Sign Up For Card Player's Newsletter And Free Bi-Monthly Online Magazine

Wynn: Never Seen A Gambler Win Over Long Run

Casino Boss Never Witnessed A Person Win Big And Quit Playing

Print-icon
 

Just how hard is it to win over the long run gambling at a casino? According to Steve Wynn, he has never seen it happen during his decades in the business.

In an interview awhile ago with CBS, Wynn was asked some questions about the mind of the gambler, especially one who gets a taste of success early on in a session.

The interviewer for “60 Minutes” asked: “You have never known, in your entire life, a gambler who comes here and wins big and walks away?”

“Never,” Wynn replied.

“You know nobody, hardly, who, over the stretch of time, is ahead?”

Wynn just shook his head.

In other words, casinos win not just because the house has a built-in statistical edge over the gambler, but that it’s also very challenging to decide to quit when the money is flowing your way. In the interview Wynn echoed a familiar phrase: The only way to win in a casino “is to own one.”

Wynn’s comments aren’t too surprising, but it’s rare to catch a billionaire casino owner speak so candidly about how difficult it is to be a successful gambler.

A lot of people do realize that gambling, or “gaming” as it is often called, is merely a form of entertainment and not in any way a profitable endeavor. Obviously, many people do not realize this. Casinos in the United States win tens of billions of dollars off of gamblers annually.

Las Vegas, the top gambling hub in the United States, is increasingly becoming more like Macau with regards to relying on wealthy high rollers for revenue on the casino floor. “Whales,” as they are sometimes referred to, often get star treatment by casinos who want them to gamble at their properties. Sometimes they play really bad, virtually guaranteeing that they lose, and right away, like was the case with Las Vegas legend Terrance Watanabe, who lost more than $120 million at the high-stakes tables in Las Vegas in 2007. Watanabe made horrible decisions at blackjack.

 
 
Tags: Steve Wynn,   Gambling,   Las Vegas,   Casinos