My parents visited Monaco once and allotted some money for themselves to spend in a casino for exactly the reason you defend here -- even though they're not gamblers at all, hey, they were in Monaco for the only time in their lives. Might as well experience it.

So my mother put -- well, I can't remember the actual numbers, but less than a dollar -- into a slot machine, and won about double what she put into it. That was the first and last game she played there. She didn't play anything else, because now she can tell people she doubled her money at Monaco.

Anyway, casinos are interesting places. I don't know a lot about them, but I'm fascinated by the psychological considerations they have in setting them up, and also by the bizarre sorts of things you can do to minimize your losses over the long term, or even win in the few situations you mention. The psychological elements aren't even just in the rules of the games themselves but how they set them up. I remember learning somewhere that the most profitable slot machines for the house are usually the ones most conveniently accessible from the major walkways through the casino, because they get played the most. I think it would be a lot of fun to be in charge of setting up a casino and trying to figure out subtle ways to maximize its revenue.