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The
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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