I grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, and lived there for 20+ years so I pretty much call this place my home. Yes! People actually live here! Las Vegas is a unique city in a sense that there really isn’t any other city quite as bizarre.

The city of sin where gambling, marijuana, and strip clubs are legal! If you are going to Las Vegas you should learn some of the words used there locally so you won’t get ripped off or confused. Let me introduce you to three of them that I think will help you.

You may have seen the movie Ocean’s Eleven and know what the inside of a casino looks like and how there are many cameras keeping watch of the whole floor looking for cheaters or misbehaving customers. These cameras are called “eyes in the sky” as the cameras are put high up on the ceiling above the table games and slot machines to overlook everything. A sample sentence would be, “You’re going to get caught by the eyes in the sky if you cheat.”

After gambling for a few hours or a few thousand dollars, a pit boss or a host may come up to you and offer you a “comp” for a restaurant. A “comp” is a shortened version of the word complimentary which means it’s on the house or it’s free. You might think of this as a nice gesture however this is offered in hopes that you feel a little better about losing all your money, coaxing you to actually gamble even more. Occasionally, they will even offer you a night stay in their suite hotel to have you spend more of your life savings away the following day.

Even if you do loose some money you should still give the dealer tokes. Can you guess what “tokes” mean? Tips for the dealers! Tokes is short for tokens. Yes, unfortunately they are taking your money away but it’s not their fault you are not lucky! The table game dealers don’t want you to lose either because the more you win the more tokes the dealers receive. As a beginner, even if you are losing give your dealer a toke, they’ll start to help you out on your bets and maybe you’ll start winning!

The best way to learn even more Las Vegas lingo is to just get out there and speak to those around you. Use that second best English and you’ll pick up new words in no time! Best of luck to all of you going to my unique hometown, Las Vegas!