Contact Gamblers Anonymous, (213) 386-8789, if you are a compulsive gambler. According to them "recovery from one of the most baffling, insidious, compulsive addictions will require diligent effort. HONESTY, OPENMINDEDNESS, AND WILLINGNESS are the keys."

Cost/Loss per Hour for popular games
(Assumes playing only best odds with optimal basic (no card counting) strategy.)

Type	House Edge *	Skill	Bet †	Decisions per hr. **	Cost * per hr.	Rank
Slots 5¢	15%	none	5¢	500	$3.75	4
Slots 25¢	10%	none	25¢	500	$12.50	8
Slots $1	8%	none	$1	500	$40.00	11
Keno	20-35%	none	$1	10	$2.50	3
Roulette (1)	2.6-5%	none	$10	35	$17.50	10
Big Six	11-22%	none	$5	60	$48.00	12
Craps	0.33 (0.18-11%)	yes	$10	60-75	$2.50	2
Blackjack	0.2-2%	important	$10	75	$4.00	5
Spanish 21	0.82%	important	$10	75	$6.15	6
Baccarat	1.20%	yes	$10	100	$12.00	7
Video Poker	0.5% (0-5%)	yes	25¢	360	36¢	1
Caribbean/Casino Stud Poker	2.6%	Negligible	$10	25	$12.80	9
Pai Gow Poker	0.08-2.8%	Negligible	$10		low
Three Card Poker	1.5-2.3%		$10
Pai Gow (tiles)	1.5+%	Yes
Let it Ride	3.51%
Lotteries	50%	none	$1	2/week
Sports Betting	4.5%
Horses Racing	18%

* Best odds - Assume perfect play when skill is required.
    Loss/hr. assumes playing strategy with best odds.
† Minimum bet. Increased bets for doubling/splitting in blackjack and taking odds in craps and raises in poker are included in the cost calculation.
** Decisions/hr. can vary depending on the number of players. Typical figures for blackjack are from 50-95 hands/hr. For craps we assume you are playing only the pass line and 200 throws/hr. with an average of 2.7 throws/decision.
(1) Nevada odds used in Cost. Atlantic City house edge is less (see Roulette)

Slot Machines Average 5-12% house gain. (i.e. for every $100 you bet you will loose $5-12)
5 cent machines usually have a lower payout.
Machines at the end of a row are generally played more. Some casinos put tight machines here to get more $$ others put loose machines to attract players.

Amount	$.05	.25	1.00	5.00
House Edge	15%	10%	8%	5.5%

Megabucks is a pool of machines from many casinos, with a progressive jackpot. The odds of winning Megabucks is about 1:50 M, worse than most lotteries.

Keno 25-30% house edge.
odds on 8 out of 8 are 230,000 to 1.
odds on 10 out of 10 are 9 Million to 1.
See Keno Odds

Lotteries

Horse Racing