Have you ever walked into a casino with your wallet full of cash and a plan for an evening of fun gambling and two rounds of cocktails? Then, before you know it, your evening is over and you have no idea what time it is or how much you’ve lost. This happens because casinos are designed to keep you spending money.
They do this by changing your cash into colored chips that look like real currency. This disassociates your gambling activities from the act of spending money, and it also helps to make losing chips feel less painful than losing actual cash. Additionally, casinos often offer comps for players who spend a lot of time at the tables or slots. These rewards can include free hotel rooms, meals, show tickets, and even airline flights. These rewards help to offset the house edge in games such as blackjack and poker.
However, the most insidious trick casinos employ is to fool you into thinking that you’ll win. While it’s true that some people have winning streaks at the roulette or poker table, these are extremely rare and are almost always short-lived. In the long run, the odds are that you’ll lose more than you win.
But, if you’re not careful, you can easily fall into the trap of believing that luck is on your side and walk away with a few hundred dollars more in your pocket than when you entered. Learn how casinos use lights, sounds, and physical design to trick you into spending more than you planned to on a roll of the dice or spin of the wheel.