preview

How Gambling Has Become The Favorite Distraction Of Americans

Good Essays

Gambling has become the favorite distraction of Americans and could very well be the world 's oldest pastime with the dollars spent doubling since 2006 from $57 billion to $116.9 billion in 2016 (Pempus 1; Vacek 1; Finger 1) . Those dollars have been divided between traditional gambling, from brick and mortar casinos such as the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada and Mill Bay Casino in Manson, Washington to Cashman Casino, myKONAMI, and Slotmania, the most downloaded online application (app) of 2012 (Torres 2). With the emersion of virtual worlds, online casino apps have gained momentum with over 230 million users per month based on previous industry reports. So what really is the difference between the two methods of gambling? What has …show more content…

Within 60 seconds of opening the app. "You 're a millionaire!" popped on the screen and a claim now button but then a Hot Shot Sale popped up where coins can be bought, with real money, to purchase fake coins to play for minutes or hours. In the online casino slots, wagering isn 't the $1 gamblers would find in a traditional casino, it 's usually in the thousands but the wins are larger also, as reflected in Figure 2; a win of $12,217,500 with a bet of $90,000 per spin. Conversely, gambling in a traditional casino doesn 't pay $12 million dollars, unless of course you 're a high roller with wads of cash in Vegas and that only happens one in 176 million, so no millionaire in 60 seconds applies here. Playing at a local casino requires a little more effort than on an app with pulling a phone out of your pocket or purse and hitting spin. It 's more like, don on a t-shirt and a pair of jeans instead of the pajamas you could wear if you were playing online, get in your car, drive 45 minutes, find a parking space, and enter a smoke filled building with noise as loud as a jet engine. Be prepared to walk away a loser. Unlike playing online, with $700,000 starting money, it 's more like a $20 bill or a couple hundred to wager. As you take a seat next to a person blowing their cigarette smoke your way, you 'd put you money in the slot and hit the spin button, just as you would online. Spin after spin after spin, no

Get Access