Much of the discusssion that I've been focusing upon in the past few posts has involved what casino comps are, how to get invovled with casino comps and what differenet things you can do to make the most of your casino visits. I happened to be driving near Atlantic City New Jersey the other day and I noticed a great Casino Comps program that I just forgot to mention. The Harrah's Entertainment Company is a huge conglomerate company that owns and operates casinos all over the United States including, Caessar's Atlantic City and Caesar's Palace Las Vegas, also other great Harrah's properties including Harrah's Atlantic City and the ShowBoat Atlantic City Casino Hotel.

What Harrah's has come up with both ingeniously and both simplisticly is to create a rewards program that benefits everyone for doing just about anything at a property. Of course most of the credits earned in casino comps towards the loyalty program is earned through play at either slots or casino table games, the idea of "just using Harrah's" is front and center.

The Total Rewards program is very easy to understand. Basically anything that you earn casino comp credits for can be used for hotel rooms, meals or even a round of golf. The other beauty of what Harrah's has is that they allow the transfer and use of casino comps and credits at any one of their properties no matter where the casino comp credits are earned. I looked into the program a little more to get some specifics about what they do and it really is easy. Again, I'm getting this off of the official site, but I make no guarantees or warranties that these are exactly how these programs work. For simple slot reel machines, for every $5 spent a customer earns 1 credit in loyalty credits. For every $10 spent on a video poker machine 1 credit is earned. Table games and the credits earned towards loyalty points there are a little different. It works on the following forumula. Again, remember, I make no guarantees or warrantees that this is fact, but I checked out their site and this is what it seems to say. Table games such as craps, blackjack, poker or baccarat are determined by the average bet, what type of game is being played and the overall average length of play. For each level of credits earned the customer gets more perks. The basic break down of the program is Gold, Platinum, Diamond and Seven Star.

Because Harrah's has such wide range of reach across the country, from New Jersey, to Louisiana, to Nevada, I suggest looking into this program a little more. Information about the Harrah's Total Rewards Program can be found by going to the link provided.

We will be coming back with more information about casino comps and some inside tips to getting more out of these programs.

The last few posts have been focused upon the joys of casino comps and some of the things casino players should know to get the most out of them. The first two posts got into the basics of what casino comps are, how to get involved in the process and what kind of comps are available. The next few posts I'm going to focus upon will target some very specific issues surrounding how to really get the most out of the comp programs. Things like tipping your dealer, getting airline bumps and other little nuggets of knowledge aimed at really improving your visit to a casino.

Really great Las Vegas Vacation Deals can be had if you can navigate your way through the casino comps process. There is truly a treasure chest of specials, discounts and freebies awaiting you by doing some of these little things that can really make a difference. Once such thing is tipping your dealer well and the right way. Now let me get this out of the way. Tipping your dealer will not influence the outcome of your comps, your winning percentage or anything like that...but that being said, taking care of these people can get you "prefferred service". It's not necessarily and directly related to comps and other things like this but your experience and service will directly reflect the level of tips, normally, when it comes to your dealers. The subject here is how to get the people working for you, to feel excited about you being at their table. There are many ways to tip a dealer, but one of the best ways I've come across is to actually involve the dealer in your play. Yep, you can get the dealer involved in your play by actually setting money down and putting a bet for him or her. I can tell you more so than not, whether it be mojo, the force, good luck or something in between, tipping your dealers seems to always pay off in the end.

There is more to come as it relates to getting the most from your casino experience in the days to come. I've received a few posts that have asked for some real inside tips to get comps, and I'm thinking about how to go about first collecting this info and distributing it. Stay tuned, there is more to come.

We're back and I hope to all of you that you had a great Thanksgiving Holiday. I know I'm still stuffed from my meal on Thursday and I'm looking forward to eating my Turkey Day dinner next year. Is that pathetic or what? Well, when I last left you I had started a little series of mini-posts that I'm going to do the next few posts and that is talking about how to get the most out of Casino Comps or Casino Complimentary Give Away Stuff. Things like free food, cash back, free drinks, tickets to a show and stays at the hotel you're gambling. I got into the basics of the casino comps and how important it is to get into contact with the casino host or pit boss at the casino you are gambling. This is the way to get the ball rolling. To introduce yourself and to get your players card. Once you have the players card you can use it while playing slots or if you're playing table games let the pit boss know that you want your play to be rated.

Ah, see how I segweyed into that. The next discussion of this subject matter for casino comps is how to understand the casino rate. Now just so I don't confuse all of you out there, I'm tallking about the rate you can get as a player at a casino on room stays and not the rating process. So I'm sorry if there was some kind of confusion. To that end we have some quick info about how to get the elusive discounted room rates that the casinos offer to their players. First and foremost, casino rates for rooms aren't just thrown out to people for showing up at the casino. The general rule I've seen is that casino hosts and the casino marketing departments that manage the player development process require that gamblers and casino players gamble at least four hours a day and also gamble a minium level of bet. That's half the battle as far as I've seen, because many people believe that just being in the casino should allow them to get the casino comps. Now on the other hand, when it comes to slot and video machines the rule generally changes and the fact is that each casino sets it's own limit as to the amount a player is betting through the machines each day the play. Again, it has to be a minium level of some cash value.

The goal is to understand the rules of the casino comp game to get the casino rate. The ultimate goal, no doubt is to get the elusive free room and or suite at the casino, but as I stated, getting a casino rate where the room is deeply discounted is also an option and a much easier thing to obtain. The strategy is very simple. If you're going on vacation to say a Las Vegas Casino Hotel, call up that hotel and as to speak with a casino host. They will explain to you the rules and the levels of play you need to have in order to qualify for free and or discounted rooms. It really is that easy. Remember, the casino hosts are there to get you into the casinos to gamble and play so you're not putting them out. Being prepared to get the most out of your stay at the casino hotel is the best way to understand how to get the most from your casino comps.

We'll be coming back in a few more days to discuss more perks that come along with casino comps. Don't miss out.