Vegas Lingo

Ever wonder what some of those words you hear in Vegas mean? Do you think I'm making these things up? Here are some common Vegas words and phrases I hear all over Vegas - and some that I'm sure to use here at some time.

Comps - A "comp" or "complimentary" is a freebie or deal you earn through your gambling. It could be a free buffet, tickets to a show, cash back from the casino (since you lost so much!), or a free room. Using your slot card at all the machines and table games gets you "rated" with the casino. That way, if they feel you are gambling enough and they want more of your money - I mean, your business - they can invite you back and entice you to come stay with them and gamble because of the comps they are offering you. Some casinos are very generous with their comps, but some are very stingy and do not reward anything for less that $1,000 gambling money through their machines or across their table felt. For example, at Wynn you can earn two free buffets for anywhere from 50 to 250 points (depending on their current promotion), but after that you have to earn a lot of points to get another freebie or a really good room offer. And the buffet comp is a one-time deal for new card members at Wynn; it's an enticement to play. But the buffet is worth it if you want to try it out and are going to be gambling at their casino, anyway.

Slot club/player's club and slot card/player's card - The "card" you get for joining this "club" can be obtained at most Las Vegas casinos. In exchange for some personal information that puts you on a mailing list, you get a card that looks very much like a credit card for that particular casino or group of casinos. The card is called a "slot card" or "player's card" because you stick the 'card' in a 'slot' on a video poker or slot machine to track your play.

Tokes - You may hear a dealer use this term, and it means a "tip". A toke is a tip and a tip is a toke.

Color up - No, you're not embarrassed. You're turning in your smaller denomination chips (like $5 or $25 chips) at a table game like blackjack or craps for larger denomination chips (like $100 or $500 chips). The dealers like to keep the smaller chips on the tables, so when you're ready to leave the table and go elsewhere, you'll want to 'color up' your chips. After you've done that, you'll need to take your larger denomination chips to the casino cashier cage to redeem for cash. At a roulette table, you get a different type of chips to gamble with so that each player at the table has a different color to use for their individual bets. That way, no one can say you're using their chips instead of your own. When you're ready to color up and leave the table, you will get the highest denomination chips for your special roulette chips, which are also redeemed at the casino cashier cage for real money.

Money plays/checks plays - This one you will hear at some table games if a person walks up and just wants to bet one hand/one spin/one roll of the dice. They put down their money and state their bet; some know to say "money play", and then the dealer/croupier will repeat the bet so that the pit boss hears it: "Money plays!" The pit boss will usually come over and watch that hand/spin/roll. It's usually just a random $5-$25 bet someone was told to make for a friend or co-worker, or from someone who wants to see if the table is "hot" before they sit down and commit a few other bills to the play. You will definitely will see tenser moments when you hear "Checks play", which is a large denomination being played on that hand/spin/roll (usually $100 or more, with a large denomination bill). The pit boss is a lot more attentive to the table then...

Pit boss, or "pit critter" - This is the man or woman who "rates the play" of the players at the table games. They watch for cheating on either side of the table (dealer or player), give out buffet comps and the like, and generally walk around thinking they're funny - but they usually look pretty serious. I've found few are actually funny; they just think they are. They are dressed in suits, and they take your slot card in order to record your name and account number, walking by periodically to see how much you're betting per hand. This way, they can put your betting habits into their computer system (since there's no "slot" for your card at the table), including the time you sat down and started betting and when you left, and they can give you credit for playing the games and help you earn comps faster. "Pit critter" is a term used by Vegas frequenters for a particularly surly or aggravating pit boss. We use it in fun. Really, we do. Sometimes...

Hand pay - This is when you are paid - by a person - for a jackpot or big win on a slot or video poker machine. Usually the machine will pay you with coins or a ticket for your win, but if the amount is very large or it is the top jackpot payout for the machine (the highest amount available to win on a single spin/bet), you will be paid by a Slot Attendant and Floor Personnel.

Cash out - What you should not forget to do before you leave a slot machine or video poker machine! If you have won something, or if you have any credits left and wish to leave the machine, be sure to hit the "CASH OUT" button and collect your money or your ticket before you walk away. Personally, if I'm at a slot machine or video poker machine, I do this out of habit before I get up because I sometimes forget I have a few credits left. Otherwise, the next person to come along will be much happier than you when they cash out and spend your money. You can also tell a blackjack dealer, craps croupier, or roulette croupier that you want to cash out and they will "color up" your stack with larger denomination chips before you leave the table.

Whale - This is a "high roller", or a very BIG spender, and most of them seem to be men. They spend more than you think (more than you can imagine!), and they are treated very, very well when they go to Vegas. They don't usually gamble with the 'common folk' like us, but are instead led to private salons for their gambling - some of these salons even have very private entrances - so that you don't see them drop $100,000 on a hand of blackjack or $50,000 on a hand of baccarat when they're playing 3 spots at a time at the table. Nope, you don't see baccarat on the regular casino floor, do you? Because it's usually Asians (all ages) and very wealthy men and women who like the game and can afford to lose more money on one hand than I have ever even thought of spending on a new house. The man or woman in the nice suit (hovering around the player continuously) is probably a casino host, hoping that he or she will lose about $1 million or so per day in order to justify the comps they're getting (private jet, mansion access, etc.). And the pit bosses and dealers are always nice to the whales - they could pay their salaries in tips alone. A true whale is a sight to see, and I've only ever seen one myself. I use my own terms for other 'high rollers' or people I think spend more than I ever could: killer whale, dolphin, or even guppy - that's me.

TITO - TITO stands for "Ticket In, Ticket Out", and it is the system that most casinos in Vegas now use on their slot and video poker machines. It means that those machines will take tickets you may have cashed out of another machine, but when you cash out of this one, you will get a ticket instead of coins. Most new slot and video poker machines don't even have a coin acceptor anymore. They will take bills ($1 to $100) and TITO tickets only, and will only give out TITO tickets when you hit the "CASH OUT" button. Don't forget to cash your TITO tickets before you leave the casino, even if the casino is part of a bigger organization (like Harrah's Entertainment, or HET). You can't cash a Harrah's TITO ticket at Paris or Caesars or the like. And they do expire, so if you don't cash them in on your trip, you'd have to send the TITO ticket with someone else going to Vegas within the next 60 days or so (the exact expiration date is on your ticket) - or book another trip yourself! If you forget and leave Vegas with a smaller TITO ticket that you're not too worried about ($5 or $10, for example), there are Vegas charities that will allow you to mail them the tickets, and they will cash them and add the amount to their donations. It counts as a tax-deductible donation on your federal taxes, too!

Match play - This is a coupon that can be used to basically double your bet on certain table games, like blackjack or roulette. For instance, you place a $5 bet on your blackjack hand and place a $5 matchplay coupon on top of it. If you win, you get $10 plus another $5 or $10 (depending on the type of blackjack you're playing). Found in Vegas coupon books and magazines, some casinos limit their players to only one matchplay per gambling session.

So those are just a few of the common terms you may hear around Vegas and on various Vegas websites. I know I haven't covered all of them, but at least these few will help you understand an otherwise foreign language.