Sure it has the potential to become a foolish behavior. But so is having sex, drinking, and speeding. But many young people happily engage in those behaviors.
I however, know very few people my age who are open to gambling. Even in poker, which has a large element of skill. When I go to the casinos, most of the gamblers are over age 50.
The answers to the questions I hear are… “Casinos are depressing” and “I’m too poor to gamble”.
Well on a good night at the casino, you can leave with more money that you came with. That is not depressing at all. And if you have the proper bankroll you won’t go broke, if you lose money.
There seems to be some belief that if you visit casinos regularly you will go broke and start gambling with you rent money. I’m not really sure where this comes from. Now, there are degenerates out there, but they do not make up the majority of gamblers.
Because statistically I am going to lose. I have an office in Las Vegas and I have a whole bushel of clients who gamble on the regular. Do you know what they all have in common? They all lose WAY more than they make. None of them actually come out ahead in the long term— and that’s how it’s supposed to be because a casino isn’t in the business of handing out free money.
Me? I’d rather take that $200 and go shopping or go see a show. I’d rather have something to show for my money.
If I did gamble, I’d probably be like my dad: he plays poker, but he never spends a dime of his own money. Dad gambles in free entry things locally, takes that money, and uses it to enter bigger tournaments (or gets bids or whatever it is into the WSoP). But again, he doesn’t spend any of his own money.
I think it’s considered very unglamorous by young people nowadays. The casinos here are pretty tawdry. And they all know that they’ll lose money in the end anyway.
We’re poor, and too smart to piss away money on gambling. It’s a racket, and if you want to win you have to have a good amount to play with. I’d rather spend my cash on something more worthwhile. I enjoy playing blackjack every now and again, and poker witht he guys can be a blast; but making a casino a regular habit? I think not.
*I think it’s considered very unglamorous by young people nowadays. The casinos here are pretty tawdry. And they all know that they’ll lose money in the end anyway. *
That’s another myth. Most casinos I visit are very nice. I mean 4* and 5* hotels are connected to them, expensive boutiques near the entrance, fine dining, very tasteful interior and exterior decoration, technologically advanced slot machines, hot sexy lose women serving drinks, etc.
Musty casino riverboats with 20 year old carpet, are in the minority.
Not in poker. And not in blackjack. It doesn’t matter how good you are in slots, you will lose in the long run. But if you really learn the system in blackjack, you can get an (I think) fraction of a percent advantage over the house, and if you’re good in poker, you can win very consistently in casino play. Mostly because there are a lot of “fish” at the tables.
I went to a casino once with some friends when I was 18. Nastiest, smokiest place I’ve ever been. I don’t have asthma but after half an hour in that place, I just wanted to die; breathing was horrible. Plus it’s a waste of money because the thrill of flipping over cards is much less than the thrill I get from having a 20 in my wallet.
But that means I have to learn poker or blackjack at high enough of a skill level to gain the advantage. Again, the 20 in my wallet is more attractive than the time I’d have to spend.
I lived in Vegas for many years. Despite all the advertising showing laughing 20-somethings, organized gambling in general and Vegas in particular has always been a middle-aged-or-older thing.
A lot of the WWII generation got introduced to gambling in the military. Betting on cards & barracks poker was pretty commonplace. In those days almost 100% of male youth went through the military. Even in these last few years of active warfare it’s just a tiny fraction. And during the relative peacetime years between Viet Nam & Iraq I, and even tinier fraction went through that formative experience.
I’ve been in a couple of newer casinos in the last couple of years. Ick. No windows, flashy lights, noisy, ugly, worst of all stinky with all the smoke. It’s torture. One I went to for the restaurant with friends–it was OK but not worth the trip to a casino. The last time was for a concert a few months ago.
If I think of gambling, I think tacky. And losing money for no return. I’m 38, so not a youngster, but casinos are not “nice” IME.
When my friends and I turned 21 (back when I was still in school) we used to drive down to Atlantic City every few weeks in the summer to play poker. Eventually, we just stopped. While it is possible to make some money gambling, poker is the only game I play that I am actually “up” in overall. A big part of the disinterest amongst my peers is that you generally invest a fair amount of time when you sit down to play. If the personalities at your table are non-existent, you are either going to cash out quickly (and likely down) or suffer through some serious boredom.
I was living in Pittsburgh when the Rivers Casino started offering table games and only made it over there once. Personally, I burn through less money at the bar and generally enjoy myself more. That does not mean that I will not hit up the poker tables every now and then, but it is not usually something that I seek out.
I’m pretty sure I could get more liquor per unit of money spent at a bar. It’s even cheaper to mix my own drinks at home, though. Either way, the casino loses this one.
All of the gamblers I have ever known, without exception, are broke and endlessly self-deluded. I don’t want to be either of those things.
I would rather have things to show for my money, or buy food that tastes delicious, than throw it down a slot machine’s gullet.
My family history (and indeed, my personal experience) indicates a strong tendency for addictive behavior. If I start gambling, I might not be able to stop. No thanks.
You absolutely can not get a statistical edge in casino blackjack. Counting cards won’t help you: they keep big enough shoes that you’re never going to get up on the house. And even if you could, the casinos would just ban you. Read “Bringing Down The House”.
You can get a statistical edge in poker if you’re good, but poker has been mainstream enough now that the average player is pretty savvy compared with years ago. For every idiot there will be ten people playing a standard, solid game. And don’t forget the rake: most people don’t realize the degree to which the rake kills profits in low limit games. This is not to say it’s impossible for one to play a good enough game to come out ahead on average, but at low limits it’s not exactly lucrative and it can get pretty boring.
This bodes ill for Massachsetts ( just decided to open three casinos).
I think the demographic that likes casino gambling is dying off. Young people :
-don’t have any money (this unending recession has 18-35 year olds with a 45% unemployment rate
-are smarter (realize the odds are against them)
-don’t want to associate with sleazy gamblers in smokey, prison-like casinos)
I give Vegas another 10-15 years-before it heads toward an irreversible decline.
I wonder how closely associated intelligence is with propensity to gamble. Since each generation is supposedly smarter than the last, perhaps we’ve outgrown gambling. That’s assuming the Flynn effect is still in effect. If true, I’d expect a similar trend in lottery sales, the other “stupid tax”.
Perhaps we grew up in a more stimulating environment. There’s just more entertainment out there. Comparatively, casinos just don’t have much to offer these days.
I’ve tried it, and found it boring. The amount of time (and money) it would cost me to be good at poker just isn’t worth it to me. I’d rather go to a bar and listen to music, or to the movies, or about a million other things.
The only fun I’ve ever had at the casino was when I worked at one. I was doing a faux finish on some trim in a dining room addition with a friend of mine, and we worked through the night by ourselves. We would take breaks and gamble as little as possible (nickle slots) in order to get free drinks. We actually managed to win a tiny bit, and it paid for the tips on the drinks a couple times. That was fun, but it was more the experience of trying to score free stuff and then painting drunk than the gambling itself.
