For casino players in Las Vegas or anywhere else, freeplay may not quite be the holy grail of rewards - but it’s not too far off it. 

It’s effectively like finding a lottery ticket. If the numbers don’t come in, it hasn’t cost you anything. But if it wins, you get to keep all the money. What’s not to love about that?

However, how you get freeplay can be a bit of a puzzle and once you get it, how do you use it? Even more importantly, how do you keep getting it?

I’m going to cover all of these things below, so read on if you want to get in on the freeplay action in Las Vegas.

Freeplay in its simplest form is free money to gamble with. Of course, it doesn’t come as cash, it most often comes as slot or table game credit.

The beauty of freeplay is that a) it doesn’t cost you anything* and b) you get to keep the winnings.

(*I added the asterisk because although you don’t necessary pay for freeplay, it can often be linked to your gambling spend which we’ll go into later.)

Freeplay is usually connected to other activities, so in effect you ‘earn’ the free play by taking part in them. I’ll go through what these activities are in detail below. 

Ultimately though, if you can get on the freeplay train, then it can make gambling in Las Vegas just that little bit sweeter. Sitting at a table or slot game gambling money that isn’t yours, and is therefore risk-free, is the best.

Certainly, hitting big wins with freeplay is the dream for most.

Freeplay is usually attached to a rewards program. It doesn’t necessarily have to be awarded by the program, but the rewards card is how you would usually redeem it.

A rewards card in a casino is like a passport on an International flight – it tells the casino who you are.

However, it also shows what you spend, what tier level you are and, most importantly when it comes to freeplay, what you’re owed. 

Once you have freeplay, in whatever form, it will get added to your rewards card. It’s then a case of presenting that card when you want to use your freeplay.

If you have slots freeplay, this means inserting the card into the slot machine, entering your 4-digit PIN number, and adding the freeplay to your balance.

If you have table freeplay, it means handing your card to the dealer or at the cage (depending on the casino) and receiving your freeplay in chips.

In some cases, you will use your rewards card at a kiosk which will then print off a freeplay voucher. Either way, the rewards card is your friend. 

This comes under the ‘how long is a piece of string’ category. It really depends on a number of factors.

For freeplay attached to gambling spend or rewards programme tier levels, it varies greatly depending on your individual game play. 

I have friends who get $65 freeplay per trip, others who get $450 per day and others who get $5,000 per month.

For freeplay that is connected to individual promotions then it is usually limited to say $25, $50 or $100 freeplay. 

So, now let’s get into the nitty gritty of how you actually get freeplay in Las Vegas casinos. You can get it at the best online casinos too, but we'll stick to the bricks and mortar ones here. 

Whether you’re a total Vegas newbie, or a regular visitor, there are a number of ways to access freeplay. It’s not just for the big spenders. Low rollers can get a piece of the action too.

New member offers

Signing up to Las Vegas casino rewards programs is the first, and probably easiest way of getting freeplay.

Several casinos reward new members with freeplay offers in return for joining its program. 

In some cases, all you have to do to get it, is go along with some photographic ID and register. You also have to be 21 or over of course. 

In others, it is offered as part of wheel spin promotion, a first visit offer, or as matched play. It’s important to point out that many of these offers require some casino spend it order to trigger the freeplay, so just bear that in mind. 

These offers change regularly but some current examples, as of April 2024, are below: 

Las Vegas Rewards Programs

So, you might think we’ve already covered this above, but believe me, we haven’t. New member offers are only the tip of the iceberg.

The two biggest rewards programs in Las Vegas are MGM Rewards and Caesars Rewards but almost all other casinos have their own scheme too.

As I’ve mentioned above, rewards programs are your key to redeeming freeplay, but they are also the best way to earn it in the first place too.

When you join a rewards program, it is essential that you present that card every time you spend in a Las Vegas resort. 

That doesn’t just mean gambling, it means when paying for your hotel room, shopping, paying your bar or restaurant bills or booking show tickets or spa treatments. Every dollar spend put on your card, adds to your ‘value’ in terms of the casino.

The more ‘valuable’ you are to a casino, the more freeplay they will offer you, to entice you back to spend more money! It’s just the Vegas way.

For this reason, many players concentrate their spending on one program and in one set of resorts to maximise their spending.

There are usually two types of points in a Las Vegas rewards program – tier points and reward points. Tier points relate to your overall status, while rewards points give you ‘currency’ to receive different benefits.

In truth, it varies between programs and can be a little confusing. No Vegas casino as yet is willing to be fully transparent on how this is all calculated. All you need to know is that there’s an algorithm that works it all out. That’s as technical as I get.

How much freeplay you get is directly linked to not only how much you gamble, but how long you gamble for. A player who puts $1000 on a single black or red roulette punt will get offered less freeplay than a player who spins at $1 but gambles all day, every day during their stay. 

With some programs, such as MGM Rewards you can earn additional freeplay too. Every time you gamble on slots, you earn Slot Dollars, these build up on your card and convert directly to slot freeplay. 50 Slot Dollars = $50 slot freeplay. 

Ultimately, join the rewards program, show, or use the card whenever you spend money, build up your Slot Dollars (if applicable) to get freeplay, and wait to see what other offers you receive. Even on the lowest tier levels, this is often complimentary room stays and freeplay.

Casino Hosts

This one is more applicable to people who gamble significantly. I’m not talking millions here, but if you spend a lot of time at the slots and tables and spend a significant amount, then you should have a host.

If you are already part of a rewards programme and use your card when you gamble, then a host will usually find you if you are flagged on the system as 'worthy'. The card will track your spend and alert a host for them to introduce themselves to you.

However, if you gamble without using a rewards card, then the casino has no way of knowing who you are or what you spend, so you could be missing out.

A friend of mine, who plays a lot of slots, wasn’t a rewards card member. He was playing in the Bellagio one evening, spinning between $5 - $25 a spin and won three jackpot handpays. 

The slot attendants noticed he didn’t have a card, flagged it with a host and the host actually came out and introduced herself to him. Needless to say, he now has a host, and is a Noir (invite only) rewards member. Incidentally, he is also the friend who now gets $5,000 freeplay a month!

For high-value players, hosts are what Vegas is all about. A host gives a personal service and can offer tailor-made benefits to players such as event tickets, best seats in the house, hotel stays, transportation, resort credit and of course, freeplay. 

The hosts job is to bring gamblers into their casino rather than any others, so they are specifically tasked to entice you back with great offers. 

Status/Tier Matching

I spoke briefly before about the different tier levels you will find in a casino rewards program. Although you can still receive freeplay without climbing the tiers, the higher status you are, the more freeplay you will usually get offered. Plus, there is an added bonus to building tier levels.

Many casinos offer tier matching promotions. This means that if you reach a particular tier at one program, you can automatically enter a different program at the corresponding higher level rather than starting at the bottom.

At the time of writing MGM, Wynn and Fontainebleau have tier matching promotions on. However, it is quite standard practice anyway at most Las Vegas casino operators, especially the ones with fewer properties. If you have an elevated tier level with one program, it is always worth asking other resorts if they tier match.

Without tier matching, if you joined Wynn Rewards you would enter at their lowest level – Red. 

However, if you are Gold or higher at MGM Rewards or Platinum or higher at Caesars Rewards, then Wynn’s tier matching promotion means you will enter their program at Wynn’s second tier – Platinum. 

This is just one example of tier matching in Vegas. It basically means you can leverage your spend at one resort to gain better rewards at another for no extra money. It is ideal for players who have focused all of their spend on one program as they can now widen their net.

This relates to freeplay as tier status is directly linked to the type of offers you will receive from a Las Vegas resort. The higher the status, the bigger rewards you will receive and that includes higher levels of freeplay.

Seasonal Promotions

Many Las Vegas casinos offer occasional booster or special promotion periods to increase player points. 

The promotions vary in terms of how long they last, but any points you earn within the period will usually receive some sort of boost.

For example, MGM Rewards recently ran a Daily Tier Status Accelerator promotion. If you earned 5,000 Tier Credits in one promotional day, they added 1,250 Tier Credits on top. If you earned 20,000 Tier Credits in one day, they’d match it with an additional 20,000 Tier Credits to elevate you to Gold Status in two days. 

Downtown Grand are currently offering multiplier days. Play in the casino on those specific dates and all points earned will be multiplied by 10x.

Taking advantage of these promotions, when you see them, is a great way to elevate your tier status and increase your points without any additional spend from you. 

I have friends who deliberately book their trips to coordinate with these offers to maximise their points. Ultimately, it means you might spend more than you normally would in a tight space of time. However, it’s also strategic in that you’ll receive higher benefits in return including more freeplay. 

Apps

Believe it or not, but one way of getting actual Las Vegas freeplay is to play free casino games on your mobile phone. Honestly!

A series of social casino apps, created by PLAYSTUDIOS, are partnered directly with MGM Resorts to provide real life rewards, including freeplay, in MGM owned Las Vegas casinos.

There are five apps you can download and, even better, they are completely free if you want them to be. These are:

• myVEGAS
• myVEGAS Blackjack
• my KONAMI Slots
• POP! Slots
• myVEGAS Bingo

Once you download the app, you’ll be given a choice of games to play and a daily number of credits to play with. You don’t have to spend money at any point to build up credits, you can simply use the free ones that are given every day. There’s also a chance to earn extra credits by completing challenges and winning on the slots within the app. 

However, if you do want to pay for extra credits, you can do this, and it helps you build up points quicker.

Just like in casinos, playing earns you points, called Loyalty Points. Once you build up enough of them, you can redeem them for an impressive range of real-life rewards. These include free hotel stays, 2-4-1 buffets, free attraction tickets, restaurant vouchers, etc. Just click on ‘Reward’s to see the full list of offers.

You can get anything from $25 to $200 freeplay at all MGM resorts on the Las Vegas Strip. There are terms and conditions that you have to meet. For example, you can only redeem three premium rewards (such as freeplay) in a 30-day window, plus many require a paid overnight stay as well. Check out the terms and conditions on each reward. 

A little trick, if you don’t plan on booking overnight stays or you get free room comps anyway, is to choose the myKONAMI freeplay from the myKONAMI app instead of the regular freeplay. This has no overnight stay requirement so is literally completely free freeplay!

Birthday Freeplay

What better way to celebrate your birthday than with some tasty freeplay? Although not as widespread as it used to be in Las Vegas, there are still casinos who will gift freeplay as a birthday present.

At the time of writing, Ellis Island offers $10 freeplay if you visit on the day of your birthday. Plaza also offers freeplay if you visit in the month of your birthday. For both, you need to be a member of their rewards program.

Other resorts such as Wynn, Encore and MGM properties also offer birthday freeplay, but this is linked to your rewards program tier status. 

It is always worth going to the rewards desk, telling them it’s your birthday and asking if they have any birthday offers. A friend of mine did this at Aria and received $80 in freeplay. However, he was a Gold Rewards Member. 

Hopefully, this has given you some tips on how to get freeplay in Las Vegas. While some will cost you nothing such as apps and birthday freeplay, others are more about using your spend strategically. 

Rewards programs are the key, and I always advise everyone to join them. Yes, there’s sign-up offers, but the main benefits come from ongoing spend. 

I’m certainly not a high roller or anything remotely close to one, but I do receive freeplay on every Vegas visit using these methods. As well as signing up to rewards programs, I use the apps and have used both seasonal offers and tier matching to my benefit before.

My biggest personal freeplay win was turning $25 freeplay from the myKONAMI app into a $288 win in Mandalay Bay. That was fun! 

Other people have even bigger success stories from their Las Vegas freeplay, so it’s definitely worth pursuing.