If you’re not playing with a system, you’re not playing to win. Slot players who play to win are system players. Shortly after this retrofit was completed, slot machines went coinless. As the casino expanded and more slot machines were installed, the floor had to be bolstered to support the weight of the machines with a full load of coins. At Thunderclap, the main hall was built above the basement. Now that paper tickets that are cashed out at the cage have replaced coins, this sound is simulated electronically. The sound that most associate with slots is the rattle of coins hitting the tray. Of course they’re playing to win! Except they’re not. Not so the slot player, for whom the notion that someone would pay all that money simply to be entertained is so strange that it can barely be comprehended. (Yet.) While this person insists there’s nothing abnormal about their behavior, they will at least acknowledge that there are those whose drug use has gotten out of control. Take for example the drug addict who can go days without using and whose usage doesn’t cause problems at work or home. I can’t think of another activity where the distinction between perception and reality is so great. What’s fascinating about slot players is that nearly all of them will tell you they play to win, even if their behavior indicates otherwise. There are two kinds of slot players: those who play to win and those who play for entertainment.
