Extraordinary Comps And How They Started
Gambling Times Magazine
by Bobby Singer
It was Sunday morning on Labor Day Weekend of 1974. I had just left
the casino cashier’s cage in a major Las Vegas strip hotel. In my
pocket was the $1,056 I had just been reimbursed for two round-trip
first class airfare tickets for my wife and I. In addition, I had
another $29,874 of the casinos’ money. $4,874 represented my win
since our arrival late Friday morning and the other $25,000 was my
credit line that I had carefully removed from the tables over the
forty-eight hours I had been in the casino. Let me explain all this
madness and then the real fun begins. The real fun for me, besides
the wonderful wins, was bypassing the casinos’ very flawed
systems.
During the seventies I had a $25,000 credit line in most of the
Nevada casinos as well as many casinos around the world. Because my
average bet in those days was several hundred dollars, I would draw
markers in $5000 increments. I rarely played more than one hour
sittings followed by short breaks, therefore in a given two or
three-day trip to a casino, my draw of markers would usually range
from $60,000 to $100,000. My action was more than enough to warrant
the casino to fully comp my stay, including shows, gourmet dinning
rooms, amazing suites, and of course first class airfare
reimbursement for two. Shortly you will see the importance of this
paragraph and where this story is going.
Now let’s go back to Sunday morning. My wife and I have now
decided not to go home until Tuesday. We can’t stay in this hotel
because over the last two days, I have systematically made it look
as if I have lost my entire credit line of $25,000. So I now call
another strip hotel and tell them I wish to fly in that day and stay
until Tuesday morning. This would never be a problem, as my action
in any casino was well known by all casino hosts. They would always
find me a suite and book the reservation.
Late that Sunday afternoon Judy and I took a taxi over to the second
casino hotel. From Sunday evening until Tuesday morning we now
enjoyed their lovely facilities. We saw another show sitting at the
stage.
We ate in the gourmet room Sunday and Monday evening. I also won an
additional $3,096 for a total four-day trip win of almost $8,000.
But it’s about to get better and will launch me in an entirely new
direction in what will become almost a mission, a quest to bypass
the systems the casinos had in place to deliver comps and services.
It’s now Tuesday morning. I went looking for the casino host to
thank him for another lovely trip and to let him know when I would
be back. We exchanged small talk for a few minutes. The host then
consoled me for what he thought was another losing trip. That’s
right, I was leaving this casino also without paying some of my
markers. The best was still to come. The host now said, “Bobby,
don’t forget to stop at the cage and pick up your airfare
reimbursement, I approved it earlier this morning.”
Thank goodness I thought quickly enough to simply say “Thank
You.” I soon realized what a good but unique dilemma this was. I
now began to formulate a plan for today and started to make notes so
on the airplane ride home I could address all of my concerns.
I now went to the casino cashier’s cage and told them I had lost
my airline tickets but would send them a copy of my travel agents
invoice when I returned home. The cage manager got an okay from the
host and then proceeded to pay me $1,056 and even gave me a
self-addressed stamped envelope directed back to her. I then had one
of the hotel’s limousines take us to the airport to head back
home.
It’s now early Tuesday afternoon, I’m sitting comfortably in
first class on my journey home and begin checking all my notes. Was
this business of getting paid twice for my airfare legal? I need to
discuss this with my attorney. How do I handle the additional
income? See my accountant. If getting paid more than once for the
same ticket is legal, how can I expand on this? Is there an easier
method? At this time I am so excited about the potential, I can
hardly wait until Wednesday morning when I know I will get all my
questions answered. I’m truly beside myself. I’m desperately
hoping for the positive!
It’s now Wednesday morning. I call my attorney to notify him what
happened regarding the airfare. He’s very conservative and
responds with, “I’ll call you before the day is over.” I now
call my accountant who says “call me after you get a response from
the attorney.” I remember being so anxious waiting for the phone
call that I went on an eating frenzy.
It’s now late Wednesday afternoon. My attorney calls with
wonderful news. He said, “Bobby, if a casino is willing to
compensate you X number of dollars in the form of comps for action
received, it really doesn’t matter if the reimbursement is for
airfare, shows, or room food and beverage or any combination of
such. If more than one casino on the same trip duplicates this comp
scenario, it really doesn’t change anything. However, you should
report any comps that come in the form of real dollars as income.”
I immediately called my accountant and shared the good news. He
informed me that he would treat all airfare monies received over
actual costs as ordinary income and continue to treat my gambling
wins separately as they are directly affected and offset by the
occasional loss.
It’s now Thursday morning and I’ve always believed I probably
formulated the following game plan in my sleep. I decided all of my
future trips would now be three to four nights. Each of my Las Vegas
trips would now have me checking into and departing from three
hotels on the same days. My airplane tickets would now correspond to
the proper days. I would copy my tickets in advance and give the
copy to the cage managers. My action was good enough in three to
four days of playing at each casino to continue to get full comps as
well as airfare reimbursement. Although I only physically stayed in
one hotel, I would eat in all three therefore reducing my food bill
per hotel. I also would leave luggage as well as some clothes and
toiletries in the two hotels I wasn’t sleeping in. I would even
mess up the bed. Occasionally I would have a friend join me and they
would stay in one of the other rooms. It was important not to let a
maid turn in my room as unoccupied.
It’s necessary for you to understand that action in a casino
warrants comps. Regardless of the degree of your action, learn to
maximize the comps you receive. We’re all capable of taking
something to the next level. Make your everyday and every effort
extraordinary. By the way, did I mention the bank interest I would
receive on the casinos’ money, on those unpaid markers? The casino
would always allow me four to six weeks before paying those markers.
Extraordinary!
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