| HOW THE CASINOS GET YOU TO LOSE EVEN MORE (2) »
HOW THE CASINOS GET YOU TO LOSE EVEN MORE (1)
With such a huge gap between how much a game is supposed to make (thanks to the house edge) and how much it actually does make (after looking at the hold), you can’t help but wonder: How, exactly, is the casino making so much more money? No, they aren’t out-and-out cheating; there’s too much danger of losing their license if they rip you off. But there are plenty of totally legal ways that they can get you to stop paying attention to your bet.
Note that you won’t be fooled with these techniques if you play in a casino online.
FREE BOOZE
Alcohol is a casino’s best friend; it makes you do things no sane, rational person would ever think of doing, like betting your entire paycheck on red 22 . . .again! In gambling terms, a fish is an easy mark, and there’s a reason they try to make you drink like one.
HALF-NAKED WOMEN
Not only will casinos gladly offer you all the vodka tonics you can handle, they’ll have lingerie models posing as cocktail waitresses to pour the beverages down your gullet. The casino is more than happy to keep you drinking and mindlessly gambling, and the waitresses know that big drinkers mean bigger tips.
PRETTY LIGHTS
Casinos burn through enough electricity in a day to power most third-world countries. The flashing neon lights and the blinking slot machines are enough to dazzle most visitors into a state of delirium. Casinos spend millions of dollars studying human psychology and what motivates us to take risks.
That’s why you see so much red, especially on slot machines - the color supposedly attracts players and gets them to think victory. They set the lighting bright enough so that a player can see what’s going on but not so bright that it is mentally draining. They’ve even experimented with different scents as a sort of gamblers’ aromatherapy, in the hope that the smell of wormwood would cause you to uncontrollably withdraw money from the ATM.
PUMPING OXYGEN INTO THE CASINO
Baloney! This is just an urban legend. What possible reason could a smoke-filled casino have to siphon in oxygen to guests? That’d only make them happier, light-headed, and perhaps a bit more willing to spend money they can’t afford to lose. And who really wants that?
COMPLIMENTARIES
Not only are drinks served free, but if you’re the type of customer casinos are looking for (that is, one willing to lose lots of money), we’ll even give you free food. Look on the bright side, if you visit and lose a month’s pay, at least you got camped a free buffet, right? And if you happen to win a month’s pay, we’re definitely going to do whatever we can to keep you there so you’ll play again and we can win it back.
If you’re a big winner, we’re your best friend. Want a nice complimentary dinner for two? A hotel room? Perhaps a free bottle of bubbly? Absolutely no problem. We want you to think to yourself, “Wow, these guys are great! I don’t want to leave just yet; why don’t we stay another day or two and play some more? After all, we’re still playing with ‘their’ money.”
