How do I use Casino Comps to find stellar deals?

Get ready...this is a LONG post that I wrote in one sitting. Please excuse my typos and grammar issues.

"Comps" is an abbreviation for "complementary." And "casino comps" means the casino will give you complementary things like vouchers for restaurants, valet parking, free play in the casino, hotel rooms, concert tickets, cruises, and vacation packages like airfare and resort stay at places like the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas.

Let me share my experience with how I earn casino comps and how they reduce the cost of my nomad world travels.

It all started when I turned 21, the legal gambling age in the U.S.. I was living in the greater Kansas City area which has several casinos. For my birthday, my friends, family and I went to a casino, and the first thing I did was find the counter for the Casino Player's Club Program and sign up. They gave me a Player's Card which looks like a hotel room key or a credit card. Every time I gamble, I make sure my 'play is rated.' That means I put my player's card into a slot machine or video poker machine, and the computer tracks my play. And if I play at table games, like blackjack, roulette, craps, etc., I hand over my card to the table dealer and they are responsible, along with their manager in the pit, to rate my play. Casino's track the amount of money I buy-in, the length of time played, the amount betted, and the amount I leave with from the machines or tables. Based on a combination of these tracked variables, I earn points. Each player's club program will have a more detailed explanation of how points are earned, and what you can earn or redeem with said points. It's like going to a Chucky Cheese or Dave N Buster's and playing games to earn tickets, then redeeming the tickets for stuff. You can look up all the specific details about player's club programs on the websites for each casino.

For a general example, a casino could say they will give you 1 point for every $5 of play on slots. But that does not mean every $5 you put into a slot machine; it means every $5 that has been cycled through the machine, whether that is literally your cash or a mix with winnings. Let's say you put a $10 bill into a slot machine and choose to play $1 per spin. Say you spin once and lose, spin again and lose, and then spin a third time and lose. Right now you would have $7 left in the machine because you lost $3. However, on the fourth spin let's say you win $4. Now the machine has $11 in it for you to play with. You spin a fifth time, which which would equate to $5 worth of play and that's when you accumulate your 1st point in the player's club program. You can theoretically play for a long time on a machine, as long as you're winning more than you're losing. If you lose every spin, than that's not good and go find a different machine.

I know some casinos give 1 point for every $10 cycled through on video poker. And then table games have more complex rating system since you as they player will be changing the amount you bet based on the hand at play. If you truly want to know the specifics of points earned then go to the website for the casino of interest to you, and read their details. Every casino lists exactly how their player's programs work.

Tiers

Casino Player's Club Programs have tiers also, meaning the more points you earn in a designated amount of time (typically a year), you can level up in tiers. The higher the tiers, the more generous redemptions. This is just like hotel, airline, or cruising loyalty programs where you earn points for the nights stayed, miles flown, or nights cruised, and the more you do with said company, the higher in tier you can progress in their loyalty program.

Let's go back to my 21st birthday. I signed up for my player's card, I put it in a slot machine and gambled, and then I sat down at a black jack table, handed the player's card to the dealer so they can rate my play while I'm at the table. When I was done playing for the night, I had earned points in their rewards program, that eventually led to earning "comps.'

How much did I have to spend, and how long did I have to gamble to begin earning comps?

Now keep in mind, I'm 46 today as I write this, which is 25 years ago! Two-and-a-half decades is a super long time to remember specifics but this is the gist of my recollection:

• Every time I went to a casino, I always signed up for their player's club program.

• Every time I gambled, I always ensured my play was being rated (tracked).

• Immediately after signing up for the player's club program, I started receiving mailers with coupons for Free Play (probably around $10-$15 at first), and discounts at restaurants in the casinos.

• At some point within my first 12-months gambling, I started earning comps for free valet, discounted hotel rates or free hotel night stays. When I was 21-23 of age, I was still working on my Bachelor's and Master's degrees while working multiple part time jobs, like bartending. I'd close the bar and some of my friends who worked with me would go pile in a car and we would go to the casino for a few hours. I distinctly remember taking $100 that I earned in tips from bartending, and I would more often than not play blackjack, and occasionally sit at slot machines. I probably went to the local casinos back then a handful of times, every very few months. School and my jobs were priority but I sure did manage my social life really well back then.

• In my 30s, I was earning more than in my 20s, and in my 40s, I earned more than in my 30s or 20s. As my income increased, I did elevate my lifestyle in generally by spending more on things I love. Back then it was when I lived in the U.S. and I loved: eating out at steakhouses, drinking wine, traveling, hanging with friends, going to local events and those in nearby cities, getting my nails & hair done, and of course gambling. By my mid-30s, I was no longer walking into a casino with just $100 to play with. I often brought $300 which allowed me to sit at higher limit blackjack tables ($25 or $50 per hand table limits). I didn't play slots a whole lot but occasionally at that point.

• As I played more in time and buy-ins, my comps increased too. I would be able to get comped hotel rooms for many nights, and not just a few. I have not paid for food in restaurants that are associated with the casino clubs I'm part of, and a number of other perks.

• Since I have moved abroad in 2019, I do not gamble much at all. But when I look up my player's club info from the land based casinos I did use to play at a lot, they all still give me multiple comped offers all of the time. So it is not a "use-it-or-lose-it" scenario. Once in these programs and getting deals, you'll always keep getting something.

  
  

Multiple Player's Club Programs

I think Kansas City had 3-4 different casinos which were different companies from each other. I've already mentioned that I would sign up for each of their programs so my play is being tracked at each casino company. The same goes for Las Vegas...the well known capital city of gambling in the US. I started going to Las Vegas for vacations when I was 22 and I would go solo more often than not. Sometimes friends and family would join me, but I found Las Vegas to be an easy city to travel to alone. There's so much to do on the Las Vegas Strip alone from the shows, music, concerts, sporting events, shopping, gambling, pools, spas, amusement parks, and more. It's definitely an adult-Disneyland.

My first time in Las Vegas, I continued the exact same process as in Kansas City. Every time I entered a new casino that was not related to another one, I signed up for their Player's Card Program. Once you're in their system, they will start sending you offers. The nice part about Vegas casinos is that many belong to the same group for example MGM and Caesar's (formerly Harrah's) properties. For example, I could gamble at Bellagio and Mandalay Bay which are both with the MGM Casino chain, so my rated play at both places go towards one rewards program.

As I enjoyed my vacation, I made sure to charge all restaurant bills back to my room if I was eating at a restaurant associated with my resort. Always tip in cash though; this explained later. And I would charge any valet, spa, shows that are associated with my resort to my room as well. At the end of my Vegas vacation, I always made sure to visit the Casino Host in the casino of the hotel I was staying. I would ask politely if they could review my play and see if they can cover any of the room charges. I found over the years that food and drinks were the easiest to get comped. ("Getting comped" means the casino host removes those charges from your bill.) They will not however cover any tips or gratuity you leave at restaurants or other services, like the spa. That's why I always tip in cash, or just understand that I will always be responsible for those amounts.

After some years gambling in land-based casinos, I remember receiving offers for comped vacation packages and cruises. The first vacation package I accepted was when I was living in Chicago and my offer was a weekend getaway to the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. I was a University Professor at this time, and had the time to getaway from work, so I did, and I brought a friend. We had a blast! If I remember correctly, our airfare and hotel room was covered by the casino comp offer, and we had to cover the rest like taxis, food, entertainment, etc. If I could charge any of that to our hotel room, I did. I know that I did not gamble much at all on that short vacation, but I'm pretty sure our meals ended up getting covered. If not, it was a darn good deal of a vacation for both my friend and I.

I cannot remember which land-based casino sent me my first cruise offer but I do remember that I had learned casino programs onboard cruise ships status match with land based casinos. At some point in my 30s, I made sure to send my land-based casino player's club card info to the cruise line casino departments, and begin getting status matched. That means the cruise line casino's were looking at my play, ratings, and loyalty tiers and making decisions to give me comped cruises.

What are Comped Cruises?

In short, "comped cruises" means free cruises, but they are not exactly 100% free. It's more like a 80-90% reduction. The cruise fare is waived or comped, and I am only responsible for paying for the taxes and port fees. More often than not, the taxes and port fees for a 7-night cruise would cost under $200. That is a steal because the cruise fare is often $1500 to $5,000 depending on the itinerary, cabin type, and add-ons you may choose.

Each cruise line casino department will have their own player's club they will enroll you in, and the cruise line itself has a loyalty program, that is more associated with the hotel side of the cruise line. The cruise line loyalty program and the casino player's club program can give you perks like specialty dining, discounts on wifi/excursions/paid activities onboard, invitations to special events during your cruise, and more. You earn points with the cruise line loyalty program just like you would with airline and hotel programs; the more you cruise with them, the more points you earn. And the casino programs are still based on a combination of how long you gamble, your betting amounts, types of games played, and amount played during all that time of gambling. Casinos on cruise ships can also give instant cruise awards, which means you had earned enough points throughout your total time gambling, that they have invited you back. Every program is different so visit the casino websites to learn more.

Status Matching

You can status match across programs too. When I wanted to start getting comped cruises on other cruise lines, I contacted the casino department on the cruise lines, gave them my player's club information from all the casinos I play at, and then they decide what they will give me. Again, once you accept a casino comped cruise offer, they keep giving you more and more because they want you back. It is all marketing ploys.

Some cruise lines have a mother company that owns multiple lines. For example, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Silver Seas all belong to the same mother company. Royal Caribbean in a more affordable, family style cruise line; where Celebrity is higher scale, and Silver Seas is luxury. However, since they are all owned by the same company, the cruise loyalty program status matched across all three. I am unclear at this moment if their casino player's club program does the same. I will find out later this year as I am already booked for 2 Royal Caribbean cruises, followed by 2 Celebrity cruises.

How many Comped Cruises can you book with a company?

That varies by cruise line. Royal Caribbean and Celebriy cruise lines have websites dedicated to their casino departments and player's programs where you can login and see all the comped offers they are offering you. I have around 10 with Royal and 4 with Celebrity right now, and that's after the 4 cruises I have booked with them, as I just stated above. If I wanted to book out all of the offers they are showing me, I could.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) does not work that way. I have to call their Casino At Sea department and ask about my offers. I find it easier to already have specific cruises that I want to book in hand, and tell them the itineraries, asking if they can comp them. They almost always do. I usually get a balcony or window cabin on all lines. Occasionally, the offer will be for an inside cabin. NCL will limit me to booking 5 comped cruises at a time. Once I cruise on the first one and complete it, then I can call them back up and schedule another.

Virgin Voyages is a little funny. I have not cruised with them much but last year I was able to get two 7-night itineraries comped. There was a week or two in between the itineraries. This year I had asked for an 8-night cruise back-to-back (B2B) with a 7-night cruise and they declined the second cruise. When I asked why, they said the B2B combination was longer than what they can comp. My guess is that had I chosen two 7-night cruises, they would have been able to comp it without issue. Honestly, I didn't have the effort to keep pursuing it as I had so many more offers with the other cruise lines and they were easy to book.

Right now, I have 10 comped cruises fully booked from November 2025 to January 2026. It will be on 4 cruise lines over 84 nights. Eight of the cruises are around the Caribbean region and the last two are in Asia to Africa. I paid a total of $3,000 for the port fees and taxes on all 10 of those cruises which comes out to be roughly $35 per night. The total retail value of all the cruises was around $30,000, so I got a savings of 90% from these casino comp offers. To me that's a bargain, especially in nomad life as I get beautiful floating homes to live on for nearly 3 months. And these floating homes comes with chefs who make delicious foods, delightful drinks, various entertainment and activities, transport to many countries, and more.

Tips for land or sea casinos:

• Set your budget and stick to it. Gambling is fun entertaining. Do not gamble to earn points but gamble to have fun and earn rewards by doing it.

• Always get your play rated, meaning put your player's card in a machine or give it to a dealer at a table.

• Charge extras to your room/cabin if you are staying at the casino hotel or on a cruise. Then the last night of your trip, ask the host if you earned enough to comp any of those extras you charged to the room.

• Tip in cash as tips cannot be comped.

Casino Programs that I belong to:

• NCL Casino At Sea

• Royal Caribbean Casino Royale

• Celebrity Blue Chip Club

• Virgin Voyages Casino

• MGM Rewards

• Caesars Rewards

If you find value from these ideas and want to show support, feel free to Buy Me A Coffee:

https://bmc.link/aSuitcaseandAsmile