“Other casinos will be willing to match that status and give you comps upfront. “Let’s say you gamble your ass off at the Mirage and attain a high level of status but don’t ordinarily risk that much money,” says Steve Cyr, super-host at the recently opened Westgate Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and subject of the book Whale Hunt in the Desert. If you are known as a big gambler in one casino, hosts at competing casinos will be happy to treat you as a high roller before you wager your first dollar. Follow these slightly sneaky but perfectly legal gambits and you’ll be beating the house out of rib eyes and lobster tails in no time.

Just as there are ways of winning at games, there are ways of outsmarting hosts. The nature of his largess – which can range from a gratis dinner at the buffet to a ride home on the casino’s private jet – is based on how much money you risk. His job is to divvy out free stuff that will induce you to come back and gamble some more. That seemingly generous person is a casino host.

He’ll slip you his business card and ask if you need a room or dinner or tickets to a show. Spend enough time gambling in casinos and eventually a guy in a suit will approach you.

Casino hosts at the mirage las vegas