Are Detroit's High Rollers Feeling a Pinch?

Are Metro Detroit's high rollers getting lowballed by the city's casinos?

Ask industry experts and big bettors, such as businessman Tom Fetzer of Birmingham, and the answer is a resounding "yes."

"I'm not a casual gambler," said Fetzer, who estimates his monthly play at MGM Grand Detroit averages $4,000. "And I've come to expect to be rewarded for it."

Instead, Fetzer and other big-time gamblers say they're seeing casinos' recessionary cost-cutting in the form of reduced comps. In recent weeks, regular players say they've noticed reductions in rewards such as cash back and free hotel stays from MGM as well as a pullback in freebies from the city's other two gambling halls, MotorCity and Greektown.

Short for complimentary, "comps" are the givebacks casinos award players to retain loyalty and keep their dollars flowing into the house's coffers. Comps range from cash back on slots and video poker machines to free hotel nights to gratis designer goods, all meant to keep big players playing. Experts say comps can be the most effective marketing tool casinos have to entice players to spend big.

And those high rollers -- a loosely-defined term for players who bet big and a lot -- often are the spenders who can make casinos enormously profitable.

The pullback in giveaways is a cost-cutting strategy that hasn't been seen in other recent recessions. In the most recent downturn of 2002-03, for example, experts said many casinos ratcheted up comps to keep gamblers playing through the tough times.

For the complete story, please see Nathan Hurst, Casino perks cut, high rollers claim, The Detroit News, March 2, 2009.