Calculating Player Rewards

Slots Slot Clubs Ask Questions Learn the System Earning Points The Benefits Player Rewards Back to the beginning

Aside from the type of prizes slot clubs dole out (cash or comps), the most important distinction among them is the method used to calculate player rewards. A club can reward its players based on how many coins they put into the machine (coin-in), how many coins come out (coin-out), or how much the casino thinks the player will win or lose in the long run (theoretical win). The coin-in system is the simplest method to understand. Thankfully, it's also by far the most common.

Based on a formula that's usually made public, the casino awards points according to how much money is played through the machine. For example, Luxor gives you one point for every $2.50 played into any reel machine or $5 played into a video poker machine.

The four Station Casinos (Boulder Station, Palace Station, Texas Station, and Sunset Station) give you one point for every $1 played into any machine, reels, video poker, or keno. Of course, until we know what the points are worth (i.e. how many are needed to obtain a buffet comp for two or a $1 cash rebate), we cannot accurately evaluate how generous a casino is to its slot club members.

Most coin-in slot clubs allow you to check your point total by inserting your card into any machine's reader. After the welcome-player bit, most systems give you your total points and indicate the countdown. Many also display the current session's total points.

Three popular Las Vegas casinos (Gold Coast, Barbary Coast, and the The Orleans) award points based on the coins you win, or take out of the machine, not what you put in. Here's an example: My $200 in cash and I visit the Gold Coast and play quarter video poker for one hour. My bets, via the bill acceptor or credit meter, total $600. At the end of the hour, I have $250, which means my total winnings equal $650. At almost every casino, my points would be based on $600, but at the Gold Coast I would have received 650 points. But if I had only $150 in cash (meaning I won only $550), I would have received only 550 points, which is less than the 600 I would have gotten anywhere else. In the long run most players would get approximately the same points from either a coin-in or a coin-out system.

Another basis casinos use to award points, cash, and comps is theoretical win -- one of the few slot club concepts that is as complicated as it sounds. Loosely defined, theoretical win is what the casino, based on the hold percentage of the machine you're playing, thinks it will win from you (and other similar players) in the long run. With slots this is quite easy to predict, as the machine hold remains the same no matter who plays it. Video poker theoretical win is much more complicated due to the player-skill factor. Whatever the theoretical win percentage is (usually between 4 and 9% of your play), the casino takes a percentage of that (5-20%) to figure your benefits.

One of the most uncomfortable factors of theoretical win for the casino is trying to explain it to the player without implying that "we treat losers much better than we treat winners." Casinos avoid the problem by not explaining the system at all through don't-ask-won't-tell slot clubs. Though casinos everywhere use theoretical win to determine such things as comp levels and who gets invited to the New Year's Eve party, most theoretical cashback systems in Southern Nevada, including a recent short-lived attempt at the Resort at Summerlin, have been wiped out by negative player reaction.

Many low (or no) cash-rebate slot clubs, especially the ones that cater to the local trade, offer double- and triple-point bonus times. This means that instead of earning one point per dollar played, you earn two or three points per the same dollar. These times are extremely valuable to players, especially if the slot club pays cashback; on a triple-point day at the The Orleans in Las Vegas, for example, you earn triple the cashback from the slot club for the same play as you would on a regular-point day. If you're a fan of 8/5 bonus poker, for example, a triple-point day can turn this slightly negative game into a slightly positive one. Double- and triple-point days are also valuable for players interested in comps, since you can earn three buffets or coffee-shop comps for the price of one.

The Barbary Coast, Gold Cost, and The Orleans always run triple points once a month on holidays. The Fiesta usually has them on Monday and Wednesday. In Laughlin and on the Mississippi, bonus times are offered on a regular basis in almost all casinos. The Beau Rivage pays out double points to their high-roller customers.

The best way to find out about these promos is to read your casino mail carefully, especially the slot club newsletters, and scan the ads in the daily newspapers and weekly free tourist magazines. Also ask at the slot club booth. Some machine read-outs also announce upcoming promotions.