One of the first things we all do when we get home from work is to check the mail. It's usually a combination of bills, a lot of junk mail and perhaps a letter or card from a friend. Today I got another promotional offer from one of the Las Vegas casinos. I say another, because I get a lot of them.

This one touts a "Complimentary room for three nights, daily buffet breakfast for two, two show tickets to one of two shows and $100 in additional complimentaries." Not bad for a couple of $10 - $25 blackjack and craps players. This is just one of more than a dozen offers we have received in the last few months!

It's nice to be wanted, and you can be too! The first step is letting the casinos know you exist. You guessed it -- player cards. Once you're on their list, you'll start to get offers. Of course the first offers will probably be invites at the casino rate (about 40-60% of the normal rack rate), rather than the free nights.

So what do you do when you get those offers that are not for the really FREE trips? You write back to them!

I stumbled on this strategy by chance and it appears to work very well. A long time ago we got a letter from a casino that we had visited on one of our trips to LV. I had signed up for their players card and had played only for a short time. The letter simply invited us for a two day stay (casino rate) and included a couple of buffets. I sat there and wondered what I could do to turn those 'casino rate' invites into 'free' invites.

That day I decided to write the casino back, thanking them for thinking of us and providing us with the opportunity to revisit their casino. I also described the offer that we had received from our regular casino and said , "if you ever have anything like that, please let me know." I mentioned our normal betting ranges and the table games we played, hours usually played, etc.

I've used letters like these several times and they have been very successful. In my little manual 'Casino COMP Basics - A Casino Comp Manual For The $10 And Up Bettor' I have included a couple of sample letters that I have used. If a casino really wants my play (or yours), why not go to the casino offering you the most in return for your time played.

How many letters do you think a casino marketing manager receives? Of that number, how many do you think are positive and how many are negative? I'm betting that my (your) letter will be appreciated simply because it says "thanks for asking, but I get a better deal elsewhere." Who knows, maybe he (she) will put a little mark by your name in their computer and next month that FREE one will be in your mailbox when you get home. Give them a try, they have worked for us.

Until next month remember, "When you know how it's easy."