Jun 12 2009
Gambling Myth: Casinos Don’t Like It When You Win
There is a myth, particularly among newer gamblers that casinos and their employees don’t want you to win, or don’t want experienced players, with more understanding of the games, playing.
For the staff, this is stupid right off the bat. The staff make the majority of their income off of tips. People are more likely to tip on the casino floor if they are winning. Moreover, losers tend to be less pleasant to be around than winners, often taking out their frustration on a dealer, a cocktail server, or the food server in the next restaurant they eat in.
As far as the casino goes, this may be a little bit of a surprise, but they don’t mind you winning either. First of all, a lot of people who gamble will go up for a short period of time, only to lose their winnings right back. Even those players smart enough to walk away with their money do this without realizing it. Somebody who wins a few hundred dollars their first time playing craps is a lot more likely to come back and play it again, possibly with a bigger bankroll than the first time.
Second, casinos work on mathematical rules. Even if every player plays every game perfectly (with the exception that card counters are excluded from blackjack), the casino will, in the long run, win. The more people are playing, the more predictable and certain this reality is. And gamblers, especially new, inexperienced gamblers, are attracted to tables where people are yelling, screaming, and cheering, and where they see people with a lot of money. Walk into any casino when they have two dice tables open, and one will always be full, the other almost empty. Inexperienced gamblers, and superstitious experienced ones, believe in streaks and luck. A “hot” table is a money magnet. So by keeping you around and in a good mood, the casino draws more money onto the casino floor and onto that table, and has an opportunity to make its money back.
Remember, mathematically speaking, the house always wins. And remember that the law of averages states that the more “random” samples you use, the closer to your statistically respected outcome the average gets. You, as a winning player, are one of the casino’s strongest marketing tools.
Finally, know that casino executives don’t “sweat the money,” or at least the good ones don’t. There are days when casinos lose hundreds of thousands of dollars. Other days, however, they silently bring in millions.
So don’t buy into the myth that casinos or their employees don’t like winning gamblers. It’s simply not true, assuming that you are playing the game fairly.
