This past month, Jean Scott, aka “The Queen of Comps” announced her retirement.
It seems like the only way people leave this industry is by passing away, so it was nice to hear someone seemed to decide it was time to find other things to do.
In Jean’s case, she will be moving to Georgia to be closer to family. She cited two major reasons for her decision.
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The first is age/health and the desire to be closer to her family. The second is that the casinos have been squeezing the player to the point that it just isn’t as much fun to play anymore.
I’ll discuss this second topic in the coming weeks. This week is about Jean and her contributions to the industry.
Once upon a time, things like comps in the casino were reserved for the high rollers. Jean realized that there plenty of comps to be had even for the relatively low-roller, especially here in Las Vegas. Free rooms, free meals, slot points and the like all are part of the payback of gambling, especially if you play games with low house edges.
Jean and her husband, Brad, started out as Blackjack players. Without card counting, you’re talking about a game with only a 0.5 percent house edge. But, if you come for a week and pay for a hotel and pay for your meals, your real cost is quite a bit higher.
But if your play can generate free rooms and free meals and maybe even some cashback, all of a sudden you’re playing at a near even pace — essentially getting a free vacation as part of the deal.
Jean was kind enough to share her methodologies in a book called “The Frugal Gambler.” It was also about this time that she added video poker to her routine.
Initially convinced that video poker was essentially like slots with little hope of winning in the long run, she and Brad walked two miles to the Gambler’s Book Club (per her recent final column) and purchased Lenny Frome’s “Winning Strategies for Video Poker” which changed their minds about the game.
My parents would eventually meet Jean and become good friends. On one of my trips to Las Vegas, I had the pleasure of meeting her too.
The Frugal Gambler may be the most widely read book on gambling of all time. It reportedly hit No. 2 on Amazon at its peak. That’s a lot of readers who learned how to use Jean’s techniques to maximize their time playing in the casino.
As someone who learned the art of couponing and bargain shopping from my mother as a little kid, I can very much appreciate what Jean taught the masses. Of course, it was not all about comps and cashback. One of the most important lessons that she taught was the importance of picking the right games and knowing the right strategy. There is no doubt that Jean recognized the importance in Expert Strategy as a portion of her strategy.
While being the Queen of Comps was no doubt a job for Jean, her decision to retire in part because it was no longer as much fun also showed that she recognized that in the end, it is a hobby for the masses. In this regard, you must have fun while doing it and not take it too seriously or you may just suck the fun out of it as well.
My older son sometimes laughs at my propensity to book and re-book hotel rooms as the rate goes down. I’ve told him it is less about the $10/night I save and more of a game I simply like to play with the hotels. Having fun is what it is all about.
To Jean and Brad, I wish both of you many years of health, happiness and fun in whatever new endeavors you choose to take on.