Variable reinforcement

“If they had known it was your first time they would have let you win...that is how they hook you in,” said the old timer. There is a casino a couple of hours from here in the mountains. A joint venture of one of the big Vegas chains and a Native American tribe. It has no live dealers or table games. It is 100% electronic. No clocks or windows to distract you. A cacophony of sight and sound. I wanted to hear that ”ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching" sound…of tokens dropping into the tray. I assumed I would lose a few bucks. Are there any winners? High roller (ha) that I am… I burned through $100 in 2 hours with only one ten dollar win. Then I just hung out and observed. Some people must prefer this impersonal method of handing over their money. The odds of winning are a complete mystery. At least the table games in Vegas (such as Craps, Roulette, and Wheel of Fortune) were associated with known odds and live dealers.

North Carolina is known for beautiful mountains and tourist destinations. In the western end of the state there are roadside “Gem Mines” tempting you to find precious stones. You buy buckets of local soil to sluice. The dirt is “salted” with pretty rocks - the cast off rubble from mines all over the world. The helpers have 20 carat sapphires and rubies in their pocket “so you’ll know what to watch for”. Like a bait shop advertising the trophy fish caught locally..on the wall there are Polaroids of happy prospectors holding big stones.

You can rent the fantasy of the big strike for a little while. “It’s the stuff dreams are made of”. (Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade, from The Maltese Falcon)-- James
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