Should I accept comps?
Comps are offered by casinos as an enticement to keep players gambling longer and for larger sums of money. Much like mice, who will stop pushing a lever unless occasionally given a reward for their efforts, players will continue to play for long periods of time, in the quest for comps.
The casino gives comps based on a formula that assumes a house edge on the game. The casino views comps as a small rebate on theoretical losses that a player risks. Since I play with advanced strategies, I don't have a house edge, in fact, I play with an advantage! Is it ethical for me to accept comps that the casino offers based on their assumption of a theoretical loss, when I actually have the long run advantage?
Wouldn't it be more fair to give money back to the casino based on the same small percentage that they rebate losses?
Should I even be playing? Casinos make multi-million dollar investments in physical properties. They employ thousands and thousands of people, who depend on the casino making profits, to earn a living. Thousands of more people invest in the stock of the corporations that own the casinos. All these people depend on the fact that the casino has the edge and will make money on the games in the long run. Is it ethical for me to even play with an edge? By winning money instead of losing like I am 'suppose' to, aren't I potentially causing many dealers, pit, floor people to lose their jobs? Not to mention the valet parkers, maids, cooks, hotel desk people, casino hosts, etc. who also depend on that house edge to supply their paychecks. If I am playing with an edge, isn't at least paying these peoples salaries while I play, the moral thing to do?
And what about the stockholders? Somewhere there are widows and orphans depending on these corporations to turn a profit and pay dividends. Even if they don't own this stock directly, the failure of a large corporation like PPE or Harrah's to maintain quarterly earnings would have ripple effects in the market place. By playing with an edge and winning, I am potentially snatching crumbs of food from the mouths of poor starving children.
How can I play and win, and then willingly accept even more money from the casino, in the form of comps, and still sleep at night?
If I am going to enter a casino and play, isn't there a moral and ethical obligation imposed on me by society to lose?
