When you enter a casino, your wallet is probably filled with cash and you’re hoping for an enjoyable evening of gambling. Depending on the game, you could be losing hundreds or thousands of dollars in one turn of a wheel or roll of the dice. But underneath the flashing lights and free cocktails, casinos are built on a bedrock of mathematics engineered to slowly bleed players of their money.
In addition to scented oils, casinos use a variety of tricks to make it hard for people to walk away. For example, casinos don’t put bathrooms near the entrance and have their gaming rooms arranged in a maze that makes it difficult for players to find their way out, even when they need to use the bathroom. They also don’t put clocks in their facilities, because they want you to lose track of time and keep playing.
Then there are the oh-so-sexy table games, slot machines, and poker rooms, which have made Las Vegas a mecca for high-rollers and casual gamblers alike. And if all that’s not enough, there are top-notch hotels, restaurants, and entertainment to keep you there for hours on end. And of course, the world-famous dancing fountains at the Bellagio add some Hollywood glamour to this gambling mecca.
Casino, a film from director Martin Scorsese, explores the gambling industry’s deep connections to organized crime and corruption in the 1980s in Las Vegas. It is based on the nonfiction book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi, who wrote the screenplay for the movie along with James Caan and Scott Cohen.