How the Boxman can help you win (money and comps)

The boxman/boxwoman is your key to your relationship with a selected casino. A good boxperson will offer serious players a Player Card so the casino can track their play and offer comps such as free buffets, show tickets, or free/discounted rooms. All players can earn these bonuses, but you often have to ask for them unless you're a high roller, and the boxperson is your key to getting them. S/he coordinates the data entry of your initial and ongoing investments into the game and will also track your average wager. This will have a dramatic effect on the comps that will be provided to you by your casino of choice.

In situations where people are obviously playing as partners (as with a spouse), a good boxperson will gang your action into one player card so that you can receive maximum casino comps in a shorter period of time. This can have a big effect on how much comps you get, especially if you're limited in the amount of time that you play.

By tracking your action you also can receive certain advantages when it comes tax time, especially if you score a major win. Gambling winnings are taxed but you can deduct the amount of your losses from the amount of your winnings. (No, you can't deduct losses in excess of winnings, to show a net loss, so that you'd get a tax deduction. The IRS isn't that stupid.) If you had a big win at the casino and had to fill out a tax form, the casino can provide you with a list of your losses from your other sessions because they tracked your play when you showed your player's card. Having this handy record of your losses makes it easy to offset losses against wins to reduce your taxes.

The boxperson can also help you win by making sure the dealers provide you appropriate service and information about the game. The amount of actual helpfulness depends not only on the specific boxperson but also the limitations of specific casino policies on disclosing such information.

In short, remember that the boxperson is your friend!