Everyone would like to be comped. Let's face it, if you had the chance to spend two, three or four days in Las Vegas without having to pay for your room, meals or shows you'd take it! We can envision being picked up at the airport in a limo, met by a casino host at the casino, contending with no check in lines, show tickets ready and waiting for us, as well as comps to the health spa and fruit baskets and champagne in our room.

The problem we face is that the casino is NOT going to come to you with this kind of offer. That is, unless you are a high roller making bets in the $50 and up range.

Or you can decide to become a "Comp Cadger", learn everything you can about comps, follow the advice of those who have the experience, and maybe, just maybe, in the very near future you too can share in the excitement of being asked to spend a weekend in Las Vegas, compliments of your favorite casino!

Everything in life comes with a price tag. Most of the things I've learned in life have not been paid for with dollars and cents. Formal classroom training and study gets you prepared for life, but is no substitute for the actual trial and error process.

You can learn from others' mistakes through conversations, observations or reading articles and books they have written. You're presumably reading this right now because you want to learn more about comps and how to get them. Good for you! You're on the right track.

Myself, being on the stubborn side, I went through a lot of trial and error in learning what I do know. I'm like the person who said , "I tried it a number of times the wrong way just to make sure it wouldn't work!"

When you try something and it doesn't work you need to modify your approach and try again. Too many of us try something once, say, "Well, that didn't work," and quit. Or, we keep using the same approach over and over with the same results and wonder why it's not working! My spouse, PC, has a saying about that. "The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over and expecting different results!" It's not going to happen.

So, how does this apply to comps? You need to learn everything you can about comps, the system and how it works, who to talk to, what to ask for and what to expect in return, who to take care of, why your dress is important, how casino credit fits into the picture and a host of other subjects. Check out the other comp articles, or order a copy of Casino Comp Basics, A Casino Comp Manual for the $10 and Up Bettor. However, bottom line, the most important item is YOU!

Are you the type of person that's a bulldog when it comes to learning something new? Or are you the type that tends to be a little bit tentative when it comes to dealing with a new learning situation? Understand, learning is a process, not a race and it doesn't matter when you finish. In fact, there is no finish line at all, it is an ongoing process.

Pick up a copy of Florence Littauer's book "Personality Plus." It's a wonderful book about people's personalities presented in an easy to understand manner. You'll find yourself in the book, and the more you know about YOU the better you'll be able to apply the principles you learn about comps to real casino situations.

It doesn't make any difference if you're the "bulldog" type or the "laid back" type when it comes to getting comps. What you don't know, or don't know how to do, you can learn.

Many years ago I listened to a cassette tape by Zig Ziglar, author, teacher and popular speaker. On the tape he described a little routine where he asks audiences to list what personal traits that they felt went into making a successful business person.

The audience listed honest, hardworking, positive, persistent, likable, trustworthy, considerate, compassionate, understanding, dedicated, industrious, creative, etc. You can add many more items to the list.

He then asked the audience to categorize each item as a talent-a natural ability or something that people were born with-or as an attitude. When the process was finished more than 80% of the 30 - 40 items listed were identified as attitudes. Zig Ziglar then pointed out that attitudes, unlike a talent can be taught!

So it doesn't make any difference if you are male or female, tall or short, skinny or fat, happy go lucky or the serious type, young or old, smart or not so smart, fun to be around or boring. ... You can modify, add to and improve your arsenal of attitudes and become a Comp Cadger pro!

It won't happen overnight and it won't happen unless you want it to. But over time, with practice and patience you can learn what you need to know. Read, study and learn, you'll become better at everything in life, not just comps. Good luck and have fun in the process. As they say, success is a journey-not a destination.

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