Page 9 - Southern California Gaming Guide • September 2021

Luck: Are You a Believer?
From Clothes to Favorite Numbers, Casino Players Work Their Luck
by Gail Anders
Traveling from Los Angeles to her favorite Southern California casino and conjuring images of flashing jackpots on the screen of her favorite slot machines, Felicia H. was ready for an exciting day. Hitting green lights and arriving safely at her destination, she
Horseshoes
Horseshoes are considered lucky when turned upward, but unlucky when turned down.
Bamboo
Bamboo is a lucky plant/tree from Asia with remarkable rapid growth, and so is considered a symbol of prosperity and luck.
Crickets
A cricket in the house, particularly one on the hearth, has been a sign of good luck for thousands of years.
Dragonflies
As a creature of the wind, the dragonfly represents change and is associated with prosperity, strength, courage, peace, harmony and purity.
Pigs
Good luck tokens in the shape of pigs are believed to bring good luck, as they are a symbol of wealth, good fortune, and prosperity.
Frogs
The frog has been a symbol of prosperity, wealth, friendship, and abundance in many cultures, and a symbol of fertility in others.
Dreamcatchers
From Native American culture, dreamcatchers are considered good luck because they catch the negative images from dreams.
These are just a few lucky symbols that gamblers I’ve known believe in. Some have jewelry of these items that they wear to the casino, and they swear
it brings them good luck.
So, does belief in luck and superstition pay off?
Back to Felicia H. in her lucky yellow shirt. Over the course of thirty minutes, she won over $500.
For all I know, she may have played all the money back later in the day, but for a while, that shirt and her intuition did its lucky job.
Gail Anders plays at Southern California casinos and writes about gambling and casino games.
was ready to play and dressed to win.
“I’m wearing my lucky shirt,” she said, referring to a yellow silk blouse covered in what appeared to be mermaids.“When I wear this, I never, ever lose.”
Superstitions are common amongst gamblers. Lucky shirts, lucky days, lucky underwear - you name it, some casino player believes it. Some gamblers have lucky jewelry or feelings of fortuitous intuition, and lucky rituals they perform on the day they prepare to go the casino - and lucky positions at the blackjack or poker table.
At a casino in Connecticut, for instance, blackjack dealer Hal B. says he has players who won’t sit down unless they can play in the table’s last seat, a spot known as “third base.” The benefit of this spot is that the player who sits there can control what card the dealer pulls first for himself. He said that for some players, it’s like they won’t even think about playing unless they can sit in that spot. But he also added that other players feel the same way about sitting in the first seat, though there are no real strategic advantages to that position. Go figure.
What is Luck
I’m a believer in luck. I’ve had my share of what can only be called lucky days, lucky events and such in my life, and I wanted to understand more about luck, so here’s what I found out.
Luck can be a way of understanding a personal chance event. Luck is defined as good fortune that occurs beyond one’s control, without regard to will, intention or desired result. You could say luck is the supernatural concept that there is a force that determines certain events occur, much like the way the laws of physics prescribe that certain events occur. But luck can be good or bad. Just ask any casino player on a losing streak. So luck can refer to something that is beyond a person’s control. My close friend, a psychologist, says that luck is probability taken personally. He is a pure rationalist who thinks belief in luck is a result of wishful thinking.
Cultural views of luck vary from perceiving luck as a matter of random chance to attributing explanations of faith or superstition to luck. Every culture and some religions have their distinct lucky concepts.
The concept of luck fascinates me, especially luck for casino players. So enough dissecting and defining luck and let’s move on to what is considered lucky to those of us who play games of chance. Some of these you will know, others may be new to you.
Lucky Numbers
Lucky numbers in the casino abound, with 7 the favorite, and 8 vying for top position, particularly among Asian gamblers.
Lucky Colors
Green, yellow (signifying gold), and red are all considered fortunate.
Acorns
Native Americans believe that both the acorn and its bearer, the oak tree, bring good fortune.
Clover and Shamrocks
Both the four-leafed clover and shamrock are considered lucky, particularly on St. Patrick’s Day.
Ladybugs
Ladybugs are
a sign of good fortune in many cultures. Some people believe that whatever a ladybug lands on will be replaced with an improved version.
SEPTEMBER 2021
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
PAGE 9