This is an odd thing about gambling when compared to drugs, prostitution or other vices. Gambling can scale up to consume whatever amount of money you happen to have. Similarly, there is some upper bound on how much any single human can spend on prostitutes. Gambling has no upper bound. It can scale up infinitely in line with the gamblers financial means. And gambling addicts are scary because they can ruin their lives in less than a year, digging a hole worth more than a decade.
Their lives, and the lives of people whom they happened to become close with before their downwards spiral. I know some stories and they're not pretty. Theodores on Sept 10, root parent prev next [β].
These must be the 'guests' that 'go dark after years', according to the article. Churn must be interesting for casinos, there has to be a continual search for new 'guests' that haven't already been fully fleeced. The out of this world hospitality is probably the best advertising they have. Although gambling is as old as money and can be found all over the world, the phenomenon of Las Vegas is extremely American.
In the rest of the world there is 'pecking order' with a hierarchy where everyone knows their place, whether they like it or not. This is useful as there is no pressure to 'become king' as that position is not open to you. You can be relatively happy with your status even if you are 'just' a school dinner lady. Furthermore you can gamble on a regular basis to improve your situation in your dreams.
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There are the 'turf accountants' on the High Street or at the actual races. Sports betting also allows for the gambling interest to be masked, you can pretend that you 'love' horses, football or dogs. Meanwhile, in the land of the free, where the dollar is king, there is some pressure to show you have made it, that you are eligible for the top table.
