VIP explains how expensive the ‘High Roller’ status is to achieve

Thread: What it’s really like being a Vegas Casino “VIP”

I’ve been a high status player at the Cosmopolitan resort for 7 years. Here is how I got there, how much $$$ it took, the benefits, the actual net gain/losses, and whether it was worth it: pic.twitter.com/BZiJtIYAHy

— Rick Golfs (@Top100Rick) January 18, 2023

The VIP player starts with a modest amount of USD 5 at a table. It’s the beginning of the evening and the start of numerous tweets about his progression.

How I got status took a lot of luck:

I was playing a $5 slot machine at the Cosmo, expecting to lose a couple hundred and leave. Instead, I played for hours. Then I took the winnings and played a $25 machine for hours as well.

I ended that night with Gold status.

— Rick Golfs (@Top100Rick) January 18, 2023

With Gold status, my rooms were now free, as well as much of my food and beverage. I was now hooked.

I put $66,188 through the slots in 2016 with a net win of $2,190.62. This is crazy lucky, do not try this at home!!

— Rick Golfs (@Top100Rick) January 18, 2023

2017 came and I decided to go for Platinum status. My free rooms got nicer, but it came at a cost.

I put $95,985.30 through the slots that year, for a net loss of $8,242.11. (Not counting my free rooms or comps, we will get to that later.) Not good, but I was now a VIP…

— Rick Golfs (@Top100Rick) January 18, 2023

2018 I felt like a king. A limo would pick me up. I checked in at the VIP lounge. I was now getting 900 sq foot suites with giant balconies overlooking the Bellagio fountains.

But this came at a cost. $183k through the slots with a net loss of $14,308 dollars. pic.twitter.com/ZrNYSR8sWb

— Rick Golfs (@Top100Rick) January 18, 2023

I managed to maintain my VIP status to today, with surprisingly (relatively) low losses. Keep in mind, this is NOT normal, my expected return would be losses MUCH higher than this. DO NOT TRY THIS lol.

It's insane that I put $811k through slot machines lol. pic.twitter.com/M4G6tzQv70

— Rick Golfs (@Top100Rick) January 18, 2023

So 7 full years of high limit slots, I lost $34,847. Not great, right?

But going in, that's to be expected. The question is do the comps cancel out the losses? Did I do well enough that essentially gambling was free entertainment?

— Rick Golfs (@Top100Rick) January 18, 2023

In that time, I got 105 free nights at the Cosmo. Most of those suites on weekends, which often run over $1k a night.

I decided to average it to $500 a night value. Also estimated $5,250 in free F&B, and $2,800 in free limo rides. pic.twitter.com/uChHtEzZUf

— Rick Golfs (@Top100Rick) January 18, 2023

These numbers don’t seem to add up to me. Not saying your lying. Your obviously not. But slots must we weighted wildly different than online and table play. I had 985k in action through MGM in eight months and only went up two tiers.

— Anthony Vincent (@VinnyGambini212) January 18, 2023