How casinos are designed to take your money.   Step into the casino of your hotel and you'll be arded with a flood of flashing lights and confusing sounds. just like the banner down in this page. 1.  The Floors.   The carpet that they use on casino floors isn't anything you're going to be able to get from Carpet World.  All of the flooring is an assortment of busy patterns and bizarre color schemes.  Thios is no :    The floors are designed to make you subconsciously avoid looking at them.  You're not going to play a table game if you don't see it, so the casino wants your attention focused at eye level.     2.   The Ceilings.   While there are lovely sky-painted ceiling and frescoes high above the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian, they are noticeable absent in the casino.    All of the action takes place at, or just above, head level.  Rarely is there anything in the casino that you need to look up to see.  Again, they want your attention at eye level. 3.   Geographical points of reference.   There are no landmarks in a casino...  no compasses to get your bearings.  You can't see the exits.  If it  weren't for tail waitresses circulating like minskirted angels of mercy, a lonely traveler could die of thirst.  The large statues that decorate  the Forum Shops at Caesar's are nowhere to be founf in the casino.    You can't tell one row of slots from the next, and the next.  As you get back into the casino you'll be hard-pressed to be able to pick out a place to meet.  You can't say ' meet me at the blackjack tables '  they're everywhere. 4.   Straight lines.   Straight lines aren't just lacking on the carpet, they're lacking everywhere.  It's impossible to walk in a straight line from one end of the casino floor to the other.    You will inevitably find a couple of table games in your path, or a row of slots inexplicably placed in the center of what seemed to be a clear route across the floor.    In case you were immune to visual distraction, why not just place a physical barrier in your way. 5.   No clocks, no windows.   You will find no clocks in a casino.  The casinos want you to lose yourself in the excitement.  You will be surprised how fast time goes by when you are sitting at a blackjack table or slot machine.   In the same aspect, there are no windows either.  Sometimes you don't know if it is daytime or nighttime.     6.   No coins.   Almost all Vegas casinos don't use coins anymore for slot machines.  All the machines pay out money vouchers on tickets.    That means when you win, money does not fall into the slot machine tray, it gets reloaded on your credit meter, so you gamble that money too.   7.   Penny machines.   You can't lose a big amount of money playing a slot machine that works on pennies, right?  What you don't know is that the machines are set up to play a lot of pennies at once.  For example, a typical penny machine plays 900 credits.    That is  $9.00  each time you play!  In addition, on these types of games, you win almost every pull, but you are not usually winning more than you bet.  You will win 450 credits on a 900-credit pull.  Thus, you have that winnig feeling, but you are actually losing it. 8.   Ordering a drink.   When you are placing an order with the tail server, she is taking ten other orders.  It takes a while to get ten drinks poured.  Not that the casinos are doing this on purpose, but she has to walk all the way to the bar service area and back.    Thus, you might have wanted to gamble for only a couple of minutes, but you ended up there for 15 minutes, waiting for your 'free drink'.