[.ca] Comp City: A Guide to Free Casino Vacations (ISBN 0929712366)

Only Useful If You Enjoy Blackjack:
There's no point in wasting your money on this if you don't like blackjack. 90% of the book is based on blackjack play. If you play slots, for example, the advice is very limited and is mostly common sense- sign up for the slot club and you'll get discounted rooms. Don't sign up and you'll still get free drinks. That's about it. There's a whole section on why everything except blackjack stinks. If you like blackjack and play well, there are some interesting ways of trying to make the casinos think you play more than you do. Some will make you look like an idiot at the tables, but that's all part of the scam. Your main goal will be to slow down the game for everyone at the table so it looks like you play more per hour than you do. Some of the stories in the book are entertaining, and it did make me chuckle here and there, but there's nothing very original here. If you play $25+ hands of blackjack, bet huge when the "bosses" are around, and slow the game down as much as possible, you might have a shot at some decent comps. Bribe (Tip!) some of the employees if you can, and your odds of getting comps go up. Who would have guessed? The best advice I got out of it is that if you don't ask for comps, they won't give them to you. I'm one of the people who goes to casinos to relax, not to stalk the employees at 3 in the morning to bribe them with buffets from the hotel next door, so I'll probably never get that free hotel room. Ah well!

Free Lunch Vegas Style:
The convoluted premise of the book is that you should obnoxiously badger the casino into giving you comps while endlessly playing Blackjack and feigning large bets. Assuming you have no shame and find a casino that will put up with such antics, the sophomoric author promises that your expected mathematical losses will eventually be offset by getting free meals and hotel rooms. A lot of sordid effort for a small return - bon appetite!

For all of you who......:
First, I would like to say flat out-- yes, Max talks about husteling every possible comp you can get and sometimes the methods he mentions can be demeaning or whatever (pardon my terrible spelling!). But this is the definitive book an all aspects of comps, from sittting down at a slot machine right as the cocktail waitress walks by to full RFB (room, food and beverage), and as such, it covers ALL aspects. You choose what you want to do, but don't bite the book because you don't like some methods. Secondly, I would like to inform all the people who rate this book low and talk about Max's strategies eventually losing your bank and this that and the other thing. Knowing about blackjack and standard deviation and the correct odds will help you there. If you DO play basic strategy blackjack, your comps will, ON AVERAGE, pay for your blackjack play and then some. Don't tell the people who are browsing this book that Max doesn't know about casinos. This is MAX RUBIN. Max is a very knowledgable man, and the host of teh infamous Blackjack Ball, where all the best of the best BJ players get together and brag to eachother about how great they all are. I can assure you Max knows what he is talking about. If you are looking to make money, learn to count cards, or better yet, get a real job. If you are looking to get the most bang for your buck, get free stuff, and maybe even have a Vegas vacation pay for itself, GET THIS BOOK. Max is the man!

Entertaining but Not Enlightening:
I guess you really need to be a high roller to get results with this book. Bottom line is that when you're laying down big money you don't need to seek out comps too actively. For us little guys there were a few tips and tricks, but nothing life-changing.

A Little Helpful And Funny:
This book is a good read for any gambler with limited knowledge of casino operations and marketing. Many of the reviewers pan the book for some of his comp hustling ways, but he explains that not all things in the book are for everyone. Max also states that it is for people that would have gambled anyway and were getting nothing or very little. I think this book benefits gamblers that are currently not comped and don't know how to get comps. Max is a bit overboard in his ways, but it is a good primer for people that don't know how casino comps work. Most people play and get nothing because they don't know they can get something. I have friends that I gambled with many years ago, but they don't go very often anymore. These friends are in significantly higher income brackets now and still don't get (or ask for) comps for their higher action during the few trips they make to casinos. This book would be very helpful to them. The one knock against the book is when Max writes if a game becomes a "magilla," to leave because too many eyes will be on the game. If black chips are flying at a table, I think most people would stop comp hustling and get in on the winning!