A casino is a place where gamblers wager real money on games of chance. It’s a unique space that attracts audiences with a variety of appealing features, including luxurious accommodations, cutting-edge technology, flexible event and entertainment spaces, spa and health club amenities, and delicious restaurants. But even with all these assets, casinos face unique challenges. To grow their business, they need to understand their audience’s emotional decisions and “job” at a casino in order to develop marketing strategies that deliver results.
Gambling has been part of human culture for millennia, dating back to 2300 BC when wooden blocks were found that resembled dice. It later became more streamlined with the invention of playing cards in 500 AD, followed by roulette and craps in the 1400s, and finally blackjack in the 1900s. But no matter how you slice it, gambling is always a risky proposition. In the end, the house always wins.
In the movies, gambling looks glamorous, with bright lights flashing and music blaring as players roll their dice and flip their cards. But underneath the glitz, casinos are engineered to slowly bleed their patrons of their hard-earned cash. For years, mathematically inclined minds have attempted to turn the tables, using their understanding of game theory and probability to exploit flaws in a system designed to rip them off.
Casino is Martin Scorsese’s most violent movie, and it does not shy away from showing the violence of mobster life, including the murder of Robert De Niro by a rival, Joe Pesci’s death by overdose, and his character being buried alive in a cornfield. However, it’s also a compelling account of how Vegas was transformed from a little town run by the mafia into a bustling gambling mecca.