I've been around gambling most of my life.. my parents were big gamblers.  They were high school sweethearts but gambling nearly ruined our family.  My dad finally came to his senses.. and despite all of this I ended up working at a casino and thought I'd share some of the stories and marketing techniques used by ALL casinos.   

   The casino industry is great at marketing to a certain segment. They know their customers very well and some know them too well. Eighty percent of the money earned by the casino is made by twenty percent of the customers. These customers are well known as the casino knows their birthdays, anniversaries, children's name and ages among many other personal things. The bigger customers have a host who basically caters to their every need. The hosts job is to keep the customer gambling longer because the longer the gambler gambles the higher the edge for the house. There are other marketing techniques such as the "free" buffet dinner or "free" gift at the slot reward center. There is no such thing as "free" in the casino as everything has a cost. The buffets are designed to get the customer in and out as soon as possible so they can return to gambling. The "free" play coupon is meant to entice the gambler into playing. Once the gambler has the "bug" they will continue to gamble and the house will win.
   
  The second story involved how a 21 dealer received over $20,000 in tip during an hour shift. This dealer was working in the high limit area and one player got on a roll. This player was winning and winning big. While the player was winning big he tipped exceptionally well. At first we thought the dealer was doing something fishy but upon investigation this was not the case. The player was very gracious with his winning and the dealer reaped the benefits. After the dealer went off shift the player continued to gamble and instead of winning lost and lost big. Long story short the Casino Manager had to give this player $20 for a cab ride home. Yes, the house always wins!!!

   

 

Alibi said:  
   
  The second story involved how a 21 dealer received over $20,000 in tip during an hour shift. This dealer was working in the high limit area and one player got on a roll. This player was winning and winning big. While the player was winning big he tipped exceptionally well. At first we thought the dealer was doing something fishy but upon investigation this was not the case. The player was very gracious with his winning and the dealer reaped the benefits. After the dealer went off shift the player continued to gamble and instead of winning lost and lost big. Long story short the Casino Manager had to give this player $20 for a cab ride home. Yes, the house always wins!!!

OMGosh! That's crazy! I would've totally regretted being so gracious moments before! but if I was the dealer I think I would've given him $10,000 back and kept the rest! Be gracious back!

I always find it odd when compulsive gamblers brag about how they won thousands of dollars, and then they say, but I lost thousands also.  What's the point!?  You're basically saying yeah, I gambled for this period of my life and accomplished nothing.  If you're winning and then losing, you minus well have stayed at home and did nothing.