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majority of people who gamble in casinos are casual
players, and their action is limited to a few hundred
dollars, thousand dollars at most, during their entire
stay at a hotel. In the Nevada casinos most of the gamblers
come from California and the neighboring states. For
the most part, they are weekend players or people who
have taken a couple of days their ordinary routines
to try their luck at the tables.
Should these gamblers lose several hundred dollars,
feel that the entertainment value of gambling, the thrill
glitter of the casinos, is well worth the loss. To most
of people gambling is innocent fun and excitement. As
for casinos, many of them, particularly the ones in
downtown Vegas, Lake Tahoe, Laughlin, and Reno, depend
on small gamblers for their income and welcome them
with arms. In this age of computers and microchips,
these casinos fill their space with electronic games
that require quarter dollar plays, rather than the expensive
table games such craps and baccarat.
Another reason for these casinos using electronic g,
other than the fact that they are made for gamblers
with funds, is the skill factor. Many of these electronic
games quire little or no skill. A slot machine, no matter
how gaudy it looks with its multitudinous payoffs, is
operated by pulling a handle or pressing a button. The
machine engages and either shows a winner or, more probably,
another loss. The loss is one to five coins, depending
on the machine, and there constant payouts to keep the
bettor engaged. In the long run he or she will lose
to the house, but the losses will be limited. To further
entice people, the casinos constantly advertise that
they have the "loosest slots" or the "best
payouts." In addition to these enticements, some
of the payouts can be monumental. "Quartermania"
machines and "Megabuck" slots pay a million
or several million dollars to the lucky jackpot winner.
The players these casinos welcome are the "grinds"
in the gambling business-small-time players who never
make big bets and who are slowly ground down by the
casino advantage. Of all the people who gamble these
are the best for any casino in the long run. They will
never make a big win, except for the lightning bolt
big money jackpot, and if they do win moderate amounts
while playing, their constant play will eventually return
the wins to the casino. No matter how big the casino,
no matter how opulent, these players give the house
the bread and butter money that accounts for a good
percent-age of its profits. These players are never
discouraged from the casino.
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