We’re all for casinos offering a fun, fair, and safe space to gamble and play favorite games – after all, they’re a great luxury environment that suits plenty of occasions.
From the games scattered across the rooms and entertainment at every corner to the free food/drink and great people that make up the staff and players at the typical casino. There’s something special about visiting the casino, it’s something that should be on everyone’s bucket list.
But it’s also important to know the tricks and secrets that casinos keep from those players spending money on the gaming floor. The environment may be inviting, the staff polite and you may have a really great time, but not everything in a casino is there to improve the player’s experience – some are just there to extract as much money as possible.
So what are the best-kept casino secrets that you should know before hitting the tables and gambling with your hard-earned cash?
Not all machines are created equally
First and foremost, it’s important to know that when playing on any sort of gambling machine, they’re not all created equally.
Depending on the game type, the provider, and even the settings that are chosen, gambling machines can vary massively with the best odds per machine. By looking at the Return to Player (RTP) percentage, you’ll be able to see the average winnings that you should expect from your deposit.
By looking for those with the highest RTP percentage, players can be sure that they’re getting the best odds from the games in the casino. Those closest to 100% will give players the best bang for their buck, although you’ll never find one bang on the money.
Casinos have to make a profit somehow.
The environment is carefully curated
Have you ever walked into a casino and really looked around? You’ll have noticed a number of carefully curated environment features (even if unaware at the time) typical of a casino that you don’t tend to find anywhere else.
These aren’t cut corners or money-saving strategies, but rather key elements included in casinos to keep players happy and indoors playing for as long as possible.
No clocks or windows
By minimizing the number of time-telling devices in the casino, bosses can attempt to keep players gaming for as long as possible.
With no visual cues in clocks or the daylight outside the casino, players can often become confused with the time of day, clueless as to the amount of time that has passed. It’s a clever technique and something to look out before you head in and begin gambling.
Maybe wear a wristwatch and continue to check if you want to keep your bearings.
Living room lighting
Unlike many other commercial buildings, casinos have a focus on the lighting so players feel at home at the felt – literally.
By adopting warm lighting, reminiscent of your very own living room, casinos make players as comfortable as possible. The more at home a player feels, the more likely they’ll stay there and gamble. As much as it’s great to have a comfortable and inviting place to play, it’s important that players are being lured into a false sense of security.
After all, the more time players spend in the gaming rooms, the more money they’ll end up spending.
Difficult to navigate layout
If you’ve ever gotten lost in the casino, you might find comfort in the knowledge that it’s due to the design of the layout, not just the amount you’ve had to drink.
Casinos are often purposely laid out in a difficult-to-negotiate manner, making it difficult to travel from one area to the next, like a maze. Unlike a maze, on your way from point A to point B, you’ll be distracted by flashing lights, winnings sounds, free food and drink, and just about every other distraction in the book – it’s just one of the ways the most profitable casinos keep increasing the revenue.
It’s great for getting lost and enjoying yourself, but it’s important to remember the fact before heading in for an hour and coming out 8 later.
Free food and drink offered to keep players playing
Casinos are well known for offering free food and drink provided that players are spending time gambling – we all know this and it’s always a great benefit of visiting the establishments.
What you may not know is that these free food and drink benefits aren’t solely to keep players in a good mood, but to keep them in the gaming rooms for as long as possible. Furthermore, players are found to be more generous when they’re treated well – so those free drinks might have ulterior motives.
Of course, there’s no reason to take advantage of the free food and drink, it’s just important to know that they’re not being offered out of the goodness of their heart.
Chips make it easier to spend
One of the favorite features of any casino is the chips that players are given when depositing as they walk in.
They feel they have in the hand, the satisfying clink they make when they’re rubbed together, and the way they look, with each casino offering up a slightly different variation. They’re iconic and make gambling much easier, removing the hassle of notes and small changes from interrupting the flow of the games and taking counterfeit cash out of the equation. But there’s another reason that keeps casinos mass producing these little clay-based tokens…
Chips make it incredibly easy for players to bet big without it feeling like real money. It’s similar to paying with something in cash compared to a credit or debit card – it always feels like much more when it’s cash – but it’s exactly the same amount. When using chips, it’s the same feeling, each chip feels the same, has the same characteristics and feels nothing like any form of currency.
Adrian Sirena, of OnlineCasinoGems, shared his two cents on the matter, stating: “It’s like betting with monopoly money and that’s why it’s so dangerous. Players need to consider the actual value of the token in their hands.”
With this in mind, it’s clear that players need to be careful and handle the chips with caution – they’re not a free ride.
The bottom line
Although gambling at the casino can be a fun and rewarding time, it’s important to take note of the casino secrets before making your way through the gaming floor.
As soon as you enter the large casino doors, everything in your environment is designed to make you gamble and stay for long periods of time. By keeping aware of your surroundings, you can minimize the chances you’ll be caught out and wagering more than you originally wanted.
Get up to speed, stay vigilant and enjoy yourself!
