See the current promotions and contests at the Point Casino; the premiere casino in Kingston, WA. See the current promotions and contests at the Point Casino; the premiere casino in Kingston, WA. Now open from 4pm to midnight daily Card games are now playing! Roulette and Craps n. Guest Appreciation Day. Cassino (US) or Casino (Europe), is a fishing card game, often said without substantiation to be of Italian origin, for two, three, four (possibly in two partnerships), or even theoretically five players. It is the only fishing game to have penetrated the English-speaking world. To earn loyalty tier points on a slot machine at Ameristar Casino Resort Spa Black Hawk, players must cycle through $5.00 dollars per tier point. Choice Everybody that signs up for a players card at Ameristar Casino Resort Spa Black Hawk starts out with the Choice level. The trick to intelligent casino gambling - at least from the mathematical expectation point of view - is to avoid the games and bets with the large house advantages. Some casino games are pure chance - no amount of skill or strategy can alter the odds. Weekly reward play will require at least $1 inserted in the games to activate your play. You can also redeem you Points “Bonus Bucks” at the games or visit the Club to redeem your points for Bonus Bucks. Bonus Bucks & Food Bucks. All Wildcard Club members receive 1 point for every $1.00 played through the machines.

1. Casino The Card Game Point System
2. Casino Card Game Point System

Introduction

At its core the business of casino gaming is pretty simple. Casinos make money on their games because of the mathematics behind the games. As Nico Zographos, dealer-extraordinaire for the 'Greek Syndicate' in Deauville, Cannes, and Monte Carlo in the 1920s observed about casino gaming: 'There is no such thing as luck. It is all mathematics.'

With a few notable exceptions, the house always wins - in the long run - because of the mathematical advantage the casino enjoys over the player. That is what Mario Puzo was referring to in his famous novel Fools Die when his fictional casino boss character, Gronevelt, commented: 'Percentages never lie. We built all these hotels on percentages. We stay rich on the percentage. You can lose faith in everything, religion and God, women and love, good and evil, war and peace. You name it. But the percentage will always stand fast.'

Puzo is, of course, right on the money about casino gaming. Without the 'edge,' casinos would not exist. With this edge, and because of a famous mathematical result called the law of large numbers, a casino is guaranteed to win in the long run.

Why is Mathematics Important?

Critics of the gaming industry have long accused it of creating the name 'gaming' and using this as more politically correct than calling itself the 'gambling industry.' The term 'gaming,' however, has been around for centuries and more accurately describes the operators' view of the industry because most often casino operators are not gambling. Instead, they rely on mathematical principles to assure that their establishment generates positive gross gaming revenues. The operator, however, must assure the gaming revenues are sufficient to cover deductions like bad debts, expenses, employees, taxes and interest.

Despite the obvious, many casino professionals limit their advancements by failing to understand the basic mathematics of the games and their relationships to casino profitability. One casino owner would often test his pit bosses by asking how a casino could make money on blackjack if the outcome is determined simply by whether the player or the dealer came closest to 21. The answer, typically, was because the casino maintained 'a house advantage.' This was fair enough, but many could not identify the amount of that advantage or what aspect of the game created the advantage. Given that products offered by casinos are games, managers must understand why the games provide the expected revenues. In the gaming industry, nothing plays a more important role than mathematics.

Mathematics should also overcome the dangers of superstitions. An owner of a major Las Vegas strip casino once experienced a streak of losing substantial amounts of money to a few 'high rollers.' He did not attribute this losing streak to normal volatility in the games, but to bad luck. His solution was simple. He spent the evening spreading salt throughout the casino to ward off the bad spirits. Before attributing this example to the idiosyncrasies of one owner, his are atypical only in their extreme. Superstition has long been a part of gambling - from both sides of the table. Superstitions can lead to irrational decisions that may hurt casino profits. For example, believing that a particular dealer is unlucky against a particular (winning) player may lead to a decision to change dealers. As many, if not most, players are superstitious. At best, he may resent that the casino is trying to change his luck. At worst, the player may feel the new dealer is skilled in methods to 'cool' the game. Perhaps he is even familiar with stories of old where casinos employed dealers to cheat 'lucky' players.

Understanding the mathematics of a game also is important for the casino operator to ensure that the reasonable expectations of the players are met. For most persons, gambling is entertainment. It provides an outlet for adult play. As such, persons have the opportunity for a pleasant diversion from ordinary life and from societal and personal pressures. As an entertainment alternative, however, players may consider the value of the gambling experience. For example, some people may have the option of either spending a hundred dollars during an evening by going to a professional basketball game or at a licensed casino. If the house advantage is too strong and the person loses his money too quickly, he may not value that casino entertainment experience. On the other hand, if a casino can entertain him for an evening, and he enjoys a 'complimentary' meal or drinks, he may want to repeat the experience, even over a professional basketball game. Likewise, new casino games themselves may succeed or fail based on player expectations. In recent years, casinos have debuted a variety of new games that attempt to garner player interest and keep their attention. Regardless of whether a game is fun or interesting to play, most often a player will not want to play games where his money is lost too quickly or where he has a exceptionally remote chance of returning home with winnings.

Mathematics also plays an important part in meeting players' expectations as to the possible consequences of his gambling activities. If gambling involves rational decision-making, it would appear irrational to wager money where your opponent has a better chance of winning than you do. Adam Smith suggested that all gambling, where the operator has an advantage, is irrational. He wrote 'There is not, however, a more certain proposition in mathematics than that the more tickets [in a lottery] you advertise upon, the more likely you are a loser. Adventure upon all the tickets in the lottery, and you lose for certain; and the greater the number of your tickets, the nearer you approach to this certainty.'

Even where the house has an advantage, however, a gambler may be justified if the amount lost means little to him, but the potential gain would elevate him to a higher standing of living. For example, a person with an annual income of $30,000 may have $5 in disposable weekly income. He could save or gamble this money. By saving it, at the end of a year, he would have $260. Even if he did this for years, the savings would not elevate his economic status to another level. As an alternative, he could use the $5 to gamble for the chance to win $1 million. While the odds of winning are remote, it may provide the only opportunity to move to a higher economic class.

Since the casino industry is heavily regulated and some of the standards set forth by regulatory bodies involve mathematically related issues, casino managers also should understand the mathematical aspects relating to gaming regulation. Gaming regulation is principally dedicated to assuring that the games offered in the casino are fair, honest, and that players get paid if they win. Fairness is often expressed in the regulations as either requiring a minimum payback to the player or, in more extreme cases, as dictating the actual rules of the games offered. Casino executives should understand the impact that rules changes have on the payback to players to assure they meet regulatory standards. Equally important, casino executives should understand how government mandated rules would impact their gaming revenues.

The House Edge

The player's chances of winning in a casino game and the rate at which he wins or loses money depends on the game, the rules in effect for that game, and for some games his level of skill. The amount of money the player can expect to win or lose in the long run - if the bet is made over and over again - is called the player's wager expected value (EV), or expectation. When the player's wager expectation is negative, he will lose money in the long run. For a $5 bet on the color red in roulette, for example, the expectation is -$0.263. On the average the player will lose just over a quarter for each $5 bet on red.

When the wager expectation is viewed from the casino's perspective (i.e., the negative of the player's expectation) and expressed as a percentage, you have the house advantage. For the roulette example, the house advantage is 5.26% ($0.263 divided by $5). The formal calculation is as follows:

EV = (+5)(18/38) + (-5)(20/38) = -0.263
(House Advantage = 0.263/5 = 5.26%)

When this EV calculation is performed for a 1-unit amount, the negative of the resulting value is the house edge. Here are the calculations for bets on a single-number in double-zero and single-zero roulette.

Double-zero roulette (single number bet):
EV = (+35)(1/38) + (-1)(37/38) = -0.053
(House Advantage = 5.3%)

Single-zero roulette (single number bet):
EV = (+35)(1/37) + (-1)(36/37) = -0.027
(House Advantage = 2.7%)

The house advantage represents the long run percentage of the wagered money that will be retained by the casino. It is also called the house edge, the 'odds' (i.e., avoid games with bad odds), or just the 'percentage' (as in Mario Puzo's Fools Die). Although the house edge can be computed easily for some games - for example, roulette and craps - for others it requires more sophisticated mathematical analysis and/or computer simulations. Regardless of the method used to compute it, the house advantage represents the price to the player of playing the game.

Because this positive house edge exists for virtually all bets in a casino (ignoring the poker room and sports book where a few professionals can make a living), gamblers are faced with an uphill and, in the long run, losing battle. There are some exceptions. The odds bet in craps has zero house edge (although this bet cannot be made without making another negative expectation wager) and there are a few video poker machines that return greater than 100% if played with perfect strategy. Occasionally the casino will even offer a promotion that gives the astute player a positive expectation. These promotions are usually mistakes - sometimes casinos don't check the math - and are terminated once the casino realizes the player has the edge. But by and large the player will lose money in the long run, and the house edge is a measure of how fast the money will be lost. A player betting in a game with a 4% house advantage will tend to lose his money twice as fast as a player making bets with a 2% house edge. The trick to intelligent casino gambling - at least from the mathematical expectation point of view - is to avoid the games and bets with the large house advantages.

Some casino games are pure chance - no amount of skill or strategy can alter the odds. These games include roulette, craps, baccarat, keno, the big-six wheel of fortune, and slot machines. Of these, baccarat and craps offer the best odds, with house advantages of 1.2% and less than 1% (assuming only pass/come with full odds), respectively. Roulette and slots cost the player more - house advantages of 5.3% for double-zero roulette and 5% to 10% for slots - while the wheel of fortune feeds the casino near 20% of the wagers, and keno is a veritable casino cash cow with average house advantage close to 30%.

Games where an element of skill can affect the house advantage include blackjack, video poker, and the four popular poker-based table games: Caribbean Stud poker, Let It Ride, Three Card poker, and Pai Gow poker. For the poker games, optimal strategy results in a house edge in the 3% to 5% range (CSP has the largest house edge, PGP the lowest, with LIR and TCP in between). For video poker the statistical advantage varies depending on the particular machine, but generally this game can be very player friendly - house edge less than 3% is not uncommon and some are less than 1% - if played with expert strategy.

Blackjack, the most popular of all table games, offers the skilled player some of the best odds in the casino. The house advantage varies slightly depending on the rules and number of decks, but a player using basic strategy faces little or no disadvantage in a single-deck game and only a 0.5% house edge in the common six-deck game. Despite these numbers, the average player ends up giving the casino a 2% edge due to mistakes and deviations from basic strategy. Complete basic strategy tables can be found in many books and many casino-hotel gift shops sell color-coded credit card size versions. Rule variations favorable to the player include fewer decks, dealer stands on soft seventeen (worth 0.2%), doubling after splitting (0.14%), late surrender (worth 0.06%), and early surrender (uncommon, but worth 0.24%). If the dealer hits soft seventeen it will cost you, as will any restrictions on when you can double down.

Probability versus Odds

Probability represents the long run ratio of (# of times an outcome occurs) to (# of times experiment is conducted). Odds represent the long run ratio of (# of times an outcome does not occur) to (# of times an outcome occurs). If a card is randomly selected from a standard deck of 52 playing cards, the probability it is a spade is 1/4; the odds (against spade) are 3 to 1. The true odds of an event represent the payoff that would make the bet on that event fair. For example, a bet on a single number in double-zero roulette has probability of 1/38, so to break even in the long run a player would have to be paid 37 to 1 (the actual payoff is 35 to 1).

Confusion about Win Rate

There are all kinds of percentages in the world of gaming. Win percentage, theoretical win percentage, hold percentage, and house advantage come to mind. Sometimes casino bosses use these percentages interchangeably, as if they are just different names for the same thing. Admittedly, in some cases this is correct. House advantage is just another name for theoretical win percentage, and for slot machines, hold percentage is (in principle) equivalent to win percentage. But there are fundamental differences among these win rate measurements.

The house advantage - the all-important percentage that explains how casinos make money - is also called the house edge, the theoretical win percentage, and expected win percentage. In double-zero roulette, this figure is 5.3%. In the long run the house will retain 5.3% of the money wagered. In the short term, of course, the actual win percentage will differ from the theoretical win percentage (the magnitude of this deviation can be predicted from statistical theory). The actual win percentage is just the (actual) win divided by the handle. Because of the law of large numbers - or as some prefer to call it, the law of averages - as the number of trials gets larger, the actual win percentage should get closer to the theoretical win percentage.

Because handle can be difficult to measure for table games, performance is often measured by hold percentage (and sometimes erroneously called win percentage). Hold percentage is equal to win divided by drop. In Nevada, this figure is about 24% for roulette. The drop and hold percentage are affected by many factors; we won't delve into these nor the associated management issues. Suffice it to say that the casino will not in the long term keep 24% of the money bet on the spins of roulette wheel - well, an honest casino won't.

To summarize: House advantage and theoretical win percentage are the same thing, hold percentage is win over drop, win percentage is win over handle, win percentage approaches the house advantage as the number of plays increases, and hold percentage is equivalent to win percentage for slots but not table games.

· Hold % = Win/Drop
· Win % (actual) = Win/Handle
· H.A. = Theoretical Win % = Limit(Actual Win %) = Limit(Win/Handle)
· Hold Percentage ¹ House Edge

Furthermore, the house advantage is itself subject to varying interpretations. In Let It Ride, for example, the casino advantage is either 3.51% or 2.86% depending on whether you express the advantage with respect to the base bet or the average bet. Those familiar with the game know that the player begins with three equal base bets, but may withdraw one or two of these initial units. The final amount put at risk, then, can be one (84.6% of the time assuming proper strategy), two (8.5%), or three units (6.9%), making the average bet size 1.224 units. In the long run, the casino will win 3.51% of the hands, which equates to 2.86% of the money wagered. So what's the house edge for Let It Ride? Some prefer to say 3.51% per hand, others 2.86% per unit wagered. No matter. Either way, the bottom line is the same either way: assuming three $1 base bets, the casino can expect to earn 3.5¢ per hand (note that 1.224 x 0.0286 = 0.035).

The question of whether to use the base bet or average bet size also arises in Caribbean Stud Poker (5.22% vs. 2.56%), Three Card Poker (3.37% vs. 2.01%), Casino War (2.88% vs. 2.68%), and Red Dog (2.80% vs. 2.37%).

For still other games, the house edge can be stated including or excluding ties. The prime examples here are the player (1.24% vs. 1.37%) and banker (1.06% vs. 1.17%) bets in baccarat, and the don't pass bet (1.36% vs. 1.40%) in craps. Again, these are different views on the casino edge, but the expected revenue will not change.

That the house advantage can appear in different disguises might be unsettling. When properly computed and interpreted, however, regardless of which representation is chosen, the same truth (read: money) emerges: expected win is the same.

Volatility and Risk

Casino The Card Game Point System

Statistical theory can be used to predict the magnitude of the difference between the actual win percentage and the theoretical win percentage for a given number of wagers. When observing the actual win percentage a player (or casino) may experience, how much variation from theoretical win can be expected? What is a normal fluctuation? The basis for the analysis of such volatility questions is a statistical measure called the standard deviation (essentially the average deviation of all possible outcomes from the expected). Together with the central limit theorem (a form of the law of large numbers), the standard deviation (SD) can be used to determine confidence limits with the following volatility guidelines:

Volatility Analysis Guidelines
· Only 5% of the time will outcomes will be more than 2 SD's from expected outcome
· Almost never (0.3%) will outcomes be more than 3 SD's from expected outcome

Obviously a key to using these guidelines is the value of the SD. Computing the SD value is beyond the scope of this article, but to get an idea behind confidence limits, consider a series of 1,000 pass line wagers in craps. Since each wager has a 1.4% house advantage, on average the player will be behind by 14 units. It can be shown (calculations omitted) that the wager standard deviation is for a single pass line bet is 1.0, and for 1,000 wagers the SD is 31.6. Applying the volatility guidelines, we can say that there is a 95% chance the player's actual win will be between 49 units ahead and 77 units behind, and almost certainly between 81 units ahead and 109 units behind.

A similar analysis for 1,000 single-number wagers on double-zero roulette (on average the player will be behind 53 units, wager SD = 5.8, 1,000 wager SD = 182.2) will yield 95% confidence limits on the player win of 311 units ahead and 417 units behind, with win almost certainly between 494 units ahead and 600 units behind.

Note that if the volatility analysis is done in terms of the percentage win (rather than the number of units or amount won), the confidence limits will converge to the house advantage as the number of wagers increases. This is the result of the law of large numbers - as the number of trials gets larger, the actual win percentage should get closer to the theoretical win percentage. Risk in the gaming business depends on the house advantage, standard deviation, bet size, and length of play.

Player Value and Complimentaries

Using the house advantage, bet size, duration of play, and pace of the game, a casino can determine how much it expects to win from a certain player. This player earning potential (also called player value, player worth, or theoretical win) can be calculated by the formula:

Earning Potential = Average Bet ´ Hours Played ´ Decisions per Hour ´ House Advantage

For example, suppose a baccarat player bets $500 per hand for 12 hours at 60 hands per hour. Using a house advantage of 1.2%, this player's worth to the casino is $4,320 (500 ´ 12 ´ 60 ´ .012). A player who bets $500 per spin for 12 hours in double-zero roulette at 60 spins per hour would be worth about $19,000 (500 ´ 12 ´ 60 ´ .053).

Many casinos set comp (complimentary) policies by giving the player back a set percentage of their earning potential. Although comp and rebate policies based on theoretical loss are the most popular, rebates on actual losses and dead chip programs are also used in some casinos. Some programs involve a mix of systems. The mathematics associated with these programs will not be addressed in this article.

Casino Pricing Mistakes

In an effort to entice players and increase business, casinos occasionally offer novel wagers, side bets, increased payoffs, or rule variations. These promotions have the effect of lowering the house advantage and the effective price of the game for the player. This is sound reasoning from a marketing standpoint, but can be disastrous for the casino if care is not taken to ensure the math behind the promotion is sound. One casino offered a baccarat commission on winning banker bets of only 2% instead of the usual 5%, resulting in a 0.32% player advantage. This is easy to see (using the well-known probabilities of winning and losing the banker bet):

EV = (+0.98)(.4462) + (-1)(.4586) = 0.0032
(House Advantage = -0.32%)

A casino in Biloxi, Mississippi gave players a 12.5% edge on Sic Bo bets of 4 and 17 when they offered 80 to 1 payoffs instead of the usual 60 to 1. Again, this is an easy calculation. Using the fact that the probability of rolling a total of 4 (same calculation applies for a total of 17) with three dice is 1/72 (1/6 x 1/6 x 1/6 x 3), here are the expected values for both the usual and the promotional payoffs:

Usual 60 to 1 payoff: EV = (+60)(1/72) + (-1)(71/72) = -0.153
(House Advantage = 15.3%)

Promotional 80 to 1 payoff: EV = (+80)(1/72) + (-1)(71/72) = +0.125
(House Advantage = -12.5%)

In other promotional gaffes, an Illinois riverboat casino lost a reported $200,000 in one day with their '2 to 1 Tuesdays' that paid players 2 to 1 (the usual payoff is 3 to 2) on blackjack naturals, a scheme that gave players a 2% advantage. Not to be outdone, an Indian casino in California paid 3 to 1 on naturals during their 'happy hour,' offered three times a day, two days a week for over two weeks. This promotion gave the player a whopping 6% edge. A small Las Vegas casino offered a blackjack rule variation called the 'Free Ride' in which players were given a free right-to-surrender token every time they received a natural. Proper use of the token led to a player edge of 1.3%, and the casino lost an estimated $17,000 in eight hours. Another major Las Vegas casino offered a '50/50 Split' blackjack side bet that allowed the player to stand on an initial holding of 12-16, and begin a new hand for equal stakes against the same dealer up card. Although the game marketers claimed the variation was to the advantage of the casino, it turned out that players who exercised the 50/50 Split only against dealer 2-6 had a 2% advantage. According to one pit boss, the casino suffered a $230,000 loss in three and a half days.

In the gaming business, it's all about 'bad math' or 'good math.' Honest games based on good math with positive house advantage minimize the short-term risk and ensure the casino will make money in the long run. Players will get 'lucky' in the short term, but that is all part of the grand design. Fluctuations in both directions will occur. We call these fluctuations good luck or bad luck depending on the direction of the fluctuation. There is no such thing as luck. It is all mathematics.

Gaming Regulation and Mathematics

Casino gaming is one of the most regulated industries in the world. Most gaming regulatory systems share common objectives: keep the games fair and honest and assure that players are paid if they win. Fairness and honesty are different concepts. A casino can be honest but not fair. Honesty refers to whether the casino offers games whose chance elements are random. Fairness refers to the game advantage - how much of each dollar wagered should the casino be able to keep? A slot machine that holds, on average, 90% of every dollar bet is certainly not fair, but could very well be honest (if the outcomes of each play are not predetermined in the casino's favor). Two major regulatory issues relating to fairness and honesty - ensuring random outcomes and controlling the house advantage - are inextricably tied to mathematics and most regulatory bodies require some type of mathematical analysis to demonstrate game advantage and/or confirm that games outcomes are random. Such evidence can range from straightforward probability analyses to computer simulations and complex statistical studies. Requirements vary across jurisdictions, but it is not uncommon to see technical language in gaming regulations concerning specific statistical tests that must be performed, confidence limits that must be met, and other mathematical specifications and standards relating to game outcomes.

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Summary Tables for House Advantage

The two tables below show the house advantages for many of the popular casino games. The first table is a summary of the popular games and the second gives a more detailed breakdown.

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Note: This summary is the intellectual property of the author and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Do not use or reproduce without proper citation and permission.

M life is the casino rewards program from the MGM group and you can earn points when you play at a number of MGM owned properties including Aria, Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Monte Carlo, NY NY, Luxor and The Excalibur in Las Vegas.

Through M life, players receive points when they play at slots, table games or spend money in MGM properties, and these can be exchanged for rewards including meals, free play, retail, experiences and a whole lot more depending on your status.

The M life program has 5 distinct levels that each offers a different range of benefits to the player. Perhaps one of the biggest annoyances with this program is that it’s hard to figure out how it all works since it’s relatively confusing. It doesn’t offer easy guidance on how to earn points, tier credits, progress levels or help you figure out what you’re entitled too. Because of this, we’ve broken down the program (below the casino sites table) to help you understand everything you need to know about M life rewards.

Overview of M life Tiers and Requirements

Below we’ve provided a summary of the levels included in M life and what each tier qualifies you for. Scroll down further in this guide for a complete breakdown of each level, how you earn M life points, how you redeem points, and tips and tricks to get the most out of the program.

M life Member Looking to Play Games Online?

A Thorough Breakdown of Every M life Tier

Sapphire M life Tier | (0-24,999 points)

Complete List of Benefits Earned:

• Dedicated reservation lines
• Book personalized offers on Mlife.com
• Access to M life Moments
• Exclusive access to mobile check-In via MGM Resorts mobile app
• Access to benefits and offers from M life Rewards Preferred Partners
• Earn Express Comps™ for playing slots and redeem at all M life Rewards destinations nationwide
• Earn points for playing slots and convert to FREEPLAY® or Express Comps
• Earn Holiday Gift Shoppe Points for playing slots in Las Vegas
• Exclusive discounts on hotel rooms
• 5% exclusive M life Rewards member discounts at participating retail shops (exclusions apply)
• Pre-Sale ticket access to select events, concerts, and fights
• Discounts to select shows at M life Rewards Destinations Nationwide (subject to availability)
• Avis rental car discount

The Sapphire Tier is the entry-level tier of the rewards program. All you have to do in order to get into this tier level is apply at an MGM casino property, be over the age of 21, and have a pulse. One thing we really like about the entry-level tier is that you do actually get some benefits that are worthwhile. Other rewards programs just give you the card, and it really doesn’t do you much good until you level up to the next tier.

But, with the Sapphire level, you do get personalized offers sent to you online for future stays, dedicated reservation lines, pre-sale access to tickets, show, and car rental discounts, as well as access to mobile check-in. For us, these are the benefits that stick out the most and make getting signed up for this program a must-do if you’re going to be spending any time at an MGM property.

Pearl M life Tier | (25,000-74,999 points)

Complete List of Benefits Earned:

• This tier includes all of the benefits of the Sapphire tier
• Extended expiration for points and Express Comps
• Invitations to Members-Only events, tournaments, or promotions
• 10% bonus on points earned playing slots at M life Rewards Destinations Nationwide
• 10% bonus on Express Comps earned at M life Rewards Destinations Nationwide
• 10% exclusive M life Rewards member discounts at participating retail shops (exclusions apply)
• Dedicated line at the buffet
• Complimentary self-parking

The Pearl Tier offers all of the benefits you get at the Sapphire level plus a lot more perks that we think are pretty nice. First, you’re now going to earn points and express comps faster once you achieve the Pearl level. Second, and we think it’s pretty important for those that drive down to the Vegas casinos, is free self-parking. Additionally, you’re going to get dedicated buffet lines, invitations to special events and promotions, and your points and comps will last longer before they expire.

Gold M life Tier | (75,000-199,999 points)

Complete List of Benefits Earned:

• This tier includes all of the benefits of the Pearl and Sapphire tiers.
• 20% bonus on points earned playing slots at M life Rewards Destinations Nationwide
• 20% bonus on Express Comps earned at M life Rewards Destinations Nationwide
• Priority hotel check-in line at the front desk
• Room upgrade (subject to availability at check-in, excludes suites)
• Dedicated line at participating restaurants
• Fine dining priority reservations
• VIP line access to select nightclubs for you and a guest in Las Vegas
• Complimentary valet parking

When you hit the Gold Level Tier, you really start to see some great benefits roll in. First, you’re getting all the benefits of the previous two levels. Now, though, you’ll earn points and comps faster than Sapphire level members. Additionally, you’ll get complimentary valet parking, priority reservations and dedicated lines at more restaurants than just the buffet, priority check-in at the front desk, and VIP line access for you and a guest to select nightclubs during your stay.

Platinum M life Tier | (200,000 + points)

Complete List of Benefits Earned:

• This tier includes all of the benefits of the Gold, Pearl, and Sapphire tiers
• Annual complimentary cruise for qualifying members on Royal Caribbean or Celebrity Cruises
• 30% bonus on points earned playing slots at Ml ife Rewards Destinations Nationwide
• 30% bonus on Express Comps earned at M life Rewards Destinations Nationwide
• Priority access: pool cabana, spa, and salon reservations
• Platinum experience upon check-in at Las Vegas resorts
• 15% exclusive M life Rewards member discounts at participating retail shops (exclusions apply)
• Priority access for valet and taxi service

When you’ve reached Platinum, you are almost at the top tier. As such, the benefits you receive will be pretty dang awesome. As always, you get everything from the prior levels plus a whole lot more. You’ll earn points and express comps faster than Sapphire level members, get priority access for pool cabanas and at the spa and salon, and 15% off at participating retail shops. Did we mention you also get a free cruise? Yes, it’s at this level that you can really start to enjoy the fruits of your entertainment labor.

Noir M life Tier | (Invite Only)

Complete List of Benefits Earned:

• This tier includes all of the benefits of the Platinum, Gold, Pearl, and Sapphire tiers
• 40% bonus on points earned playing slots at M life Rewards Destinations Nationwide
• 40% bonus on Express Comps earned at M life Rewards Destinations Nationwide
• Increased Express Comps earning limit
• VIP lounge check-in
• Guaranteed advance hotel reservations
• Guaranteed advance restaurant reservations
• Guaranteed show reservations
• Complimentary limousine service to/from nearest airport with hotel stay

This level is the top of the mountain. In order to make it to the Noir Tier, you’re going to have to be invited, and no one really knows what you have to do to make that happen. We assume it involves gambling a lot and spending a lot of money, but we don’t know exactly how much. But when you do get here, you can expect to start collecting a lot more great rewards.
Again, we’ll beat the dead horse and remind you that you get everything from the previous levels. In addition, though, you’ll get 40% bonus points and comps, VIP lounge check-in on property, guaranteed hotel, restaurant, and show reservations, and complimentary limo service to and from the closest airport when you stay at an MGM property. It’s probably also safe to say that anyone at the Noir level will be getting a ton of additional perks that aren’t even listed on the website or haven’t been disclosed publicly yet.

How Do You Earn M life Tier Credits and Base Points?

Now that we’ve covered the different levels in the program, let’s look at how you can earn points to progress through the different stages of M life. As a customer, you can earn points when you spend on hotel rooms, dining, entertainment, spa, slots and table games at any MGM owned casino property.

Casino Card Game Point System

• For hotel, dining, entertainment and spa you’ll earn 25 tier credits for every $1 spent
• For slot machines, you’ll earn 10 tier credits for every base point earned (base point is earned for each $3 coin in on slots)
• For video poker, you’ll earn 10 tier credits for every base point earned (base point is earned for each $10 coin in on VP)
• For play on table games, base credits are determined by average wager and time played

In order to earn tier credits by playing in the casino, you’ll need to earn base points which are then matched by a multiplier in tier credits and used to determine your rewards. For every $3 you wager on slots, you will earn 1 base point (10 tier credits) and for every $10 wagered on video poker and speciality games you’ll earn 1 base point equal to 10 tier credits. For table games, the formula isn’t published on the site but it’s rumored that you’ll earn around 300 base points per hour at blackjack with a $25 bet.

You’ll also earn $0.01 in FreePlay and Express Comps for every base point that you earn in the casino, and we’ve explained these systems below which are unique to the M life program:

Free Play – One of the cool things about M life is that you automatically accumulate free play as you gamble in the casino since you can convert your points into free play for slot machines at a rate of 1000 base points for $10 in free play.

Express Comps – These also automatically accumulate as you gamble and can be used against charges back to your room including food, beverage, show tickets, retail and so on. Basically how this works is at the end of your stay you would use your express comps against your final bill to reduce your charges.

Examples of How to Earn Base Points

Let’s say that you visit Aria and spend $2,000 on your hotel room, food and drinks while staying at the hotel. You also play in the casino and wager $10,000 on slots, $1,000 on video poker and play $25 a hand of Blackjack for 1 hour. Under this scenario, here is the breakdown of what you would earn:

Base Points (for casino play):

Tier Credits Summary:

• Casino Play – 37,333 Tier Credits
• Hotel, Dining, Entertainment – $2,000 spend
• 25 tier credits for each $1 (2,000 X 25 = 50,000 Tier Credits)

In the above example on this trip the customer would’ve accumulate a total of 87,333 tier credits and would qualify for Gold status in M life. For their play in the casino, they would also earn $37.33 in free play and $37.33 in express comps that could be used towards any charges at the end of their stay.

In addition to the automatic benefits we’ve described above, every member also receives an account on Mlife where they can access room booking and comp offers that are populated in their member area. This is all above and beyond the regular rewards you’ll get from the program and includes things like comped rooms, free show tickets, experiences, food and beverage credits and a whole lot more.

Nope. There tends to be a lot of confusion around rewards programs where people think they are credit card offers and tend to run for the hills. The M life Rewards program is strictly a rewards program. It is not a credit card, requires no credit check, and is available to anyone over the age of 21 that wants to play and earn points in an MGM group casino, such as the Luxor.

Where the confusion comes in, though, is that M life does offer a credit card known as the M life Rewards Mastercard, which is separate from this program. Applying for or getting this card is NOT necessary to get an account and rarely is it even mentioned when you’re signing up for the program.

There are perks that come with the card, though. You’ll earn 3x points and tier credits at M life Rewards Destinations, 2x points and tier credits spend on gas and groceries, 1 point and tier credit per $1 spent everywhere else, and 10,000 points when you spend $1,000 in the first three billing cycles. Additionally, you’ll automatically be given Pearl level status before you make your first transaction.

Should you get the M life Rewards Mastercard? That’s completely up to you. If you’re someone that loves going to MGM properties and would love to get a little VIP treatment there thanks to the money you spend normally, it might be worth it. You can always get the car, run all your purchases through it, and pay off the balance monthly if you don’t want to carry a balance but still reap the rewards.

M life Moments

M life Moments is an element of the M life Rewards program that you get access to the second you join Sapphire level (entry-level). M life Moments are unique experiences that members can cash in their Express Comps to enjoy. Some of the “simpler” things available are experiences like swimming with dolphins or a day at the spa. At the other end of the spectrum, you can do things like going to the MLB All-Star Weekend, having a private dinner for two with Julian Serrano, or a private showing just for you from Thunder From Down Under or the girls of Fantasy.

Basically, you get the opportunity to do some really cool stuff that you might not be able to without being a member of the M life rewards program.

Pearl Status for Military Members

If you’re a member of the active military, National Guard, Reserves or a Veteran, the MGM M life program wants to thank you for your service. You can receive a special military players card that automatically upgrades you to Pearl status regardless of whether you have played or spent any money at any properties.

M life Rewards Preferred Partners

Mlife has partnered with just under a dozen other brands worldwide to offer their members some added discounts and benefits at other places around the world. These include things like discounts on rental cars at Avia, discounts and preferred seating at Cirque Du Soleil shows, and special benefits and pricing on golf and cruises. These benefits become available immediately after you join the program, Sapphire level (entry-level).