Without any doubt a lot of rich people pass through the doors of The Encore on an hourly basis. If I tell you it’s $300 to rent a cabana for the day, $30 to use the gym (yes, even for guests) and draining the mini bar would require half the population to then refinance their home to pay the bill, you will understand what I mean.

I do wonder though, how many of its guests are both rich AND happy?

I seldom gamble, although that wasn’t always the case. In my early twenties I liked nothing better than a day at the horses or a night at the casino, but that was then and this is now.

The reason I stopped gambling is easy to explain and it is part of the Rich and Happy formula covered in detail in the book.

The pain of losing was always worse then the joy of winning. At the time I presumed that was just me and that other people were different. However, when I was researching ‘How To Be Rich and Happy’ it became apparent that’s not the case, and we’re all pretty much wired up that way.

When people gamble, the uncertainty of the result is what gets them hooked. The dopamine that is released when we win is more powerful and more pleasurable exactly because of it’s randomness, and the brains inability to predict when it will arrive. Thus wins create an intense dopamine rush not unlike that of taking cocaine or any other powerful stimulant.

There is also something called loss aversion which makes people more susceptible to chase losses. Loosing feels so bad, they are compelled to try and get their money back. Thus they lose the ability to recognize their behavior is more likely to lead to increased losses.

A couple of days after we got to Las Vegas I decided to do some people watching. It’s something I rarely get time to do these days, but rather than brave another day in the scorching 108 degree heat, I thought I’d give my lobster tinted skin a break and wander around the casino.

It doesn’t matter what time of day it is or what day of the year it is, there are always people playing the slots and the tables and hoping to strike it big even at 7.30am. Vegas thrives on the illusion that it can create rich and happy people on the turn off a card. An trust me when I say it is an illusion.

Unfortunately, as I wondered the floor watching people play the slots as well as Blackjack, Poker and Craps I was struck by how few people seemed to be even remotely enjoying what they were doing.

In fact, other than the occasional cheer and round of high fives for a big win, the whole room was thoroughly somber and depressing. The majority of these people weren’t playing for fun, they were playing because they believed they could beat the odds and come out ahead.

In terms of financial planning that is right up there with pouring all your 401K into one of those changes machines you see in supermarkets that usually yield about a 93% return.

Do Rich and Happy people gamble? Sure they do, but they approach it with a different frame of mind. They see gambling as entertainment because they know almost nobody gets rich purely from playing games where the odds are always stacked heavily against them.

Rich and Happy people know to set their limit before they start playing and to mentally write than money off as the cost of the fun of playing. Then when the money is gone, so are they.

They know they are not above being effected by their dopamine neurons, the rush of the unexpected win and from suffering loss aversion just the same as anybody else, but they plan ahead.

They also know there is no such thing as playing the ‘houses money’ The term used to describe the situation by many gamblers when they are ahead. If Rich and Happy people are 50% up, they know that money is as valuable and as much theirs, as the money back home or in their bank account.

They don’t start making rash bets simply because they have only had the money a few moments. That doesn’t lead to a Rich and Happy life, it leads to a poor and miserable one, and if that is really what you want, just check this out.

I’m sure there were some Rich and Happy people staying at the Wynn Encore, although I didn’t see many of them playing the craps table at 7.30am or at any other time come to think of it.

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