Is the Casino Entertainment?

Short Answer: The goals of entertainment and winning are incompatible at the casino. For the small percentage of people who have enough money that it will not hurt them to lose it all, perhaps it can be entertainment. A small portion might also be able to enjoy the stage performances, the meals, the alcoholic beverages, the escorts. Some criminals may find it a good place to launder money. For mathematicians, it might be an expensive way to play with statistics. However, for the majority of the people who are trying to win money, this is a dreadful place as losing money is not fun and the number of games that can be played where you can even begin to attempt to win are very few in number.

Casino Entertainment

One element that should not be ignored is that the casino industry often portrays itself as entertainment. This can be considered the public relations aspect of the business. As entertainment, there is no obligation to let a person win or to suggest losses will occur because a person should just be there to have fun (not there to win money).

Toward this end, they will have stages with performances, they can have food (from what I hear, often surprisingly good, well made food), alcoholic beverages, a place to relax and forget about the cares of the world (a small casino midweek can be surprisingly quiet), as well as other activities.

The entertainment aspect should not be neglected as I have heard numerous people claim they go to the casino to eat the good food and seldom actually play any games.

The casino industry labels itself as entertainment. In advertisements, it shows people having fun. While it can be entertainment for a small percentage of people, most are not having fun. The fact that this is adult entertainment, where children are not allowed, should be a warning sign. While some may go for a game and some food, others are there for the alcohol, the escorts, and possibly even illegal activities like money laundering. For a relatively few people, the entertainment might be the opportunity to play with statistics ... but that becomes a very expensive way to play with statistics.

The problem with entertainment is that for it to truly be for fun, one must have discretionary income. This is the money that is left over after paying taxes and after paying for necessities like rent, food, utilities, and clothing. If any money is used before paying these expenses, it is a sign of a problem gambler. Discretionary income means it absolutely will not hurt to lose that money [even then, I can think of better ways to use money than that]. If you can treat it like going to a movie and paying for popcorn, you might be able to relax and enjoy the time. But you must remember, you are in a dangerous place and they will try to get you to do more than you came planning to do.

Entertainment Vs. Winning

Keep in mind that the idea of entertainment and the idea of trying to win are not compatible. If one goes to a casino to try and win, the play must be completely different than just having fun. For fun, you can play any game in the casino. For fun, you can wager low or high at any time. However, to win, you are limited to very few games and lots of dry boring mechanical repetition.

This is very much the same as living life. If one wants to simply have fun (pleasure), the seeking after money, power, sex, drugs, and alcohol are the main ways people go. But they are left unsatisfied no matter how much they get of those things.

Instead, to win at life, one must pursue peace and find love. To Win at eternal life, one must humbly sugmit to needing a Savior and aim for righteousness. This is not a dull boring life. It can be filled with adventure. And a life of entertainment and a life of winning fulfillment are not compatible.

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