Like that stopped people! Sort of like putting "Do Not Duplicate" on a key.

It just dawned on me this past weekend as I watched the Travel Channel's 'Vegas' programming all day Saturday...They did a thing on comps. To me, it parallels the whole 1K/GS versus everyone else.

I enjoy gambling. My dad enjoys gambling. While I see the airline thing from the top looking down, when it comes to gambling, I see it from the middle/lower end...Call my dad a GS in the gambling world, maybe a 1K...I'm just a lowly 2P.

I play enough to get 'free' nights when I go out to Vegas, have some 'elite' benefits like maybe a meal paid while I'm there, upgraded to a suite if there's availability when I check in...My level of benefits is indicative of my play.

My dad, however, plays quite a bit bigger stakes than I do. He gets picked up in a limo, he gets a suite reserved for him (no worrying about upgrades, and the suite is much nicer than anything I'll ever get), he gets all of his meals paid, and even gets his airfare reimbursed. He got tickets to see a very hot show, 4 of them. I went, but not because of my play, I was one of his 'companion upgrades' on that trip...I've never been given tickets to one show.

Do I feel slighted because he gets 'treated better' than I do?!?!?! Hell no. He has the 'red carpet' to board on...I don't. I know if I played like he did, I too would get that treatment. But they reward his business to them by giving him more, better perks than what they give me--because he 'flies them' more than I do.

When the year is over, there's a good chance that I, despite my much smaller play, may have won more than my dad. There have been years I've lost more than him. There have been years I've won more than him, years where we both won, years where we both lost. But it comes down to giving the best perks to the best customers and realizing that everyone isn't a high roller. I enjoy my benefits, but I know I'm not entitled to everything that others may be entitled to, and I'm fine with that.