101–110 of 221 posts
Not trying to be edgy, but it strikes me as odd that, once you remove the obvious historic legacy and economic benefits to government, problem gambling is legal in 2016, but recreational drugs are not.
since recreational drugs make gambling that much more fun, you'd think casinos would be lobbying for legalization.
Probably because I am very fortunate; but I have never done anything but lose from Vegas games to the Lottery and poker with friends. Based on that - I think an open informational model would go a long way. I imagine this would be a history or graphing of win vs. loss and dollar amounts or similar statistics for the customer/gambler. It could be provided on say a slip of paper, presented each time the customer goes t…
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As it was explained to me it was a relatively simple way to recapture some additional tax funds. Also this wasn't the US, Denmark do prosecute criminals, but we don't have anything like RICO.
RICO statutes sound like a great legal tool. They have been abused. They need to be amended. We picture they are being used to go after Mob types. They use them whenever they can. How do I know? I almost got into trouble giving my parents a bit over $10,000 cash years ago. A bank teller turned me into the IRS. Bank employees can be awarded money for turning in any amount of money "they feel" might be suspect. It does…
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning_chamber This is the 101 explanation of the science at work. It's basically a conditioned response to dopamine caused by pulling the lever. At it's most basic level, if you are gambler, you pull the lever and get a neurotransmitter reward.
See also: training my dogs. It is even referred to by some as turning training "into a slot machine". At first one rewards the dog every time they do what was asked. Later, the rewards are only sporadically given (the slot machine). You do a thing, maybe some coins or a piece of meat will come out. But the dog will continue to do what was asked even as the treats taper off. Eventually, out of habit and conditioning,…
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Reminds of the strategies freemium devs employ where they do their best to snare "whales" who are players who will causally drop thousands of dollars on various in-game powerups and skins. There was a report a few months ago claiming these players are responsible for 70% of an app's revenue! I imagine its similar for casinos, so they have no real incentive to actually stop addiction as addicts are their revenue gener…
Absolutely the case, though casinos don't have quite the same incentives. Freemium devs can't fly in wealthy players and customize their games, for instance. But this absolutely explains a lot of these things. For a while, I wondered why freemium games don't offer an "unlock all" option for $2, or $10, or $100? Turns out, it's because even $100 would be a massive loss compared to what the 'top' players sink into Cand…
I wish I could remember the source but I'm sure I've heard of freemium developers researching their biggest whales and then tailoring high end items to match the colours of their favourite football team.
There's a really good book about the design of the slot machines, called Addiction by Design. It talks about the different UI and design elements that go into keeping the gambler engaged and why they keep spending more money. It's a really amazing and enlightening book to read if you're interested in learning more about the mechanics of the slot machines and the designs of the casino. https://www.amazon.com/Addiction…
A really great short documentary on this subject is Louis Theroux's "Gambling in Las Vegas". His frank manner really cuts to the core of not only the length to which addicts will justify gambling but also to the lengths to which the casino employees justify their enabling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJRYUZbxwyA
They are nearly a continuous eye roll of outraged geeks complaining about how states like NY were an affront to freedom and liberty.
Edit: The downvotes are awesome on this topic. Folks love their crack.
Players become so absorbed in the machines that they leave young children unattended, wet themselves without noticing, and neglect to eat for hours. Sounds like video games. (Disclosure: I'm developing a multiplayer game, precisely because I feel the underlying similarities to resort casinos in multiplayer games insult my intelligence.)
Well, I doubt you'll make as much money as WoW, but you might make a lot more money per player-hour. Some of my happiest games spending has been for 'unjustifiably' short games, where no one ever makes me grind to the point of frustration, and I can just see some great content. The winners in my Steam library range from KSP to And then there's WoW. Which apparently passed 6 million man-hours played sometime back in 2…