Casinos are all about profit and turnover, so it’s no surprise they employ some underhanded tricks to make you spend more money and stay longer.
So, you’ve landed at your favourite casino and are ready to blow some cash. But before you know it, all your moola is gone and, in despair, you ask yourself, “How did this happen?”. Well, what might be unknown to you is that casinos use subliminal psychological tricks to get you to spend as much as possible in the shortest time.
Here are some of the best-known tricks casinos use to make you spend more money:
1. Clocks Don’t Exist in Casinos
Casinos don’t want you to know what time of the day it is, so you won’t ever find any clocks on the walls. Realistically, this tactic is redundant since most people today either wear watches or carry a cell phone with them. Even so, the strategy has remained in place.
Ultimately, it benefits the casinos when you don’t realise it’s bedtime, you haven’t eaten in several hours, or you’ve spent half a day around the same blackjack table. Such a realisation could quickly draw you away from gambling. This is the same reason why casinos play bland music in a continuous loop to keep you passive and sated.
2. Near Misses Make You Think You’re About to Win
Casinos know that they must make symbolic payouts now and then. If they don’t, people will walk out, a few dollars shorter and a whole lot wiser. The goal of a casino is to keep the patrons inside for as long as possible and pocket as much of their money as they can. Subsequently, they perfected the art of the near-miss. Imagine a big CA$1 million jackpot on your slot machine that requires you to get three gold stars in a row.
If you spin two stars, the machine will give you a smaller payout, but you’d feel like you were close to winning the jackpot. However, you could keep hitting two stars to infinity, and the casino would ultimately bleed you dry. But the thrill of a near win would keep you coming back for more.
3. You Are Offered an Illusion of Control
Any successful con makes their victim think they’re getting one over on them and not the other way around. Casinos are aware of this and offer games that give an illusion of control.
In craps, it’s you who gets to roll the dice. In pai gow or blackjack, you make decisions based on your cards. This can make some people think they’re in the driver’s seat. However, your participation in casino games is meaningless, and it all boils down to stats. Remember, the house always wins.
4. Each Big Win is Hyped Up
Eventually, someone does end up winning a jackpot. While this may seem disadvantageous to casinos, they’ve become adept at using each part of the human psyche. So, even though only one person would win the jackpot, everyone would know about it.
Alarm bells would chime, lights flicker, loudspeaker announcements blare, and the casino staff gather to celebrate the big winner. Casinos know that when other players see that kind of fanfare, they’re more likely to think that if that person could win, they can too. Ultimately, it’s just another of the tricks casinos use to make you spend more money and stay longer.
5. Free Drinks, Meals and Accommodation
Alcohol consumption equals loss of inhibition and compromised decision-making skills. That means less guilt about losing and lower cognisance about what moves to make. All of this equates to the casinos making more money. So, while you might think you’re getting a killer deal with that complimentary martini, the chances are that the house will make way more than the cost of your drink if it gets you intoxicated.
Additionally, casinos might reward you with free food and lodging! If this sounds too good to be true, it’s because it is. The only reason why a casino would extend your stay is that the longer you remain, the more you’d end up gambling, and the greater the chance you’d lose what you won, and possibly more.
These are some tricks casinos use to make you spend more money. If you are knowledgeable about these actions, it’s more likely that you will not fall for them. However, you need to remain alert and aware of your surroundings for the entire time you spend in a casino.
