It’s ok to be skeptical about casinos; after all, they make more money than they give out. Some people invent and spread outrageous conspiracy theories about how the casino is ‘rigged’ or otherwise full of traps and pitfalls. It’s true that a casino is a business which exists for profit, and it is set up to do exactly that.
But casino myths abound, spread around like the old urban myths you’ve heard over the years—most of which turned out to be fake. The most common casino myths are usually outrageous stories with no basis in fact whatsoever. Here are the facts behind the superstitions.
Myth #1: Casino staff watches players through the casino surveillance system and decides whose winning streak is about to end.
Fact: Many casino owners in Vegas would probably like that, but land-based casinos as well as online facilities are supervised by strict authorities with guidelines that ensure all operations take place in full transparency. Besides, with the number of players enjoying casino games at any given time (in brick-and-mortar and online casinos) it would be impossible to keep track of every single player’s play session and progress.
The ‘eye in the sky’ surveillance system is there for security purposes. With all that money flowing freely around the casino, video surveillance needs to observe and record potential security threats or blatant cheating. The cameras often catch shady dealers slipping chips into their socks, as well as obvious card counting by certain players.
Card counting is not technically illegal (unless you bring in a counting device), but it is discouraged by the casino as an unfair advantage. Very few people can successfully count cards well enough to win a lot of money—and avoid detection. More often than not, if someone is suspected of card counting, the pit boss will order a change of dealers and a reshuffle of the cards to foil the schemes of the card counter.
Myth #2: Counting and keeping track of the symbols on the slot machine reels will help you figure out the odds of that machine.
Fact: Unfortunately for players who think this “technique” works, slot machines use a Random Number Generation system; not even Rain Man can help you with predicting the odds. The RNG is a device which uses an algorithm mathematically designed to program millions of combinations in a split second in order to create random odds. You definitely won’t be able to defy probability by simply counting numbers or symbols.
The same holds true for roulette. The display showing previous wheel results is just for show. The roulette wheel has no memory. If you think a 7 is ‘due’ to show up just because there hasn’t been one for hours—you would be wrong. Probability dictates that you could just as easily get ten 7s in a row or never see one for weeks.
Myth #3: A slot machine that hasn’t paid in a while is due to hit soon.
Fact: A slot machine’s spins are random and each spin has no relation to the previous one. The fact that a player has invested hundreds of dollars in a machine that has not hit in a while is no guarantee that it will pay out a huge jackpot soon.
This myth persists from the ‘old days’ of early mechanical slot machines, which could be manually set by the casino to be either ‘loose’ or ‘tight.’ Those particular machines would pay off at regular intervals, or not at all. If someone could identify the loose machines, they could play those continuously until a jackpot hit. But the days of rigged one-armed bandits are long gone, and even land-based casinos use computerized video slot machines with RNG systems in play.
Myth #4: Casinos pump oxygen into the casino floor to keep players fresh, awake and gambling.
Fact: Coercing players to gamble in any way, especially in a way as deceitful as what we just described, would represent a crime punishable by law. Casinos do employ design techniques that psychologically make players feel at ease and comfortable while playing; however, their decision to do so remains completely their own.
Even the rumor that a casino has no windows so you don’t know day from night is laughable. Many casinos do in fact have no windows by design; but not for the reasons you might think. It’s simply to keep the glare of the sun from hitting all the tables and slot machine screens. That would be downright distracting.
But there is definitely a design behind all those free cocktails: they lower your inhibitions, causing you to gamble with higher amounts of money than you normally would. However, online casinos are a safer bet, as they can’t deliver free drinks through your pc or phone.
It is no surprise that the mysterious world of casinos could spark a number of rumors and myths. After all, the air of mystery and the luxurious allure of the casino experience is intriguing to many. But it is definitely important to keep an objective perspective when it comes to believing the myths and rumors about casinos, whether they are based online or on land.
