We’re a long way from the time when you could dress in your fanciest clothes, sit at a $5 blackjack table for a few hours, and expect the pit boss to give you a bunch of free rooms and meals and other comps.
Casinos pretty much have a set formula now for how much you need to spend before they consider you a high roller. And they won’t tell you what it is.
According to a professional gambler, he got “gold” status at the Cosmopolitan in Vegas after he played several hours at a $5 slot machine, then took his winnings and played at a $25 machine for a few more hours.
Gold status got him free rooms, food, and drinks. He wound up spending about $66,000 on slots the rest of the year . . . with a $2,200 profit. That got him to platinum status with limo rides, a VIP lounge at the casino, and free suites.
Over the course of seven years, he spent $811,000 total on slots and wound up with a net loss of just $34,800. But . . . he estimates he got $60,500 in free perks.
