Does Gambling Make You Rich?
We’ve all heard the stories; that one guy on the news who won millions of dollars while playing slots in Vegas last year. Or your cousin’s friend’s sister’s boyfriend who hit it big on a single bet on roulette in ’93. All over the world, there are stories about people getting rich by gambling.
Sometimes, it’s by playing games in a brick-and-mortar casino, other times, it’s through some ridiculous sports bet you could never have imagined. Most often it’s through the lottery or scratch cards. There’s no doubt that this has inspired a number of people to gamble more ardently in the hopes of seeing their own jackpot win.
All of this brings us to the question: does gambling make you rich? Well, the answer to the question is simple and complex at the same time. Yes, theoretically, gambling can make you rich. It would be stupid to argue that a person who has just won $3 million dollars playing slots isn’t rich but this isn’t the norm.
However, the more common answer to this question is no; gambling does not make you rich. We will be explaining the ins and outs of why gambling does not make you rich. This includes looking at why players tend to lose more than they win and how to prevent this from happening.
Greed is Not Good
In the famous 1987 Wall Street movie, Gordan Gekko proclaims “greed, for lack of a better word, is good”. While this may be fitting for the stock market (although we highly doubt it), it is not a fit mantra for gambling.
In fact, most players who live by this sword, often die by it too. Players who just aren’t happy with how much they have won keep playing to win more and then lose everything. Greed often compels players to keep playing and you need to ignore its call when it comes knocking on your door.
Also, players need to be very mindful of the tricks casinos use to keep players going. These include new promotions, new games, and good user design if it is an online casino. If you are visiting a brick-and-mortar casino, you have got more to look out for, such as free drinks, good food and other forms of entertainment which are offered just to keep you there.
Simply put, don’t get distracted and don’t get greedy if you want to keep your winnings.
How to Get Rich by Gambling
If somebody tells you that they have found the best way to get rich quick, they are probably feeding you some trash. That said though, there are certain gambling games that are sure to get you to millionaire status. If you are looking to play games that will do just that (responsibly), we suggest starting with the following:
- Play in Poker Tournaments – the first prize for the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event was $10 000 000. While you don’t have to be aiming as the finals of the WSOP, there are a load of smaller events with lucrative prizes too.
- Play the Lottery – the US Powerball and Mega Millions lotteries have previously given away prizes worth more than a billion dollars. While it’s a longshot, why wouldn’t you want to give yourself a chance of winning a prize that could put you in the same financial bracket as Donald Trump.
- Try Progressive Jackpot Slot Games – slots as a whole give players a chance of winning big prizes. However, progressive slots offer jaw-dropping prizes. While we wouldn’t say stick to playing these games when visiting a casino, you should at least try them.
- Grind it out as a Card Counter – while nobody will ever quite reach the card counting levels of Dustin Hoffman’s character in Rain Man, you could grind it out for a big prize. At least until the brick-and-mortar casino kicks you out for doing so.
- Perfect Sports Parlay – a lot of novice bettors are beguiled by big sporting events like the Super Bowl or the UEFA Champion’s League final. However, if you’re really looking to big, you need to be betting big on a small-time league game where the sportsbook got the odds wrong i.e. betting against the public.
