express comps.
$10 back immediately, and based on his Average Daily Theoretical loss, the casino is willing to give him 2 nights at an OK property and maybe $50 worth of free play.
Player two
I walk in with him. I leave him to chase his fortunes on his fancy new Sex and the City slot machine, and I hunker down on an older 5 line Mechanical Dollar slot. Top Jackpot is 2,500 coins, which will hit way more often than his $1MIL+.
My game has been sitting on the casino floor for awhile, it holds maybe a 92% return, just a 8% hold. The casino has a bunch of these in various flavors. Some with bonus games, like Top Dollar (That I know the bonus round should hit once in every 35-55 spins on average) or Pinball, or whatever else tickles my asshole.
If my $5 bet on a 5 line game is taking its toll too fast, I'll move over to a 1 line 2 credit version of the same type. None of these games are 'Specialty Slots', which means I earn a point with every $3.00 I cycle through. And since there is no Mega-Jackpot, my 8% hold stays true.
By the time my bankroll is spent, with average variance on these types of machines, I should have at least $10,000 of coin in (90% hold). That is 3,333 points, which is 33,330 Tier Credits.
I actually leveled up to Pearl once I crossed 25,000 Tier Credits (2,500 base points). I earned $25 in Free Play at that point, along with $25.00 in Express comps. For the next 8,330 Tier Credits (833 base points) I now earned a 10% bonus on my point returns, which is an additional $9.16 slot play + $9.16 express comps.
I'm sitting pretty with $68.32 in immediate comp returns for my point play, and I'm being offered 2 nights in their top tier properties along with double the upfront offers as the kid.
To boot, now I am on my way to Gold Level, which will earn me even more perks, including another 10% bonus on my points. 20% total over him. My Brother, earning his 500 points per day, would need 5 days just to get to Pearl. After just 5 days, I'm probably sitting at Platinum, which is a 30% bonus on points, a free cruise, more priority access and line cuts and all kinds of free experiences in town. You can see how it all adds up!
As an added bonus, by playing the types of games I do, with a lower variance than the fancy new penny slots, I stand a better chance of actually winning sometimes!
I just played twice as long, and I got nearly 7 times as much back out of the same club, just on point play alone. And my return comp value for the better rooms and more free play, was double that as well, since I showed to be a better player, driving twice as much coin through the slots VS him.
Am I always this disciplined? Do I only play the same mechanical dollar slots? No. I do take a break and play other games, but that is why I adjusted my slot expected returns down 20% from 92 to 90. If I play something else, I'll try to find an older IGT slot I like, and I'm sure to change it from pennies to nickles or better. Most any Slot Director will tell you, the higher the denomination the better the returns. Its the nature of the beast.
Both my Brother and I had fun, but in a different way. We treat our slotting experience differently. I find more fun in playing for comps. I'll often avoid a game that entices me, if I feel like the comp odds will be off. And if I'm passing through a casino where I'm not being rated, I just cant talk myself into sitting and playing without earning those comps.
If you just play for fun, odds and returns in comps be damned, have at it! But sometimes stretching your bankroll, playing for longer and ringing up comps for future trips might be even more fun!
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