The word casino has many meanings. See the ‘Meaning & Use’ section for more information.
You stride into the Luxor, Mohegan Sun, or Tropicana with your wallet full of cash and plans for a bit of enjoyable, sensible gaming and maybe two rounds of drinks. Hours later you’ve lost track of time, have no idea how many drinks you’ve had, and can’t figure out what happened to your money. This is the result of an environment that’s designed to lead you into spending more and more money on gambling machines. Casinos use sounds, lights, and physical design to keep you playing. Here are nine tricks they use to get you to spend more than you planned to.
Unlike seedy backroom gambling parlors in the movies, casinos are large, opulent buildings filled with bright lights, slot machines, and card tables. They are a fun and exciting place to visit for entertainment, social interaction, and a potential winning experience.
They also provide tax revenue for the community and help attract tourism. Some people even use the chance to win a jackpot to supplement their income or replace it entirely.
Casinos are not immune to crime, but they take precautions to make sure their patrons are safe. They hire security guards and monitor their parking lots. They are not easy to escape from, so if you need to go to the bathroom, you must navigate through a labyrinth of tables and machines past more opportunities to press your luck. They serve a lot of alcohol to their patrons to help lower inhibitions and cloud judgment. This exacerbates the sunk cost fallacy: losing a bet means you need to continue betting to earn back your losses, so you keep placing bigger bets.