Discovering Junkets
Learn how even the lowest of rollers can
take part in the good life
by Pete Remaley

So, you're stuck in the mid-West with a three-day weekend approaching, and you'd just love to get in a little gambling. The riverboats are only a couple hours away, but you really don't look forward to making the drive, especially the limp back home when you're weary from all those gambling-related adrenaline rushes. And no matter how you try to convince yourself otherwise, riverboats just aren't the same as big-time casinos.

You could try to book a flight to Las Vegas or Atlantic City for some serious gambling and self-indulgent pampering. But it's a hassle to arrange the flight and find a room and book a rental car and, and, and…You get the idea, Even worse, the flight alone is so expensive that you'd probably be forced to skimp on either the gambling or the pampering.

What to do? Well, I've got the short answer for you: Junkets!

Junkets provide a terrific alternative to the usual gambling trip. In fact, they're so appealing that, once you try one, you may be tempted never to go back to your old ways. And whether you're a low-, moderate-, or high-roller, there's a junket opportunity out there just waiting for you.

I'm not talking about a day or even an overnight bus trip. I’m talking about a chartered flight, complete with complimentary beverage service, to a casino destination such as Vegas or Atlantic City; ground transportation waiting curbside at the airport to whisk you to the casino; a special check-in area just for you; and your room waiting with your baggage delivered.

Junkets providing this kind of top-notch service for their guests are typically available from most large cities in the country and travel to selected casinos in all the gambling hot spots. From where I live in the central Kentucky bluegrass region, for instance, junkets fly every month to several casinos in Las Vegas and Laughlin, to the Tropicana and Caesars in Atlantic City, to the Sheraton and Grand in Tunica, and to Foxwoods in Connecticut. The excursions to Vegas are usually four-day/three-night trips; the others range from three-day/two-night to an occasional day trip departing early in the morning and returning late that evening. Not a weak set of choices from where I sit.

The best aspect of junket trips is how inexpensive they are. Even if you're a very low roller or—hard to believe, but true—a non-gambler who just wants a glorious weekend in a beautiful casino, junkets are just the ticket. One junket operator in my area runs a three-day/two-night trip every month to the Tropicana in Atlantic City that costs a non-qualified (read "non-gambler") patron just $199. Still another offers a three-day/two-nighter to Caesars for only $159. That price includes your round trip flight to Atlantic City, with the aforementioned cocktail service, ground transportation and baggage handling, and a standard room for two nights. You're on your own for meals and entertainment.

If you're a "qualified" player, the deal gets much better. Even relatively modest gamblers will usually score all the above and at least some of their meals, along with a couple of comped show tickets. In casino parlance, this is called "limited RFB" (room, food, beverage). If you're unsure whether your play qualifies you for any of these extras, just politely ask your junket rep.

For more substantial qualified players, the sky's the limit. If your player rating lands you at the full RFB level, you simply have to ask your junket rep or the executive host assigned to you to arrange for your part of the sky. Want to dine at the casino's finest gourmet restaurant? Just name your time. Show tickets? No problem, but you'll have to decide which seats you prefer. Fancy a trip to the spa for a relaxing sauna and massage? "Great idea!" your host will exclaim. "Shall I arrange it for you?" And, of course, you'll have access to the private player's lounge located in a quiet, sumptuously appointed room, where you can take a break from casino sensory overload to sip your favorite Merlot, nosh from the tempting buffet, and relax with the daily paper.

About now, you may be thinking that all these fine perks are only for the whales—not us ordinary minnows. Not true! Mary Lou (my wife) and I land this treatment all the time, and we’re certainly not whales. We both primarily play video poker at the 25- and 50-cent level, though we do make an occasional wild and crazy foray into Lady Luck's dollar temptations. So, if we can enjoy the fruits of the junket express, I'm sure you can, too.

In fact, junkets are actually more attractive and useful to us low- and moderate-rollers than to the whales. The whales' play is so strong that they already qualify for the full RFB treatment at any casino, anytime. They won't receive any better opportunities or treatment by scheduling a junket trip than they normally would. However, the rest of us, from non-gamblers to moderate players, will generally find junkets to be a far better choice than any other alternative.

You may be wondering why on earth casinos offer such tempting opportunities when, in fact, they have no guarantee that they will come out ahead in the proposition. The answer is that (appropriately enough, considering their business) they're taking a gamble. Just as you hope to score a jackpot or two and head on home a winner, the casino is hoping to earn enough from your play to cover their costs and then some. In a sense, if you really think about it, the casino is literally gambling on you. And the casino's gamble is substantial.

Consider some current figures in the Atlantic City market. According to an executive source at one major casino, there are two types of costs applicable to each junket customer: hard and soft. Hard costs include plane charters, ground transportation, baggage handling, and the like. Soft costs (in-house items that cost a reduced price from retail) include room, food, shows, etc. So, in effect, every junket customer is receiving an up-front comp from the casino. This is true even for the non-qualified customer who pays between $159 and $199, because those prices do not come close to covering the casino's investment.

A typical three-day/two-night junket to a Boardwalk casino will cost the casino between $300-$400 per person. A full-size jet charter, such as a DC9 or 737, costs from $22,000 to $27,000. Rooms are charged at about $100 per night. According to the current union contract, the bell desk fee for baggage handling is $6 per person. And the bus company rate is at $10 a head. Finally, in-house complementaries such as spa visits, food services, and show tickets, can add as much as $50 per person on average. Thus, before your junket group bets so much as a quarter, the casino may very well have put as much as $40,000 on the table. Obviously, the casino is gambling big-time on recouping its up front investment from your play, or, more accurately, from your losses. Continued on...