As you gamble with your players card, you generally accrue tier credits and comp dollars. Just how are these earned?
In order to gain valuable player points, is it based on dollars spent per spin or time spent at a machine?
Debbi J.
Generally, the calculation of how many tier credits and comp dollars goes in one of two directions:
- How much you’re betting and how many wagers you’re making (in a scenario where you earn based on dollars wagered, which some casinos offer), or
- Based on your expected loss from the amount you’re wagering, the game you’re playing (and its expected earnings for the casino), and the number of wagers you’ve made
In either case, it looks at your cumulative play, so the longer you play, the more wagers you make, the more points you earn. But specifically for tier earnings the only reason time spent factors in is simply you’re playing longer, and therefore wagering more, which then is accounted for in that calculation above.
Time spent on machine will, however, generally tend to be important for offers that aim to lure you back – if you’re doing short bursts and big bets, that’s a much more volatile scenario than if you’re steadily playing and betting for a few hours.
The example we love to give is a roulette player who bets $500 once on red or black, double or nothing, vs. the slot player who makes 500 $1 bets. On roulette, the casino has one chance to take 500. On the slots, the casino has 500 chances to take $1.
While the slot player may earn less on that one scenario, if that scenario repeats even a few times, the slot player is going to come out ahead for the casino. The more wagers you make, exposed to the house edge, the more likely the casino will come out ahead. And this doesn’t even take into account the fact that slots generally have a higher house advantage than roulette, so they’re going to make more money for the casino in the long run anyway.
So ultimately it’s about the amount of bets and the game you’re playing, either from a dollar amount or your expected spend amount. The longer you play, and the more bets you make, the more you’ll accrue. And, of course, if you tier up, those accrual rates could increase, depending on the program.
