What Happens in Vegas: Notes on the Psychology of Gambling

The prototypical casino game—the ‘one armed bandit’ slot machine—is an emblematic example of human factors engineering. A foundational law in learning theory——in essence contends that a behavior that is rewarded will be repeated. In other words, we all follow the reward. Yet how we follow the reward will depend on how the reward is presented.

It makes sense if you think about it: Under this schedule, you know that the reward is linked to pulling the lever , yet you’re unsure how many pulls will be needed to get the reward . Thus, you can tell yourself after every pull that the next pull will bring the reward. This notion—that the big one is just around the corner—keeps you going indefinitely.

Moreover, our brain is not equipped to accept randomness. When presented with random chance, we’re compelled to engaged all manner of storytelling to impose some order on it—lucky numbers, superstitions, rituals, charms and the like. The brain is a meaning-making and problem-solving machine. When faced with randomness, it’s compelled to stick around and discover the order underneath.. One way to ward off the psychological experience of losing in the short term is to keep on playing.

Another appeal of the casino is its frankness. A casino is about money. It is designed to indulge our greed in the raw. This is satisfying for us because normally, in the course of civilized life, we are not allowed to express or act on raw desire. We must consume the things we covet in processed, modified, or neutered form, under the cover of some respectable alibi.

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