Gambling at any casino is a game. If you’re good at the game, you’re going to win. Gambling at the slots, however, isn’t much of a game unless you know you have a chance of winning. The secret to winning at the slot machines in any of the Gila River Casinos in Arizona is to be a member of the Player’s Club, but only if you know how to use the Player’s Club to your advantage.
Player’s Club Benefits
As a member of the Player’s Club, you get a Player’s Club Card. Each membership level is a different color, from emerald to platinum. Moving up from one level to another occurs automatically as you collect bonus points. Of course, to collect bonus points, your card has to be inserted in a slot machine while you’re playing.
Each level has its own benefits but some benefits are worth more than others. Free bonus play, free point play and complimentary food is available at all levels. On certain days, as the promotions are scheduled, you get more bonus “money” than on other days. You just insert the card, enter your pin number and select bonus play. How much “cash” you have available when you start is displayed. You can’t withdraw the bonus money but you can “cash out” anything you win with it.
How much and how often you play determines how much you can get in “player’s compensation” for food. It can be as little as $5.00 and as high as $40.00 (or more). I really don’t know how high it can be because I’ve never checked.
How to Win
It’s obvious that you win jackpots on slot machines, but only if you win. That’s not the kind of winning I’m talking about. If you gamble at the slots on a day where you get a bonus, anything you win as a result of playing the bonus is yours and if you combine that with free food, you’re definitely a winner. Let me give you an example of what I did one day while watching my wife play (I don’t normally gamble at all).
We went on a day where my wife’s bonus was $50.00. She played the slots until the bonus money ran out. The amount she accumulated before the bonus money ran out was about $62.00. I made her cash it out because I knew she would have just continued playing until that money was gone as well. Anyway, we cashed it out, she went to the Player’s Club booth and got her compensation ticket for food and then ordered food from the “deli” and we left. In essence, she won $87.00 that day.
How to be a Good Loser
Let’s face it, casinos make money when you lose your own money. To be a good loser, however, requires a bit of forethought on your part if you’re playing with anything but bonus money. First of all, don’t take any more cash to the casino than you can afford to lose. Second, don’t take any bank cards with you – no credit or debit cards, especially cards tied to a bank account. Once you lose what you can afford to lose, the temptation to use your bank cards is usually stronger than your willpower to avoid it. Remember, you’re gambling with your own money, right?
Leave when you’re out of cash or anytime before you’re out of cash. It’s really that simple. If you leave with more than you started with, even if it’s just a dollar, you’re still a winner. If not, you’re a loser and I hope you’re a good loser.
My Disclaimer
I dislike any form of gambling. If I thought for a moment that my wife was addicted to gambling (and she’s not), I would make sure she was getting treated for it. Fortunately for me, I don’t rely on her income for anything at all, even if she gets addicted. She’ll be joining me in the Philippines as soon as her mother (and my mother-in-law) is done with all of her medical checkups and such (another year, probably), so I’m not really worried about it.
Like anything else in this world, it’s not the act of gambling itself that’s evil (that’s debatable, of course), it’s when the addiction takes control of your life. A gambling addiction is just as dangerous as an addiction to tobacco or alcohol and don’t believe anyone who says it’s not.