I hate casinos, I really do, so I was surprised to find myself walking into the Meskwaki Casino in Tama, Iowa, as I was returning from doing a forensic psychiatric evaluation in northeast Iowa. The casino is owned by the Meskwaki Nation and the building is very appealing, incorporating elements of Native design, or at least some architects’ interpretation of Native influences. I really wanted to get a closer look. I decided I could take a break from the driving and justify losing $100 as my contribution to the Meskwaki.

Doug, my husband, likes to gamble, so I occasionally will allow him to talk me into going to a casino. I usually lose my allotted amount rather quickly and then I sit and wait for him to finish. He seems to get a rush when his slot machine comes up with a few cherries and rewards him with a few “credits,” the casinos clever euphemism intended to make you believe you’ve won more than you actually have. But I never experience a surge of the pleasure molecule, dopamine. Casinos are probably one of the most boring places on earth if you’re not gambling, so I usually get a little testy trying to drag him out of the place.

Instead of feeling excited, I am taken back to Psychology 101 and “Conditioned Behavior.” Rat pushes lever. Rat receives food pellet as a reward. Reward is removed. Rat stops pushing the lever. However, if the rat is only intermittently given a food pellet, it will continue to push the lever indefinitely, expecting that it is the next push of the level that will result in a reward. Casinos discovered conditioned behavior before B. F. Skinner.

I was determined to lose my $100 as quickly as I could so I could get back on the road. I played two quarters at a time, and I kept winning just enough that it would take me back up to the 400 credits purchased with my cash. Not anything big, but just a few food pellets occasionally. I was getting very bored and impatient to lose my $100. I thought, “I should have just handed the attendant the $100 as I entered the casino, and I could have left immediately.

I began to look around the room. I was struck that it was filled with old people, most who appeared to be older than me. They seemed to be sitting at these machines, with no joy, not even any expression of emotion. I remember particularly one attractive old woman, sitting there staring at her machine, mechanically pressing the button with an arthritic finger, appearing to be oblivious to the noise and lights created for a sensory-stimulating ambiance.

A friend of mine, a young gay man who is sexually attracted to old men, sees casinos as filled with “eye candy.” I couldn’t even get a dopamine rush from that.

Earlier in the week I’d read a piece in the New York Times “Seeing Old Age as a Never-Ending Adventure,” that described people engaging old age as a never-ending adventure. It told of aging adrenaline junkies who were hiking in South Africa, traveling to Antarctica, wing walking and parasailing, and bicycle touring in Vermont. Getting old was just another stage of exploration.

Aging baby boomers are an emerging market, and the “Experiential Marketplace” is a $56 Billion industry – and still growing. New businesses are developing business catering to the elderly based on sensation, education, adventure and culture. And businesses are finding that older people, because of their greater wisdom, are safer on these adventures than are younger people.

Iowa has chosen to develop mind-numbing casinos as our industry. After the Native Americans started the casinos, our leadership suddenly reversed their moralistic disapproval of gambling and changed the laws allowing gaming across the state, and we now have over 20 casinos. They were promoted as tourist attractions, but I see mostly Iowa licenses in the parking lots. Iowa has a new cow, a cash cow, which is designed to tax primarily the elderly without their recognizing it.

As I sat there playing my machine, I still could not lose my money fast enough, and so I switched to the machine next to mine which had a higher limit. Very quickly my 400 credits became 300, then 200. I was thinking, “I’m on my way home soon.” Suddenly, lights began flashing, bells went off, and I knew something big was happening. The credits began to climb.

A reserved, elderly Asian woman next to me and to whom I’d not spoken began to scream, “What did you win? What did you win?”

I responded, “I have no idea,” and I didn’t. Had it been all cherries or all 7’s I could have figured it out, but it was some combination of other things with no description on the board above the machine. I had won 1430 credits – which I always divide by 4 to figure out the real amount – or $357.50. I quickly added the $100 that I’d expected to lose and discovered I was $457.50 ahead of where I’d expected to be at that point.

I cashed out. The thought crossed my mind that I might be mugged by a few old ladies who hadn’t been as lucky as I walked back to my car. I was pleased to have won, but I was never struck by that surge of adrenalin. Now, wing walking or bungee jumping? That would give me a rush.

1. Insomnia in pregnancy is a common phenomenon | FAMILY | HEALTH | WELLNESS | FITNESS says:

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2. Eric Whitney says:

   January 30, 2010 at 1:28 pm

   Casinos give me the willies too. I’m obviously not the most moralistic guy in town, but I’m still shocked at how eagerly states have rushed their citizens into them. Helping Indians wreak their long-awaited revenge! Give me a mountain or an ocean any day.
3. Loren A. Olson M.D. says:

   January 30, 2010 at 1:45 pm

   We have way too many casinos in Iowa as far as I’m concerned. They’re supposed to be to “increase tourism,” but I only see Iowa license plates in the parking lots. Isn’t it really just another way to tax people while giving them the illusion of entertainment?

   Loren Olson
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