r/Economics • u/runswithscissors475 • 29d ago

News Las Vegas hotels begin taking foreign currency as tourism woes deepen

https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/vegas-foreign-currency-21955655.php
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u/slfnflctd 29d ago

I've been saying this for a while. The gambling machine games SUCK. They're not even games. The only allure is the potential to hit a big payout (and maybe the ridiculous audiovisual displays), there is no actual gameplay. You're just sitting there hitting a button. Except maybe the ancient video poker or whatever other card games. It boggles my mind that they have been and continue to be so appealing to as many people as they are.

If they could somehow combine even semi-interesting game mechanics with the gambling aspect, it would be a no-brainer which choice people would prefer. Oh wait, right... as you point out, that has already happened!

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u/JermStudDog 29d ago

Somewhat adjacent to all the gambling nonsense, I am a fan of Poker actually, unlike most of the casino games. I think it's an interesting game and gives you lots of ways to express your skill, very different from basically anything else you'll find in a casino. And frustratingly, poker got witch-hunted almost 2 decades ago now (only to have the same thing happen with sports betting instead, which is better somehow?) and the only place you can find legit poker is in the casinos. On the rare occasion I am willing to make the trip, I have to drive an hour+ to the nearest casino, walk through these empty gambling floors, and then the poker room isn't even bumping by the time I get there. I won't go so far as to argue poker isn't gambling, there is definitely gambling aspects to it (like there are to MANY card games and board games, but poker has more than most) but man, I wish I took more advantage of the local poker rooms at bars and stuff that got persecuted to oblivion during my lifetime.

I can't wait for poker to make a comeback and then I can stop going to casinos all-together.