We’ve all been there. You stride into the Luxor, Mohegan Sun, or Tropicana brimming with confidence and your wallet filled with cash. You plan to enjoy some enjoyable, sensible gaming and two rounds of cocktails. Hours later, you have no idea what time it is, how many drinks you’ve had, or where all your money has gone. This is a common phenomenon in casinos, where sounds, lights, and physical design are all used to trick people into spending their hard-earned money.

Casino is one of Martin Scorsese’s most fascinating films, and it’s also a great history lesson about Vegas and how the mafia lost control of this once-glamourous desert city. It’s a gangster movie, but unlike Goodfellas, it’s not advocating that lifestyle. Instead, it’s showing how fucked up that kind of life is.

The first thing to understand about gambling is that the house always wins. The odds are stacked against players, and this is why casinos use so many tricks to make you keep playing. For example, many casinos lack clocks and windows to prevent players from realizing how much time has passed. Additionally, slot machines and other games feature sounds of coins dropping and triumphant music to create the illusion that others are winning constantly. This is an effective psychological tactic that leads players to believe they can also be lucky, causing them to play longer and spend more money. This is why it’s important to start with a fixed amount of money you’re prepared to lose and stick to that.