How Casinos Trick You Into Spending More Money Than You Have

When you walk into a casino, the lights flash and the sounds of coins clinking resonate, creating a sense of excitement. This isn’t an illusion — casinos are designed to make you feel this way. They use sound, physical design and even skewed odds to manipulate you into spending more money than you have to.

It happens every time. You stride into the Luxor or Mohegan Sun brimming with confidence and a wallet full of cash, and just one round of games and two rounds of drinks later, you have no idea what time it is, how many bets you’ve placed or what happened to your bankroll. Something about gambling just makes otherwise rational people lose their money hand over fist. But how do they do it? Here are some of the secrets casinos employ to keep you hooked on losing money.

From the outset, a casino is designed to trick you into spending more than you have. That’s why you’ll find bathrooms buried deep within the building, and why the first thing you see when you walk through the door are gaming tables or machines.

In addition, casinos offer comps — free hotel rooms, dinners and show tickets based on the amount you spend — to lure in high-spenders. All of these factors combined create an intoxicating atmosphere, and while there may be the occasional tutting when a gambler loses, most players are having a good time.