I was on a recent trip to Las Vegas and the outlying smaller centres, and found that I was asked by every pit boss if I wanted a player's card. In some cases they pushed it on me a fair bit. I use the halves count, and was playing singe and double deck, with quarter units, starting at two units off the shuffle, and going to one on a loss with negative count, or four with a win and positive count, parlaying wins on a positive count, etc. I was told on more than one occassion that I had generated enough action or buy in for discounted rooms, meals, and in two cases I was told that I would have earned a free room. Now, I am in this for the cash, and comps are an added bonus. On the other hand, I come from Canada, and any freebies that cut my trip expenses are more than welcome. I have heard that through some of these players clubs, you can even get discount or free airfare with enough play.
I declined all players cards during my visit so that I could get some professional input. I don't like the casinos having my name, but my feeling is that if they really want my identity, they will be able to get it anyway. On the other hand, if someone is going to bar me, which so far seems unlikely as I play short sessions and haven't been doing too bad as far as heat (my max parlayed bet is $200), I don't want to be screwed at every casino in Nevada because they all have my name and when they enter my player's card in the computer a siren goes off. Am I being paranoid?
I am leaning towards just getting players club comp cards on my next trip under my real name, and taking my chances.
Should I continue to refuse these cards? I am concerned that looks unusual, and I am planning to take monthly or bi-monthly trips to Nevada now, and surely they will recognize me after awhile. Why would I refuse a comp card if I wasn't a card counter wanting to keep my identity secret? Should I get a card but with a fake name? They require ID, so I would need a fake one, and I am not sure where that might put me legally if I ever do get barred or identified. Or do I just get the cards under my real name? What do the pros do?
