Casinos are places where champagne glasses clink, tourists and locals mingle, and people try their luck at games of chance like poker, blackjack, roulette, craps, and slots. Though casinos may feature luxurious amenities such as restaurants, shopping centers, lighted fountains and musical shows, the vast majority of their profits come from gambling.

Casino marketing relies on a combination of tactics to keep players in the building longer, spending more money, and coming back for more. From the physical layout to the flashing lights and sounds, there are many tricks that casinos use to make their gambling atmosphere hard to step away from.

For example, most casinos are designed to be labyrinthine, with few clear pathways between different areas of the gaming floor. In addition, they often use a mix of light colors and ceilings that trick the eye into thinking it’s daytime instead of night. This makes it difficult to tell what time it is without consulting a watch or phone, making the gambler feel more relaxed and ready to spend more.

Another way casinos encourage players to stay longer is by playing off of the sunk cost fallacy. When someone loses on a machine, they’re likely to follow it up with a bigger bet because they think that the amount of money lost doesn’t matter because they’ll earn rewards for their play regardless of whether they win or lose.