Casino – How Casinos Use Psychological Tricks to Manipulate Players

Casino is Martin Scorsese’s epic tale of a city’s infamous criminal underworld, revealing how organized crime was able to dominate Las Vegas in the 1970s. Featuring some of the greatest actors in history (Robert De Niro and Sharon Stone in particular), Casino is one of the most important movies about gambling.

This movie doesn’t only teach us about the mafia but also about how casinos use psychological tricks to manipulate players. The fact is that people don’t go into a casino expecting to lose their money, but once they’re inside, they often get trapped by these psychological tactics.

The first trick casinos use is to make players feel like they have a sense of urgency and that they need to gamble as soon as possible. They achieve this by placing essential amenities (toilets, restaurants, cash machines) deep within the casino floor. This forces players to pass by numerous gaming tables and machines on their way to those facilities, increasing the chances of making a spur-of-the-moment decision to press their luck.

Another trick casinos employ is using a variety of colors, flashing lights, and constant movement to create an exciting atmosphere. This entices players to spend more money than they would otherwise, especially since losses don’t hurt as much when you are spending chips instead of actual cash. Many casinos even let you load money onto a card that can be used in digital games, further dissociating your real money from your gambling habits.