Chips from the fictional 'Casino de Isthmus City'.
- Chip Inn Casino Michigan
- Blue Chip Casino Website
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- Casino Chip Values
- Chip In Casino Entertainment
50,000 Malagasy franc gaming plaque from Grand Cercle casino, Antananarivo, Madagascar, circa 1995.
Casino tokens (also known as casino or gaming chips, checks, or cheques) are small discs used in lieu of currency in casinos.Colored metal, injection-molded plastic or compression molded clay tokens of various denominations are used primarily in table games, as opposed to metal token coins, used primarily in slot machines.Casino tokens are also widely used as play money in casual or tournament. Chip-in Casino is located in Harris. If you're looking for a convenient place to stay, you might search for properties close to public transportation so it's easy to get around. Things to See and Do Near Chip-in Casino. Now that you've visited Chip-in Casino, you can discover the sights and attractions within just a few miles of the area. Blue Chip Casino, Michigan City: Hours, Address, Blue Chip Casino Reviews: 3.5/5. Outstanding chip liability. To help calculate the number of outstanding chips, each casino maintains records of the total number of chips that casino has issued in each denomination within the series that is in circulation.40 At the end of the casino’s accounting period, the casino takes an inventory of all of the chips in its possession,41. Explore Blue Chip. Nestled in the heart of northwest Indiana, Blue Chip Casino and Blue Chip Hotel provide an inviting backdrop for the perfect getaway or vacation. Along with plenty of casino fun, our guests can enjoy a scrumptious palette of dining choices, attractive accommodations.
Casino tokens (also known as casino or gaming chips, checks, or cheques) are small discs used in lieu of currency in casinos. Colored metal, injection-molded plastic or compression molded clay tokens of various denominations are used primarily in table games, as opposed to metal token coins, used primarily in slot machines. Casino tokens are also widely used as play money in casual or tournament games.
Some casinos also use rectangular gaming plaques for high-stakes table games ($25,000 and above). Plaques differ from chips in that they are larger, usually rectangular in shape and contain serial numbers.
Use[edit]
Money is exchanged for tokens in a casino at the casino cage, at the gaming tables, or at a cashier station. The tokens are interchangeable with money at the casino. Generally they have no value outside of the casino, but certain businesses (such as taxis or waiters—especially for tips) in gambling towns may honor them informally.
Tokens are employed for several reasons. Because of the uniform size, shape, and patterns of stacks of chips, they are easier to tally compared to currency. This attribute also enables the pit boss or security to quickly verify the amount being paid, reducing the chance that a dealer might incorrectly pay a customer. The uniform weight of the casino's official tokens allows them to weigh great stacks or heaps of chips rather than tally them (though aids such as chip trays are far more common.) Furthermore, it is observed that consumers gamble more freely with replacement currencies than with cash.[citation needed] A more pragmatic reason for casinos using chips in place of cash at table games is to discourage players from grabbing back their bet and attempting to flee should their bet not win, because chips, unlike cash, must be redeemed at the casino cashier and have no value outside the casino in question. Lastly, the chips are considered to be an integral part of the casino environment, and replacing them with some alternate currency would be unpopular.[dubious]
Many casinos have eliminated the use of metal tokens (and coins) in their slot machines, in favor of paper receipts or pre-paid cards, which, while requiring heavy infrastructure costs to install, eliminate the coin handling expenses, jamming problems encountered in machines which took coins or tokens and can allow more game-specific technology in the space of a machine which would usually be dedicated to coin mechanisms. While some casinos (such as the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas) which installed the receipt system had kept the $1 tokens around for use as $1 chips, most other casinos using the receipts had simply scrapped the tokens entirely. Most casinos using receipts have automated machines at which customers may redeem receipts, eliminating the need for coin counting windows and decreasing labor costs.
Arcde bomb com. Casino chip collecting is a part of numismatics, more specifically as specialized exonumia collecting. This hobby has become increasingly popular with the Casino Chips & Gaming Tokens Collectors Club formed in 1988. Some collectors may value certain casino tokens up to $100,000, which are typically traded on online auction websites like eBay. Several casinos sell custom-made sets of chips and one or two decks of cards stamped with the name of the casino on them. Each set is contained in a small briefcase or box.
History[edit]
The ancestors of modern casino tokens were the counters used to keep score in the card games Ombre and Quadrille. In 1752, French Quadrille sets contained a number of different counters, known as jetons, fiches and mils. Unlike modern poker chips, they were colored differently only to determine player ownership for purposes of settling payments at the end of the game, with different denominations differentiated by different shapes that each counter type had.[1]
In the early history of Poker during the 19th century, players seemed to use any small valuable object imaginable. Early poker players sometimes used jagged gold pieces, gold nuggets, gold dust, or coins as well as 'chips' primarily made of ivory, bone, wood, paper, and a composition made from clay and shellac. Several companies between the 1880s and the late 1930s made clay composition poker chips. There were over 1000 designs from which to choose. Most chips were white, red, blue, and yellow, but they could be made in almost any color desired.
Construction[edit]
Authentic clay chip manufactured for home use.
$1 chip from Treasure Island, Las Vegas, NV.
The vast majority of authentic casino chips are 'clay' chips but can be more accurately described as compression molded chips. Contrary to popular belief, no gaming chip going as far back as the 1950s has been 100% clay. Modern clay chips are a composition of materials more durable than clay alone. At least some percentage of the chips is of an earthen material such as sand, chalk, and clay similar to that found in cat litter. The process used to make these chips is a trade secret, and varies slightly by manufacturer, most being relatively expensive and time-consuming per chip. The edge spots, or inserts, are not painted on; to achieve this effect, this area of the clay is removed and then replaced with clay of a different color; this can be done to each chip individually or a strip can be taken out of a cylindrical block of material and replaced with the alternate color before the block is cut into chips. Then each chip receives a mid-inlay if desired, and is placed in a special mold that compresses the chip, hence the term compression molded chips. The pressure of the compression and the heat that is added varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.
The printed graphics on clay chips is called an inlay. Inlays are typically made of paper and are then clad with a plastic film applied to the chip prior to the compression molding process. During the molding process the inlay becomes permanently fastened to the chip and can not be removed from the chip without destroying the inlay.
Ceramic chips were introduced in the mid 1980s as alternative to clay chips, and are also used in casinos, as well as being readily available to the home market. The ability to print lettering and graphics on the entire surface of the chip, instead of just the inlay, made them popular. Ceramic chips are sometimes also referred to as clay or clay composite, but they are in fact an injection-molded chip made with a special plastic or resin formula that approximates the feel and sound of ceramic or porcelain. There are less expensive chips for the home market, made from various forms of plastic and plastic covered metal slugs as well.
The chips used in North American casinos typically weigh about 10 grams, but they can be between 8 and 16 g worldwide. The major companies that manufacture chips for actual casinos are Gaming Partners International (whose subdivisions include Paulson, Bud Jones, and B&G), Matsui, and Abbiati.
Colors[edit]
There is no universally standardized color scheme for poker chip values, and schemes not only vary nationally and regionally, but even from venue to venue, or by event type within a single venue.
A standard 300 piece set of Plastic Injection chips often sold as 'clay composite' chips.
A set of injection molded ABS poker chips 'hot-stamped' with denominations 100, 50, 25, & 10.
Chip colors found in home sets typically include red, white, blue, and sometimes green and black; however, more recently a wide assortment of colors have become readily available, particularly in lower-cost ABS plastic chips. Common additional colors are pink, purple, yellow, orange, and grey. Newer designs in home chips include three-color designs where a three-step molding process creates a chip with unique base, secondary, and detail colors. As chip sets are tailored to the buyer, the values of various colors vary widely, with less traditional colors either used as very high values such as $500, $1,000, $5,000, and so forth, common in tournaments, or as special 'fractional' values such as $2 or $0.50, common in low-limit games.
In casinos, uniform chip colors and sizes are sometimes specified by the local gaming control board for consistency. For example, regulations in New Jersey[2] and Illinois[3] specify similar uniform colors. Notably, Nevada has no regulations regarding color, which is why Nevada casinos may use white, blue, or gray as $1, though $5 through $5000 are almost always consistently colored. All US states where gambling is legal require that casino chips have a unique combination of edge spots for identification, the name and location of the casino and the chip's value, if any, impressed, printed, or molded onto the obverse and reverse of the token.
Chip Inn Casino Michigan
In 19th-century America, there was enough of a tradition of using blue chips for higher values that 'blue chip' in noun and adjective senses signaling high-value chips and high-value property are attested since 1873 and 1894, respectively.[4] This established connotation was first extended to the sense of a blue-chip stock in the 1920s.[5]
$2.50 chips (colloquially referred to as 'snappers' by chip collectors) are mostly used for blackjack tables, since a 'natural' (a 21 on the first two cards dealt to a player) typically pays 3:2 and most wagers are in increments of $5. However, the Tropicana Casino and Borgata in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and others, have used $2.50 (pink) chips in $7.50 to $15 and $10 to $20 poker games.
$20 chips are used mostly at baccarat and pai gow poker because a 5% commission charged for all winning banker wagers at baccarat and winning wagers at pai gow converts evenly. Bets of $20 are not uncommon in traditional table games such as craps and roulette; a $20 chip, for example, places a $5 bet on each of the 'hard ways' in craps and is preferable to passing a stack of chips or making change.
Because eight is considered a lucky number in Chinese culture, chips denominated 8, 88, and 888 (e.g., $8 in the US) are common in casinos catering to a Chinese clientele, often as a promotion for the Chinese Lunar New Year. They will sometimes contain an image of the animal associated with the year and are issued in a variety of colors.
Low-denomination yellow chips vary in value: $20 in Atlantic City and Illinois (which also uses 'mustard yellow' $0.50 chips); $5 at most Southern California poker rooms; $2 at Foxwoods' poker room in Ledyard, Connecticut; Running Aces Harness Park and Canterbury Park, both in Minnesota; and at Casino del Sol in Tucson, Arizona; and $0.50 at Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Blue chips are occasionally used for $10, most notably in Atlantic City. In Las Vegas and California, most casinos use blue or white for $1 chips, though many Las Vegas casinos now use $1 metal tokens in lieu of chips.
Chips are also available in denominations of $1000 or more, depending on the wagering limits of the casino. Such chips are often yellow or orange.[clarification needed]. Casinos in Nevada, Atlantic City, and other areas that permit high wagers typically have chips available in $5000, $10,000, $25,000, and more; the colors for these vary widely.
Denominations above $5000 are almost never encountered by the general public; their use is usually limited to 'high limit rooms' where bet sizes are much greater than on the main floor. Casinos often use gaming plaques for these denominations: These plaques are about the size of a playing card, and must be marked with serial numbers. The greatest value placed on a plaque to date is $10 million, used at the London Club in Las Vegas.[6]
Televised poker tournaments and cash games sometimes use bundled paper bills for high denominations, though the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour use round chips exclusively with denominations up to $250,000; tournament chips, however, are not redeemable for cash.
European casinos use a similar scheme, though certain venues, such as the Aviation Club de France, use pink for €2 and blue for €10. European casinos also use plaques rather than chips for high denominations, usually in the €1000 and higher range.
![Chip Chip](https://img0.etsystatic.com/010/0/5848040/il_570xN.455735634_ifmg.jpg)
Security[edit]
Biggest casino winner. Each casino has a unique set of chips, even if the casino is part of a greater company. This distinguishes a casino's chips from others, since each chip and token on the gaming floor has to be backed up with the appropriate amount of cash. In addition, with the exception of Nevada, casinos are not permitted to honor another casino's chips.
The security features of casino chips are numerous. Artwork is of a very high resolution or of photographic quality. Custom color combinations on the chip edge (edge spots) are usually distinctive to a particular casino. UV markings can be made on the inlay. Certain chips incorporate RFID technology, such as those at the Wynn Casino in Las Vegas. Also, makers' marks are difficult to reproduce.
Counterfeit chips are rare. High levels of surveillance, along with staff familiarity with chip design and coloring, make passing fake chips difficult. Casinos, though, are prepared for this situation. All states require that casinos have a set of chips in reserve with alternate markings,[citation needed] though they may not be required to have exactly the same number of reserve chips as they do on the floor. The most notable instance of counterfeiting chips was broken up in 2005, when two men were caught falsely converting $1 chips into higher denominations.[7]
Casino chips used in tournaments are usually much cheaper and of much simpler design. Because the chips have no cash value, usually chips are designed with a single color (usually differing in shade or tone from the version on the casino floor), a smaller breadth, and a basic mark on the interior to distinguish denominations; however, at certain events (such as the World Series of Poker or other televised poker), chips approach quality levels of chips on the floor.
Variations[edit]
Several casinos, such as the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, issue 'limited edition' varied-designed chips, commemorating various events, though retaining a common color scheme. This encourages customers to keep them for souvenirs, at a profit to the casino.
In certain casinos, such as the Wynn and Encore Casinos in Las Vegas, chips are embedded with RFID tags to help casinos keep better track of them, determine gamblers' average bet sizes, and to make them harder for counterfeiters to reproduce. However, this technique is costly and considered by many to be unnecessary to profit. Also, this technology provides minimal benefits in games with layouts that do not provide gamblers with their own designated betting areas, such as craps.
In television[edit]
The first game show to use them, Duel, had a variation in which the contestants answer questions using oversized casino tokens. Each discarded token adds money to the jackpot. The World Series of Poker at one time actually used its casino tokens for the poker tournaments, but in more recent years has had special Paulson WSOP clay sets made for the tournaments. Another variation is the Power Chip from Catch 21, which discards the card currently drawn in the bonus round for a new one in exchange. The number of chips is determined by the number of rounds a contestant has won during the game with an additional chip for becoming the day's champion.
See also[edit]
- Barber's pole#Gambling (slang)
References[edit]
- ^David Parlett. 'Quadrille and Médiateur: Courtly ladies' game of 18th-century France'. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
- ^'New Jersey Casino Control Commission – Chapter 46. Gaming Equipment'. state.nj.us. 2006-07-30. Archived from the original on 2006-07-30. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
- ^'Section 3000.625 Chip Specifications'. ilga.gov. 2017-01-23. Archived from the original on 2017-01-23. Retrieved 2019-09-18.
- ^Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, Merriam-Webster.
- ^Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Merriam-Webster.
- ^'The London Club's $10 Million Gaming 'Plaque' Raises the Bar for Las Vegas'. Business Wire. 2000-08-14. Archived from the original on October 10, 2014.
- ^'Counterfeit Chip Ring Broken Up in Vegas'. Vegas Tripping.
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For generations of Americans, casino gambling meant Las Vegas -- and the name evoked either glamour or tacky glitz, depending on the listener. In addition, a backdrop of underworld ties made the nation's gambling capital a place many were wary of visiting. But the limits are currently off. Corporate ownership of casinos and huge themed resorts designed to attract whole families have given Las Vegas a clean image.
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Patrons play blackjack during the grand opening of the Red Rock Casino. See more casino pictures.
Today, almost everywhere you look across the United States, it seems casinos are dotting the landscape. Casino gambling has been established in Atlantic City since 1978. In addition to the land-based casinos of Nevada and New Jersey, riverboat casinos have opened in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri while all-slots casinos are awaiting final approval in Pennsylvania. Low-limit land-based casinos are in Colorado and South Dakota, and New Orleans has one large full-service land-based casino. And Native American tribes bring casino gambling to much of the rest of the country. Tribal casinos or bingo halls have opened in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin.
A 2005 survey found that in the previous year, United States patrons made 319 million casino visits -- about seven times the 1990 total. More people visited casinos than attended major league baseball games or any other professional sporting events -- than attended arena concerts -- than attended Broadway shows. It seems casino gambling is becoming one of America's national pastimes.
Casino-goers come from all groups of the population -- 55 percent have some college education; 45 percent have white-collar jobs, 25 percent blue-collar; 17 percent are retired. The percentages of blue-collar workers are higher at newer gambling areas.
Perhaps you are considering joining the legion of casino gamblers, but you are unsure of the rules and customs. Where do you get betting chips? How much do you tip the dealer? What exactly is a 'comp?' Luckily for you, this article has the answers to all of your casino gambling questions. Let's get started with a little more background information to help you decide if casino gambling is right for you.
Can You Win?
Let's be realistic -- casino gambling is best taken as a form of entertainment. In the long run, the casinos will be the winners -- those resort hotels and riverboats aren't built to drive themselves out of business by giving money away to the players.
Except for blackjack, which has odds that change continuously as cards are dealt out, casino games are designed with a fixed mathematical edge in favor of the house. In roulette, for instance, the wheel has 38 numbers -- 1 though 36, plus 0 and 00. To use the simplest example, the player may place a bet on any one of those 38 numbers. A winning bet will bring a payoff of 35-1 -- the player gets his original bet back, plus 35 times the bet in winnings. If there were no 0 or 00, that would correspond exactly to the odds of winning, but with those numbers added, the true odds are 37-1. By paying at less than the true odds, the house builds in a 5.26 percent advantage in roulette.
Does that mean it's hopeless for the player, that the house will win every time? No, for if there were no winners, there soon would be no customers. In the long run, the percentage will hold up and the casino will make its profit. But in the short term, results vary widely from the norm. The house advantages in casino games are narrow enough to produce winners -- lots of winners, in fact -- every day.
For the best chance to win -- and to limit losses -- players need to understand the games before they start to play. A blackjack player who does not know the rules of the game, the totals on which the dealer is required to hit or stand, or a basic strategy for play might as well just write the casino a check. Likewise, a craps player who does not understand the available options might make bets giving the house a 16.67 percent edge, when bets are available at the same table that limit the house advantage to .6 percent.
Learn the best bets and stay away from the worst ones, and you'll win more often. But understand that regardless of how well you play, sometimes -- the majority of times, in fact -- the house edge is going to grind down your bankroll.
Well, they call it gambling for a reason, right? If you think your ready for both the risk and excitement, move on to the next section for the tips and guidelines that will help you blend in seamlessly with the most experienced gamblers.
For more information about casino gambling, try the following links:
- To see all of our articles on poker rules and advice, go to our main article on How To Play Poker.
- Among the most popular games in casinos are video poker games. Pull up a chair and learn How to Play Video Poker.
- If you'd like to pass by the games of chance, you'll want a hefty bankroll and a knowledge of How to Play Poker in a Casino.
- Hang on to some of your money with these helpful Poker Betting Tips.
Blackjack | 0 to 1 percent (basic strategy player) | 2 to 5 percent (average player) |
Craps | 0.6 percent (pass/come with double odds) | 16.67 percent (the worst proposition bets) |
Baccarat/Mini-baccarat | 1.17 percent (bet on banker) | 1.36 percent (bet on player) |
Roulette | 2.26 percent on all bets but the five-number on 0, 00, 1, 2, and 3, which carries a 7.89-percent house edge | |
Slot Machines | Varies according to programming; average is about 4 to 6 percent on $1 machines, 7 to 10 percent on 25-cent machines, and 10 to 13 percent on 5-cent machines. | |
Jacks or Better video poker | 0.5 percent with optimal play on a full-pay 9-6 machine | 3.8 percent on a 7-5 machine |
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If your vision of casino players is James Bond, in a tux, at Monte Carlo, forget it. American casinos do not enforce that kind of formality. Casual clothing and sportswear are most common, but you'll see everything from evening wear to T-shirts and jeans in the same casino. If some of your other preconceived notions about casinos are a little out of whack, here's a guide to what you should expect on the gambling floor.The Basics
A lot of casinos give free beverages to players. In many states it's illegal to give free alcoholic beverages to casino customers, so casinos in these jurisdictions charge for alcohol but usually give free soft drinks and coffee to playing customers. In either case, it's appropriate to tip the cocktail server -- a couple of quarters or a dollar will do.
Be sure you know the bet requirements at a particular slot machine or table game before you sit down. On slots or video poker, the denomination is either painted on the machine's glass or displayed on a video screen.
At table games, each table has a rectangular sign detailing minimum and maximum bets. Usually the signs are color-coded to correspond to the color of casino chips -- a white sign usually denotes a table with a $1 minimum bet, a red sign denotes a $5 minimum, a green sign denotes a $25 minimum, and a black sign denotes a $100 minimum, just as at most casinos $1 chips are white, $5 chips are red, $25 chips are green, and $100 chips are black. Do not take this system for granted, however; a few casinos have signs all of the same color or use different color coding. Read the sign before sitting down to play.
Table players change currency for casino chips at the tables. Place currency on the table layout and ask the dealer, 'Change, please.' The dealer will give you the corresponding amount in chips and will push your money into a locked drop box.
When it comes time to leave, remember that the dealer does not have access to cash at the tables. To change your chips for cash, you must go to the casino cashier's booth. If you have a lot of smaller-denomination chips and wish to change for larger-denomination chips to make it easier to carry them to the cashier's booth, ask the dealer to 'color up.' He or she then will give you one green $25 chip for five red $5 chips, or a black $100 chip for twenty $5 chips, for example.
Slot players usually cash out by pushing a button to print out a bar-coded ticket. That ticket can be used in another machine or redeemed for cash at the cashier's cage or cash kiosk. A few machines still pay out in coins or tokens, but they are being rapidly replaced.
Payoffs
You'll sometimes find payoffs expressed as 'chances-TO-1'; other times, especially in video poker, they are expressed as 'chances-FOR-1.' In roulette, for example, the payoff for hitting a single number is 35-to-1. The player's one-unit bet stays on the table until the outcome is determined. If the player wins, he or she wins 35 units and gets to keep the original bet for a total of 36 units. But in video poker, the payoff for three of a kind is usually 3-for-1. The player has already put one unit down the slot and that is gone; the player who hits three of a kind gets a total of three units back for the one that has been wagered.
Bankroll
Do not go into a casino with money you can't afford to lose. Even at games with house percentages of less than 1 percent, there will be times the player just can't win. The worst thing a player can do is to start chasing losses, gambling money needed elsewhere in an attempt to win back money that's already gone.
Blue Chip Casino Website
Remember, the house percentage is in effect on every spin of the roulette wheel or slot reels. No law of averages says you have to start winning just because you've been on a long losing streak. If you've been betting on 'Even' in roulette and odd numbers have shown up ten times in a row, the next spin is no more or less likely to be an even number than any other spin. Each trial is independent, and the house advantage still is 5.26 percent. Treat your gambling bankroll as an entertainment expense and budget accordingly. Set limits on losses and stick to them.Once you've decided how much to budget for the day, play at a level appropriate to your bankroll. If you have $20 for a couple of hours in the casino, you can't afford to play $1 slots or $5 blackjack. You'll need to stick to quarter slots, and at that you risk being finished for the day in about 15 minutes.
In Illinois, where such statistics are released by the Illinois Gaming Board, the average casino customer loses about $100 in a typical day at the barge or boat. But you need to bring more than that with you. You need enough of a cushion to ride out the inevitable losing streaks that happen in any game.
Here are some recommended minimum bankrolls for a two-hour casino stay:
25-cent slots and video poker: $100
$5-a-hand blackjack: $150
$5-per-spin roulette (even-money bets): $100
$5 best-method craps (pass and two-come bets with double odds): $500
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$10-a-hand mini-baccarat (table minimums are usually higher than at other casino games): $200
This is not to suggest that you should expect to lose $200 if you play mini-baccarat for a couple of hours. Your average outcome will be in the range of $10 to $20 in losses, and sometimes you'll walk away a winner.
The final bit of etiquette you should learn before you hit the casino is knowing when to expect a comp from the casino and when you should tip your dealer. Both of these sensitive subjects will be covered in the next section.
For more information about casino gambling, try the following links:
- To see all of our articles on poker rules and advice, go to our main article on How To Play Poker.
- Among the most popular games in casinos are video poker games. Pull up a chair and learn How to Play Video Poker.
- If you'd like to pass by the games of chance, you'll want a hefty bankroll and a knowledge of How to Play Poker in a Casino.
- Hang on to some of your money with these helpful Poker Betting Tips.
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You've probably heard of 'comps' in a casino. Maybe you saw a casino manager use the word in a movie to pacify an upset guest at his hotel, but did you really understand what the word meant? Also, tipping is an awkward subject no matter what situation you are in, but do you have to tip in a casino? Aren't they getting enough of your money already? Well, you've come to the right place. Read on to learn about both of these casino conundrums. Casino 'Comps'
Casinos want to keep their best customers coming back. Players who have shown they will give the house a shot at their money are treated like royalty. Free beverages for customers while they are playing, discounted rates on hotel rooms, and free meals are the most common complimentaries given by casinos. For high-rollers -- people who bet hundreds of dollars a hand -- the casino might give free airfare, room, food, beverages, or limousine service.
'Comps' are most frequently distributed through player rewards clubs. Members are issued credit-card-sized plastic cards, usually with an encoded magnetic strip on the back. The card is inserted into a magnetic reader on the machine the member is playing, and the amount and duration of play are tracked via computer.
In most player rewards clubs, players earn points for play and can redeem the points for comps. When the card is inserted into a reader at a slot or video poker machine, a display on the reader might say something like, 'Welcome, member. You have 42 points. Coins to next point: 24.' After the required number of coins have been played, another point will be added to the player's total. A list is issued detailing the comps available for various point totals. Some clubs allow players to redeem points for cash; others offer meals, rooms, or merchandise.
Other slot clubs don't issue a point table but require the player to ask an attendant at the player rewards club booth. The attendant will check the computer, and if the player qualifies, the attendant will issue the comp.
Comps work similarly at table games. At most casinos a player may use the same card issued to slot club members as identification to be rated for comps at table games. The pit boss overseeing the table takes note of the player's buy-in (the amount of currency exchanged for chips at the table), the average bet size, and the duration of play.
It's common for casinos to kick back in the form of comps an average of 10 percent to 40 percent of the amount it expects to win from the player.
The basic formula for the player's expected loss combines the amount of time played, the number of hands per hour, the average bet, and the house percentage. So if a blackjack player bets $5 a hand for an hour at a busy-table speed of 60 hands per hour, and the house figures it has a 2 percent edge, then the player is betting $300 per hour, and the house, on the average expects to win $6, or 2 percent of $300. If the house is issuing comps at a generous rate of 40 percent of the player's expected loss, the customer's play for an hour is worth about $2.40 in comps, regardless of the actual win or loss, whether he's won $50 or lost $50.
A side benefit of being rated for comps is that the casino puts you on its mailing list for special offers. Rated players frequently get free or discounted rooms and tournament invitations from casinos. Cash vouchers by mail are an often-used incentive for players to return.
Tipping Dealers
The gambling business is a service industry, and dealers are paid like bottom-rung employees in service industries -- not very well. Many dealers' jobs pay minimum wage, and the bulk of dealers' pay comes through tips from customers.
You are under no obligation to tip, and even the dealers don't expect you to tip while you're losing. However, if you are winning and the dealer is courteous and helpful, it's customary to tip. This can be done by simply pushing a chip forward onto the layout and telling the dealer, 'This is for you.' However, more frequently tips are given by placing a bet for the dealer.
In blackjack, the usual method for tipping is to place an additional bet at the front of your betting box. Don't tip so much or so frequently that you significantly shift the odds of the game. If you're betting $5 for yourself, a $1 bet for the dealer once or twice an hour, or when you're on a winning streak, will do. If you win the hand, the dealer will get a $2 tip. If you lose, the house gets the money.
Some older gambling guides tell of a cat-and-mouse game in which the blackjack player uses tips to get the dealer to deal another hand before shuffling when the cards remaining to be dealt are in the player's favor. This has little or no bearing on how the game is played today. In multiple-deck games dealt from a shoe, a colored plastic cut card is inserted into the shuffled cards to tell the dealer when to stop. When that cut card comes out, the dealer may not start another hand, regardless of what the player wants and how much he's willing to tip. Even in single- and double-deck games dealt from the hand, strict guidelines usually dictate when the dealer must shuffle. Sometimes a cut card is used. Don't tip with the expectation that the dealer will bend house rules on when to shuffle; tip for service with a smile.
Craps players also often place bets for the dealers. Most often, this is done either by telling a dealer to place a specific bet 'for the boys' -- bets on 11 or the field are among frequent choices -- or by placing a bet on one of the 'hard ways' and telling the dealer it goes both ways. That is, a $10 hard six both ways means the player is betting $5 for himself and $5 for the dealers that two threes will come up before a seven and before any other six. If you want to give the dealers the best chance to win, place a pass line bet for the boys.
Tips seem less frequent at the roulette wheel. Probably the most common is simply giving the dealer a chip after hitting a 35-1 single-number payoff. Don't hand it directly to the dealer -- dealers are not allowed to take money or chips from a player's hand. Place it on the table and tell the dealer it's a tip.
Slot and video poker players are a solitary lot, and occasions for tipping are rare. However, if you hit a large, hand-paid jackpot, and service has been good from a change person, it doesn't hurt to tip.
The fast pace and attitude of a casino floor can be intimidating to the newcomer. The truth is, from the hotel manager all the way down to the dealers, casinos want you to feel comfortable. Now that you have an idea of what to expect in a casino, you'll be placing bets in no time.
For more information about casino gambling, try the following links:
Casino Chip Values
- To see all of our articles on poker rules and advice, go to our main article on How To Play Poker.
- Among the most popular games in casinos are video poker games. Pull up a chair and learn How to Play Video Poker.
- If you'd like to pass by the games of chance, you'll want a hefty bankroll and a knowledge of How to Play Poker in a Casino.
- Hang on to some of your money with these helpful Poker Betting Tips.
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