Casino managers use psychologists to subliminally direct visitors to gamble. For example, casino-floor carpeting is purposefully ugly and visually dissonant, which makes one want to look up at slot machines and table games. What other psychologically-based tricks do casinos use to persuade unsuspecting gamblers to part with their hard-earned money, other than the well-known practices of no clocks or windows)?
We've covered most of these topics in previous QoDs, but in some instances a long time ago and never all in the same place at once, so here goes for a recap (plus, some extras and updates along the way).
The principal "tricks" that occur to us are based on the senses -- sight, sound, smell -- plus the whole concept of drawing you in, disorienting you, and shutting out reality, so that you lose track of time.
We'll start out with casino carpets, which were the subject of one of the earliest QoDs back in July, 2005.
"Not only is the ugliness of most casino carpets totally deliberate, it's actually the result of elaborate market-research tests, designed to find the patterns and colors most displeasing to the human eye!
"The reason? The casinos don’t want you looking down at the floor; they want your eyes up and focusing on all the games. Along with the lack of clocks and windows, the "dizzy" floor designs also help with the process of generally disorienting you, so you lose track of time -- and, with luck, of how much money you're losing and where the exit is.
"On a more domestic note, those busy patterns are also a practical solution to dealing with the relentless foot traffic that passes through each day. As casino-design guru Bill Friedman explains in his 2000 tome, Designing Casinos to Dominate the Competition, "When selecting a casino carpet, four qualities should be taken into account: pattern, color, longevity, and comfort. It should have a small or tight pattern, so the inevitable nonremovable stains will be less likely to show."
"Friedman goes on to argue that, 'The carpet is the one place brilliant colors can be used, because the only time visitors see the floor in front of them is when they are walking around the casino. Reasonably intense colors amplify players' excitement as they approach the gaming equipment. Players do not look down at the carpet while playing, so the coloring is not a distraction.'
"A word of caution from the expert, however: 'Brightly colored carpets can easily become too garish and dissonant. A number of Nevada casinos have had carpets with offensive color combinations and patterns. These carpets deterred first-time visitors from gambling and gave regular players one more reason to stop patronizing these establishments.'"
Next, we'll revisit the subject of casino clocks -- and the lack thereof -- which we addressed in July, 2008:
"In 2000, Bally's Atlantic City caused something of a media stir when it added a 34-foot-high clock tower to the middle of the casino floor. The brick pillar was a key structure in the building and executives, who wanted to dress it up, eventually settled on the idea of an ornate clock for the center of Coyote Kate's Slot Parlor.
"To the uninitiated, that's seemingly not so remarkable, but in fact it was the first (and remains the only, so far as we know) casino in Atlantic City to feature a clock on the main casino floor -- something that no Las Vegas casino does to this day.
"It's part of a convention that dates back to the psychology of the early casino days, when owners wanted their patrons to leave reality at the door and lose track of what time of day or night it was. For a long time it was thought conducive to the perpetual party atmosphere for the casinos to evoke 24-hour-a-day nighttime, hence the lack of windows and dark artificially lit nightclubesque interiors of the '50s and beyond.
"Then in the '90s, around the same time the whole wholesome 'family-friendly' concept was being experimented with (briefly), there was a switch away from the old slightly seedy nightclub feel and a new trend toward an atmosphere of perpetual daytime -- hence the blue ceilings with floaty clouds that adorn the likes of Paris, Sunset Station, and the Forum Shops at Caesars.
"Even exterior clocks are a casino rarity, with only a few that we can think of attached to current Las Vegas properties. These include the one you noticed at South Point (formerly South Coast), the one on the clock tower at the entrance to the Main Street Station parking structure downtown, one on the exterior marquee of Bellagio (viewable from I-15 and keeping good time last time we checked), three each on the clock towers at Sunset Station (not one of which was even vaguely keeping time when we checked recently) and Texas Station (haven't yet had time to check the time...), one that keeps good time at the entrance to the Palace Station casino, and the replica of the famous 500-year-old astrological clock in St. Mark's Square in Venice that adorns the exterior of the Venetian. The digital clock that graced the Sahara tower, well-known for its accuracy, disappeared over a decade ago, although the one above the old Mint casino downtown (now Binion's) remains.
"All that said, the myth that casinos have no clocks is unfounded. There's one place on the casino floor where you'll generally always find one, namely the race and sports book, and the reason is obvious: The casino would hate for you to miss getting your wager down on a race or game and the betting stops a few minutes ahead, so they provide a clock for your gambling convenience. Hence, if you need to know what time it is and forgot your watch, just head for the race and sports book (where you can also generally pick up a complimentary writing implement, should you need one, since patrons are provided with pens and pencils for the purpose of completing parlay cards and so on). There's usually a wall-mounted clock in the main casino cage as well, plus, if you're in need of the time and happen to be in the table-game area, you'll generally find clocks on the pit podiums, too."
While it's an urban myth that casinos pump oxygen through the air conditioning to keep patrons content or subdued, they do pump other stuff into the air. Here's what we wrote on this topic back in October, 2008:
"To quote a QoD reader on the topic, 'Every time I visit the Venetian, I notice that the casino has a distinct fragrance. It's very noticeable when you come in from the outside. But the odor is not something that I particularly recognize. I've heard that some people dislike the smell, even to the point of claiming that it causes them breathing problems. However, personally I really like it. Not only does it not bother me, but it actually makes me feel good to be there. (The smell even causes me to think when I arrive, "Aaah....I'm at the Venetian!") I'm certain that they must be piping something into the casino. So, my question is, what's in the air at the Venetian?'
"While the theory that casinos pump pure oxygen into the building to increase your sense of well-being is an urban myth (not least because of the increased fire hazard this would pose), you're all correct that many casinos pump fragrances into the air. The, "Aaah, I'm at the Venetian" comment hits the nail on the head with regard to one of the reasons why and does tie in with the thinking behind the oxygen myth. More of that later...
"First, however, one of the reasons properties use artificial aromas is the same reason we use air fresheners in our homes and cars, namely to mask the unpleasant smells that might otherwise pervade the casino floor: Thousands of smoking, beer-spilling, sweating (especially in the height of the Las Vegas summer) patrons would not necessarily make for a pleasant olfactory experience, were the air to be left au naturale. But the countermeasures employed do take psychological factors into consideration, in addition to simply masking unpleasant odors.
"The company behind many of the casino smells you've smelled is called AromaSys, which bills itself as the 'premier provider of custom-scented environments for resort, casino, elite hotel, and spa properties in North America.'
"We tracked down a statement from founder Mark Peltier, in which he explained, "Starting with the Mirage Resort in Las Vegas, we have now provided over 1,000 systems and over 100 aroma blends covering millions of square feet. Comfortable guests stay and play longer. Using our patented systems and customized aromas called Aromatic Symphonies, we offer the gaming industry the most experience and value." Check out the Clientele list on their Web site to see just how many casino properties nationally they're fragrancing.
"In the early '90s, Alan Hirsch, neurological director of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, conducted research in a Las Vegas casino and contended that using the right kind of scent induced customers to spend 45% more on slot machines. Peltier, whose firm was responsible for putting together the scents for that experiment, disputed the findings. 'There are no aromas that make people gamble. It's got enormous appeal for sensationalism, but it's not true.'
"These aromas, including the tropical coconut, lavender, citrus garden, and vanilla that are particularly popular with Las Vegas casinos, are often not natural, but synthetic replicas created in a lab and dispersed by machines to set a mood and encourage customers to linger and, hence, spend more money. Many of them are custom-designed "signature scents" for an individual property, so their uniqueness is also about helping to establish and reinforce the brand (the 'Aaah, the Venetian' effect).
"While some people aren't bothered by it and, on the contrary, really like these aromas and wish they could reproduce them at home, other people's reactions range from mild annoyance to severe allergy attacks, fears about health and safety issues, and conspiracy theories. We've read that the American Lung Association has received several complaints about scented locations and when we conducted an LVA Reader Poll on this subject, we received a lot of passionate feedback."
Another sense that casinos appeal to widely is hearing, with that non-stop popular music piped in the background. This makes the decision to switch to ticketless slots an interesting one that must have been long-debated behind the scenes. Back when slots and video poker machines paid out in coins, the trays that your winnings fell into were deliberately made of metal in order to maximize that cha-ching noise of your payout and give the impression of big jackpots being hit all around you. Now that the majority of machines are TITO, that's one "trick" that the casino no longer has up its sleeve (they've programmed in fake coin-dropping noises, but it's not the same). Plus, TITO tickets have the time they're issued stamped on them, which also brings pesky reality back into play, although we've seldom actually looked at the time stamp and assume the same is true for most other people.
Less of a psychological play and more of a practical one, you've no doubt noticed how most casino restaurants don't have their own bathroom facilities -- something you'd seldom find in an eatery outside of the casino environment, especically as far as high-end establishments are concerned. If you wish to use the restroom while dining in a casino restaurant, you're usually forced to walk through the casino -- in the hope that you'll be distracted enough or sufficiently seduced to drop a few coins on your way back.
That casinos are notorious for not posting much signage (especially for the exit) and designing their interiors to be disorienting is for that same reason of hoping to keep you captive a little while longer. The "free" drinks help with that, too, of course, as do the eye-candy cocktail waitresses you'll find in many casinos. While there's not much that can be done to standard games like blackjack or roulette to make them more attractive (on the contrary, in the case of the former, much has been done to do quite the opposite in recent years), in the realm of slots there have been many advances to keep players playing longer. The "theming" of games to reflect popular movies and gameshows and the rise of the video slot, with bonus rounds and even non-gambling content, is all part of the same psychological web designed to keep you engaged and playing longer and more.
We hope this answers your question and if anyone out there can think of anything that we missed, be sure to drop us a line.
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