Five Ways Las Vegas Casinos Attempt to Manipulate Your Judgment
by Margie Pignataro © 2017 Great Bridge Links
One of the first things I learned at ten years old about gambling in Las Vegas casinos was that once you walk through the casino door, you are under the casino’s influence. Casinos employ many subtle tactics to keep guests in the casino and gambling for as long as possible.
As bizarre as this sounds, some of the techniques casinos used are also effectively used at Disneyland. These techniques are theatrical and involve controlling a guest’s focus, attention, and perceptions. But once you realize what’s going on, you are less susceptible to their power.
1. Pole dancers.
This one is really obvious and at the same time it really isn’t. Most major hotels, such as The Rio, Caesar’s Palace, and the Flamingo have pole dancers in their casinos. They have build narrow stages surrounded by blackjack tables. Scantily clad women dance with a minimum of enthusiasm as men sit at the tables and gamble. I watch these tables whenever I walk through. Men will place bets and then sit staring up at the dancing women, starry-eyed. The women don’t strip. They merely dance rather conservatively, twirling absentmindedly around the pole, and give a moment of attention for tips. This quite obviously causes anyone weak to the women’s charms to break their concentration and lose focus. If gamblers are ogling women, they aren’t paying attention to their game and are most likely to lose. They’re also more likely to stay longer—for the eye candy, to try to make back their loses, perhaps even for the individual attention of the women.
2. Alcohol.
Casinos will let you drink for free when you gamble. That is both ultra cool and extremely dangerous. Of course, the casino doesn’t give you large versions of drinks. You’ll probably never get more than one shot of alcohol per small glass at a time. But the cocktail waitresses will keep them coming. My mother, who taught me everything I know about blackjack and Las Vegas, said that pit bosses would send waitresses over to her when she was on winning streaks. According to my mother, the pit bosses knew drinking gamblers were losing gamblers.
3. Environment.
With rare exceptions, there are no windows in Las Vegas casinos. Once you enter, you lose all natural lighting. The glass doors have very dark tinting. It becomes impossible to establish where you are on the strip and what direction you are facing while in a casino. There are also no clocks: it becomes very difficult to establish when you are. This is a technique Disneyland uses: there is nothing taller than the buildings in Disneyland, so once you are inside the gates, all you can see is Disneyland. It is impossible to see the real world, keeping the Disney illusion in tact. Casinos are also notorious labyrinths. Once you’re in, it’s extremely easy to get lost. The signs hanging from ceilings are helpful, but only to a point. In a casino, when the passage of time seems to halt and the world outside doesn’t exist, and you have no idea where you are, it becomes easier to make choices without thinking about consequences.
4. Lights and sounds.
Casinos are dark. The lighting always seems at the level of any bar around eight o’clock. You can see well enough, but the dim lights remove harsh glares and details. It’s a relaxing, comfortable level. Light comes from elaborate, elegant chandeliers or rather sneaky recessed lighting. What draws a gambler’s attention are the lights from slot machines. This is also where much of the sound comes from, which is strange considering that casinos always have dozens of gamblers at a time. The bells and flashing lights of the slots are particularly dazzling. These days, many slots have video screens, which are elaborately decorated and so complex as to be incoherent. As a child, I was also treated to the heavy clanging of coins falling into metal trays (casinos now use vouchers). There is nothing to start gambling fever in a ten year old than the sound of raw, seemingly-free money. These days, jackpots are celebrated with loud bells and flashing lights, and of course groups of screaming, elated drunk gamblers. These sights and sounds are seductive invitations to try one’s luck.
5. Stores and Restaurants and shows.
It is in the best interests of the casino that gamblers stay as long as possible. The longer someone stays, the more likely are they to gamble. Casinos in themselves have become destination places because of their restaurants, shows, and stores. Places like Caesar’s Palace, the Venetian, and the Bellagio have enormous malls attached. There are also simple things like convenience stores, Starbucks, and food courts. Then there are the rather more unusual offers, such as wedding chapels, car rentals, or oxygen bars. A hotel casino such has Caesar’s has so much within it there is no need to leave the premises for anything.
6. Online Casinos
Of course playing online, you’re in charge of the environment, the convenience and your alcohol consumption. And most people don’t have pole dancers in their living rooms. However, you can be treated to the same kinds of lights and sounds from online slots. And the online industry is still sorting itself out. Insta Casino, is one that aims to provide the player with a great, fast, secure, friendly and unique customer experience.
The first online casino was launched in 1994 in the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda. Since then a lot of progress has been made, and the software has moved from workstations to laptops to mobile devices. Will 2017 bring the first Virtual Reality online casinos?
Today there are online casinos operating out of 85 countries. If you’d like to find out about an affiliate program in the online casino industry, check out Honest Partners affiliate program.
