Gambling ethnography final

1. Gambling Ethnography
Cathy Herstead
University of Wyoming
EDCI-5760-40

2. Setting
 My event takes place in the casinos in Deadwood,
South Dakota. Deadwood is a historic gambling
town of the 1870s and 1880s in The Black Hills of
southwestern South Dakota. Gold was found in the
hills in the 1870s. With the discovery of gold came
the miners and the U.S. Calvary to protect them.
Following the miners also were businessmen—
storeowners, restaurateurs, tavern owners--
gamblers, prostitutes, mule train drivers, railroaders
and gunslingers too.

3. History of Deadwood and
its Gambling
 The town grew, having its ups and downs with the
fluctuation of the mining industry as well as the
legality of alcohol and gambling.
 During Prohibition in the 1920s, gambling was
outlawed, along with alcohol, though both occurred
behind closed doors. When prohibition was lifted
in 1935, alcohol and gambling came back to
Deadwood for another twelve years. In 1947,
gambling became illegal in the historic town.
Prostitution ended in 1980.

4. The History of Gambling
in Deadwood
 In 1986, townspeople began to petition to legalize
gaming again in Deadwood, South Dakota. By
1989, 64% of the people voted to bring gambling
back to the small town with its numerous century
old stone and wooden buildings still intact but
showing wear (City).
 The legends of Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok
are now told beside the stories of Seth Bullock,
Teddy Roosevelt, Charlie Udder, Potato Johnny and
Poker Alice. These names and personal histories
add to the romance of Deadwood.

5. Deadwood Today
 There are 80 gaming halls and casinos in Deadwood
today.
 The gambling industry has brought in funds,
restoring dozens of historic buildings, repairing the
town’s infrastructure and providing jobs to
thousands of people.
 Some tourists come for the history, some for the
outdoor recreation, some for the gambling and
some for all three.

6. The Participants
 My study is divided between myself and a friend who had
never been to Deadwood, South Dakota before. Besides
my friend, her companion and me, the participants are the
dealers, the wait staff and the cashiers. The dealers man
the Black Jack tables, the roulette and 3-card, 4-card and
Texas Hold ‘em poker tables. The wait staff circulates
through the establishments providing complimentary
drinks as well selling more expensive alcohol to patrons.
The cashiers are behind high desks, surrounded by bars
for their protection. The casino staff is dressed in casino-
specific apparel. The gamblers/tourists wear casual
clothing.

7. The Gamblers
 My study group happens to be well educated, but
that is not necessarily the norm for the other
gamblers.
 Both Ekho and I are English teachers. Her friend is
a lawyer.
 In my chats with other gamblers/tourists, I learned
they come from different occupations, professions
and educational levels.

8. The Midnight Star
—The Setting for Me-

9. The Midnight Star—The
Literary Connection
 The Midnight Star is named after the bar and
gambling casino in the western movie Silverado.
 Kevin Costner starred in Silverado.
 The gambling casino Midnight Star is owned by
Costner and his brother who manages it.
 Because Silverado is a favorite movie of mine, the
Deadwood casino is one of my favorite spots too.

10.  On the outside, the casino looks old and new at the
same time. The window above the door sports
colored glass with a shining star and the words
“Midnight Star”— and that is what drew me in
initially.
 The frosted glass doors and windows allow the
passersby to see the bright lights of the slot
machines.
 Also in the window, are the menu and
advertisement for Jake’s, the fine dining restaurant
upstairs. (Jake was Kevin Costner’s character’s name in Silverado.)

11. Gaming-
The Literacy Connection
 I was drawn to Lord of the Rings slot machine because of the
pictures of Frodo and other characters. I have been a fan of the
trilogy since the movies first came out. No words were
needed.

12. Rules and Reading
 On the front of a machine, will the words “Cash/Ticket”, “Cash
out” or “Collect”, “Repeat Bet”, “Max Bet, “Spin”, “Play” and
numerous buttons with numbers indicating how much the player
wants to gamble 2x per line, 3x per line, etc.
 Many games can be understood without reading the payout
menu.
 If one is a frequent player at a casino, he will have a card to insert
into the machine to gain points for all the cash that is played.
 Clicking the “Menu” button will bring up three more items-Rules,
Points, Casino Cash.
 Clicking on any of these links will bring up Points-- in the form of
numbers or cash amounts in the form of numbers.

13. Clicking “Menu” can also lead the player to the Pay Out
schedule. Understanding the schedule does not alter the patron’s
chance of winning or losing. Some people just like to know for
what to wish.

14. Cadillac Jack’s-Ekho’s
Setting

15. The lure of lights and
cards…..
 Ekho and her friend were attracted to Cadillac
Jack’s Casino by the lights that shown through the
windows and were drawn in farther because of the
interior. They were kept there by the Black Jack
game.

16. Literacy Connection
 Ekho was already familiar with the rules of Black
Jack, so she did very little reading.
 She said she looked for the table with lowest buy-in
amount, so there was reading and recognizing of
numbers.
 She chose the table with the least amount of people
so that if she did need help with the rules, the dealer
would have more time to explain to her.

17. Designed to Win
 Slot machines are geared to provide immediate
gratification to the player even if not in monetary
form.
 According to MIT anthropologist Natasha Dow
Schull who won the American Ethnological
Society’s 2013 Frist book prize, the key component
in the addiction of slot machine gambling is the
relationship between the machine and the gambler.
The machines are designed to attract and keep
gamblers busy and happy.

18. “..high-volatility, intense social games tells us a lot
about the risk and volatility that people feel in the
world, in their lives—think of the financial crisis, the
culture of fear around terrorism, the environment,
global warning. It makes sense that people would seek
out games that allow them a sense of control and
predictability” (Robb).
The noise after every spin even if the total bet was not
won back (false win) and the quickness of the playing
lull players into a sense of security.

19. and it’s only gonna get
worse!
 Slot machines target their audience through nostalgia
and pop culture. For example, the Batman and Robin slot
machine includes characters from the campy series and
videos as well. Pop singer Brittany Spears and the group
Rolling Stones are newer additions to slot machine
themes.
 Machines are now even becoming more interactive by
incorporating story telling, and allowing the gambler to
some extent ‘tell’ the story.
 The graphics are becoming more detailed even including
three-degree options.

20. "We consider us competing with the video-
game world for the talent," says Bally
Technologies’ spokesman, Mike Trask
(Trendacosta).

21. The Lord of the Rings game has had many facelifts since I saw the
first one two years ago; changing old favorites by adding more
sound, lights and graphics is a way in which gambling machine
manufactures stay competitive.

22. The Way of the Future
Merkur Gaming has designed a gaming
cabinet.

23. The gaming cabinet will allow the
player to be immersed more fully.
 "The gambling experience has evolved in step with
technological innovation," writes Natasha Dow
Schüll in her book Addiction by Design: Machine
Gambling in Las Vegas. "Once a relatively
straightforward operation in which players bet a set
amount on the outcome of a single pay line, today
machine gambling begins with a choice among
games whose permutations of odds, stakes, size and
special effects are seemingly endless.” (Tendacosta)

24. Summary
 The literacy event of gambling can be enjoyable
without previous ties or connections to the themes
of the machines. The lights and sounds are enough
to draw many patrons into the casinos.
 The gambling machine companies, however, have
found that capitalizing on pop culture and modern
technology only helps in creating a return gambler.

25. Social Event
 If to be literate means to be knowledgeable of the
unspoken behaviors and rules, then those people
gambling in Deadwood are literate.
 Win or lose, they know the language necessary to
enjoy and participate.
 The event is ideological, social.
 The event because of the designs of the machines
ensures that each person will have some
satisfaction-monetarily or emotionally.

26. In Conclusion
 I did not realize how much literacy was involved in
gambling until this assignment. I took the buttons
and instructions for granted. A gambler does have
to read enough to know where to slide the bill into
the machine. One doesn’t have to read much more
than that to gamble, but to be an EDUCATED
gambler, one does. To be an educated gambler, one
does need to read the gaming console, the menu
and the payouts.

27. In Conclusion
 I also didn’t appreciate the thought put it into the slot
machine designs.
 I had considered the bright lights and noise as sirens, but
I hadn’t realized just how attracted I am to machines
with pop culture ties—Lord of the Rings, Batman and
Robin, Ghostbusters, and The Rolling Stones.
 When I began to think about this, I remembered my
favorite slot machine was the Wyland. A slot machine
using the beautiful marine art work of Wyland.

28. The Wyland Experience
-click the sliding bar below to watch the video-

29. In Conclusion
 I can see how the literacy connection for me is truly
a literary connection at times (The Lord of the Rings &
Silverado).
 I can see how the gaming machine creators know
their job because I can get lost in the Wyland game.
 If this is true for me, I believe it must be true for
others. Understanding a culture’s games is a means
to understanding a culture.

30.  City of Deadwood. City of Deadwood. n.d. Web 18
Nov. 2015.
<http://www.cityofdeadwood.com/index.asp?SEC
=269A8C80-9F36-4D72-A17D-
DF18E23E10FF&Type=B_BASIC>
 Robb, Alice. “What are Slot Machines so Addictive”.
The New Republic. Web. 5 Dec. 2013.
 Trendacosta, Katharine. “The Next Generation of
Slot Machines will be way more Immersive”.
Technology. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.