Casino is a Martin Scorsese film that lays bare the corruption at the heart of Las Vegas. Unlike other epic crime dramas like Goodfellas, which some misconstrue as advocacy of that lifestyle, Casino takes an objective view and reveals the dark underbelly of gangster life. Using footage from actual casinos, the movie shows how casino owners have ties to organized crime. They also rely on security cameras and enforce rules that prohibit the exchange of chips for cash.
Casinos use many tactics to keep players gambling longer, such as scents, the dazzling lights, and the music. They also make it hard to leave the game by hiding toilets, restaurants, and cash machines deep within the gaming area. This way, a player must traverse the gaming floor to access these amenities, and this makes them more likely to make spur-of-the-moment decisions to gamble again. Additionally, slot machines can be programmed to give near-wins, which encourages players to play.
Despite these efforts, the house always wins in the end. Even if a player is ahead in one game, the odds are that they will lose in the long run. Casinos aren’t charitable organizations that throw free money away, and they need to ensure their profits. They do this by creating a psychological distance between players and their money, so they can make irrational judgments that will lead to more losses. For instance, they don’t allow clocks and windows in their buildings to remind players that time is passing.