Beat the System! What Tricks Do Vegas Casinos Use to Keep You Playing? How You Can Outtrick the Tricksters?
Years ago, articles began appearing that detailed the tricks that supermarkets used to keep shoppers shopping longer and buying more. Supermarket managers were told to put staples like bread and milk products in the back and not near each other so people would be forced to walk through the supermarket, past all the alluring products, in order to buy the basics.
Gum and candy was to be placed near the check out counters where kids could grab them, forcing parents to make the purchase. The most expensive products were supposed to go at eye level which would make them more accessible. And so on.
Once exposed, savvy shoppers could beat the system by making a beeline for the items they needed, avoiding impulse buys along the way. Knowledge and preparation enabled customers to get in and out without extra spending.
Turns out that Vegas casinos were consulting the same psychologists that the supermarkets were using and they had some intriguing ideas that went way beyond the traditional casino bonus codes.
Check out how casinos use sounds, lights and physical design to keep you on their gaming floors so you can stay one step ahead of them.
Chips
Did you ever wonder why casinos use chips instead of coins or dollar bills? Even though your bought chips with your real money, playing with chips still gives the illusion that you’re not really playing with money so it’s all a game. It’s much easier to make your bets with chips than with actual money and it’s even easier to lose when it seems like you’re just losing some of the brightly-colored discs that you’re holding.
A more technological adaptation of the old chips is the cards that casinos these days give you where you load your money onto the card, often through an online bank transfer or a credit/debit card payment. All these methods create a disassociation in your mind between your losses and real money which just encourages you to keep on making bets.
Alcohol
We bet (pun intended) that, as the casino serves you drink after drink, you’re thinking to yourself, “these casinos really know how to take care of their customers.” Well, they do. But they also know how to take care of themselves and serving you drinks is the best way that they have to keep you on the casino floor, gambling away your chippies.
If you haven’t drunk too much you might notice that the customers getting the most drinks are those who are betting the most money. Coincidence? We don’t think so.
If your casino experience is limited to pushing quarters into the slots machines, you probably won’t be receiving too many free drink offers. If, however, you’re playing the slots or table games at a VIP level, you can expect some nice alcoholic goodies.
Windows and Clocks
Have you ever seen a clock in a casino? No, and you never will. The casino wants you to lose track of time, even lose track of day and night (you won’t find any windows in the casino either).
You might even find blue ceilings designed to make you feel like it’s daylight, even though it’s 3:00a.m. and you should have been in bed hours ago.
All these elements are designed to keep you from paying attention to the amount of time that you’ve spent on the casino floor and will, hopefully, keep on placing those bets.
Maze
Casino floors are designed in a labyrinth layout that keeps you wandering around and around, even if you’re looking for an exit. The lack of straight aisles and clear pathways is intentional because the casinos wants you to move from one section of the playing floor to the next – but not out until it’s absolutely necessary.
As you walk through the curving paths you’ll come across gaming sections which are placed strategically in your path to attract your attention.
And if you’re looking for a cash-out station? Good luck with finding one before you stumble across a whole new gaming section. Even the bathrooms are located in-between the gaming stalls, not near an exit like in most public places.
Bells and Whistles
What happens when your phone beeps or dings? You get excited, right? The makers of cell phones consulted with casinos to determine which kind of sounds are most alluring and enticing. So when you’re in the casino, all those rings, dings, bells and buzzers get the heart racing.
Even though there are more losses than wins at the casino, the casino keeps you in an “I can win” frame of mind by keeping the sounds constant. And when someone does win – the bells and whistles multiply, causing everyone in the vicinity to consider how that could be them next time.
Beat the Game
There’s nothing like the fun and excitement of a visit to a Vegas casino but you can budget your money wisely and still enjoy the same gaming entertainment, access great casino bonus codes and thrill to the same casino games when you play at the online casino.
At the online casino there are no psychological tricks to get you to keep playing. You start when you want, stop when you want, use the bonus codes on the games that you wish and either withdraw your winnings immediately or keep them in your casino account for another round on another day. And… you can enjoy the extra cash that you save on travel and lodging expenses when playing your favorite casino games or on any other leisure activity that you might choose.
