Some New Gambling Statistics

Trigger

Wall Street Journal published on 10/11/2013 an article with a catchy title “How Often Do Gamblers Really Win?” (no subscription required) Is this not something we always wanted to know? It is a statistic usually hard to come by.

Results

Quotes from the article  and comments (emphasis added):

1. “On any given day, the chances of emerging a winner aren't too bad—the gamblers won money on 30% of the days they wagered. But continuing to gamble is a bad bet. Just 11% of players ended up in the black over the full period, and most of those pocketed less than $150.”
   [To gamble often is risky! Take your win and enjoy it! Or what do stock traders say, pigs get slaughtered!]
2. “The skew was even more pronounced when it came to heavy gamblers. Of the top 10% of bettors—those placing the largest number of total wagers over the two years—about 95% ended up losing money, some dropping tens of thousands of dollars. Big losers of more than $5,000 among these heavy gamblers outnumbered big winners by a staggering 128 to 1.”
   [Is this addiction, delusion, or joy in suffering?]
3. “Among the findings is an extreme reliance on revenue from a small number of gamblers. Of the 4,222 casino customers, just 2.8%—or 119 big losers—provided half of the casino's take, and 10.7% provided 80% of the take.”
   [They are called high rollers for a reason. Sounds like the Pareto principle or 80-20 rule to me.]
4. “Poker is partly a game of skill, and the outcomes reflect that. About one-third of the poker players classified as "most involved" … ended up winning money over time, while just 10% of the rest ended up in the black.”
   [Let’s play strip poker with players of the opposite sex. :-) Just kidding!]