The majority of people who gamble in casinos are casual players, and their action is limited to a few hundred dollars, or a thousand dollars at most, during their entire stay at a hotel. In the Nevada casinos most of the gamblers come from California and the neighboring states. For the most part, they are weekend players or people who have taken a couple of days their ordinary routines to try their luck at the tables.

Should these gamblers lose several hundred dollars, they feel that the entertainment value of gambling, the thrill and glitter of the casinos, is well worth the loss. To most of these people gambling is innocent fun and excitement. As for the casinos, many of them, particularly the ones in downtown Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, Laughlin, and Reno, depend on these small gamblers for their income and welcome them with open arms. In this age of computers and microchips, these casinos fill their space with electronic games that require quarter dollar plays, rather than the expensive table games such as craps and baccarat.

Another reason for these casinos using electronic games, other than the fact that they are made for gamblers with limited funds, is the skill factor. Many of these electronic games require little or no skill. A slot machine, no matter how gaudy it looks with its multitudinous payoffs, is operated by pulling a handle or pressing a button. The machine engages and either shows a winner or, more probably, another loss. The loss is one to five coins, depending on the machine, and there constant payouts to keep the bettor engaged. In the long run he or she will lose to the house, but the losses will be limited. To further entice people, the casinos constantly advertise that they have the "loosest slots" or the "best payouts." In addition to these enticements, some of the payouts can be monumental. "Quartermania" machines and "Megabuck" slots pay a million or several million dollars to the lucky jackpot winner.