{"product_id":"9781453218563","title":"Slots: Praying to the God of Chance","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA renowned psychiatrist explores the world of slot machine gambling and the almost religious devotion that has turned it into a billion-dollar industry.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e This astonishing book reveals that there’s a lot more to playing slot machines—one of America’s fastest growing forms of entertainment—than good fun, deep relaxation and the dream of a multi-million-dollar jackpot. \u003ci\u003eSlots\u003c\/i\u003e tells how the machines work, how the random numbers that govern them are generated, and how the casinos make their profit . . . slowly but surely . . . as they keep only a dime of every dollar invested. It also offers strategies of slot play, and suggests alternate activities to distract us when casinos become harmfully habitual.\u003c\/p\u003e But ultimately, as Dr. Forrest writes, to spend one’s time feeding money to the machines is to participate in, well . . . a form of prayer. And the gaming industry seems very much aware of it, as players annually plunge more than $365-billion into slots (of which casinos keep about $30-billion); and as casinos—70 to 85 percent of whose profits are earned by slot machines—have spread to more than a dozen states and even into a number of racetracks (where they’re called “racinos”).  What this book describes with both humor and a sense of awe is the way slots emporia have steadily been transformed from underground grottos to soaring cathedral-like structures where congregants sit and commune—all to the end of worshipping the god of chance.","brand":"Delphinium Books, Incorporated","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47173454102768,"sku":"9781453218563","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781453218563_p0.jpg?v=1763845750","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781453218563","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}