Perhaps One Shouldn’t Base ALL of Your Life Choices on Podcast Ads

I liked the one-armed bandits. I liked putting the coin in the slot and pulling the lever. Usually, three mismatched images came up (playing cards, stars, animals, whatever) and nothing would happen, but sometimes two of a kind – even three of a kind – would come up. Coins came clinking down into the tray, and that was pretty cool.

Occasionally, I’d see someone else hit a jackpot. A gusher of coins would flood over the tray onto the floor, and that was very cool.

Staying overnight at a hotel in Reno or Vegas, though, was very depressing. The same grizzled old women and men (perhaps they weren’t old, but they sure looked old) that I saw on the slots when I’d headed to bed would be playing the very same machines when I came out in the morning.

I can see the appeal of those old one-armed bandits. I don’t care for “slot machines” anymore. It’s just pushing buttons.

You get a card and load money on it. You don’t put coins in a slot, but instead insert or swipe the card. Playing has all the excitement of paying for groceries.

If you win a jackpot, coins don't flood down in a clanking stream. More money gets loaded onto your card instead.

Slot machines now are just video games – but without the fun. Video games often celebrate creativity and artistic merit. They present a challenge and aren’t reliant on dumb luck.

I can understand the appeal of many games of chance. Poker and Black Jack and such card games involve some level of thought and skill. What guy would miss an opportunity to sit next to James Bond at the Baccarat table? Even roulette has a tangible wheel spinning.

I understand even less the appeal of playing slots on your own phone. Half of the ads on podcasts, even conservative podcasts, seem to be for online gambling games.

The ads insist that nothing can be better than playing the casino on your phone. Golfers and race drivers and TV stars promote these games, insisting that there’s no better way to spend your time than losing money while clicking on your phone. One ad even suggests that phone gambling is the best way to celebrate your patriotism. (“This country was founded on fast cars, fast cash and fast women!”)

The ads insist we should cancel our weekend plans (hiking, a bar-b-que with friends, softball, etc.) to sit on our couch and stare at our tiny screen.

Of course, the commercials end on a PSA warning that you must be 21 to play, adding that if you have a gambling problem, here's the number for Gamblers Anonymous. I'm of the opinion that if there's a warning at the end of a commercial (such as the ads for medications that, oh, might lead to suicidal thoughts), I figure I can do without that product.

Odds are that some in the Ricochet readership enjoy these games. Can anyone explain their appeal?