Aside from an actual casino, there are 4 other gambling activities where people are most likely to lose money. Let’s review some generalities:
- The poor gamble with lottery tickets – a certain loss the more you play, states only payout 50% of their lottery revenue in prizes (although each state awards at a different rate).
- The middle class gamble with stock tips and day-trading – studies show that 80-90% lose money doing this until they quit within 2 years.
- The rich gamble with private placements (equity in start-up companies) – the vast majority of start-up businesses fail within the first 5 years. You have to buy into a lot of businesses to get a lucky big winner to pay for all the floundering and bankrupt companies you bet upon.
- And the wealthy gamble with things like race horses or drilling oil wells. Oil wells can cost $5-10 million minimum investment. 10% of them will be dry holes and many never break-even; you have to buy enough wells to get a lucky “gusher” to pay for all the losing wells.
The average person who casually gambles at a casino leaves a financial loser. I knew someone who lives in Las Vegas who scratches out a minimal living at the baccarat tables, but he is a very rare exception. It is the same for these other casinos: someone determined and focused may be able to find a slight edge but, for the most part, the average gambler or speculator also leaves a financial loser.
There are other reasons to participate in 4 casinos, such as entertainment, investment diversification, oil depletion allowance, for a few examples. However, placing much money into any of these is highly likely to exacerbate your losses.