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How many people who gamble in casinos do you think are under the influence of some sort of superstition? I use "under the influence" literally. Not just that they might have some sort of belief about good or bad luck, but they're carrying a lucky charm or wearing their lucky underwear or actively engaged in some OCD-like behavior or routine?
This is an interesting question that of course is nearly impossible to answer.
Luckily (so to speak), we found a survey that was conducted by the Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for a blog post earlier this year from which we can draw some statistics, if not conclusions.
The casino polled 1,200 Americans.
They found that 68% of respondents believe in luck. Of the 32% who don't, fully 31% still abide by some lucky beliefs or superstitions "just in case." Which means they're superstitious about not being superstitious!
Similarly, 87% don't believe that St. Patrick's Day is lucky, though 53% still wear green.
The most commonly held belief is in beginner's luck, the only one that garnered more than half (58%).
In terms of answering this question, 46% believe that throwing coins into a fountain is lucky, 39% knock on wood to prevent bad luck, 38% carry a lucky charm, and 25% won't walk under a ladder. So you can extrapolate that perhaps between a third and nearly half of casino-goers are actively participating in some superstition either while visiting one or before or after.
Also for the purposes of this answer, one in 10 have a lucky color, between 15% (Thursday) and 41% (Friday, Saturday) believe in a lucky day, 60% have a lucky number (7, 3, 13, 21, and 9 are the top five), and of the 14% who wear a lucky item of clothing or accessory, 56% use lucky jewelry, 11% a lucky keychain, and 10% lucky shoes.
Finally, as for undergarments, 12% wear lucky undies, but this question was asked specifically about dating, where "getting lucky" is a different order of magnitude. On the other hand, this writer has a pair of lucky boxers and a pair of lucky briefs and wear both to the casino on a date.
For a look at the whole fun survey, click here.