Date of Award
5-1-2016
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Behavior Analysis and Therapy
First Advisor
Dixon, Mark
Abstract
A descriptive analysis was conducted to examine the influence minimum bets 30 credits and 50 credits had on the actual bets wagered on slot machines that operated on fixed-lines. Results suggested that slots with the lower minimum bets correlated with higher wagers. There was a total of 107 participants actively gambling at two casinos located just outside of Chicago, Illinois. The participant pool was divided between 37 males and 70 females. On average, the participants who played the slot machines with a minimum bet of 30 credits actually bet more than the participants who played the slot machines with a minimum bet of 50 credits. More notably, results from a Chi-square test for significance suggested that there is a significant influence between the minimum bet required to play and the presence, or absence, of “minimizers” and “maximizers” (p <.05). Additional data analyses where also conducted that examined gender’s role and wagering tendencies, including an independent t-test. The main purpose of this paper was to examine minimizing and maximizing gambling behavior across low-value and higher-value machines.
Access
This thesis is only available for download to the SIUC community. Current SIUC affiliates may also access this paper off campus by searching Dissertations & Theses @ Southern Illinois University Carbondale from ProQuest. Others should contact the interlibrary loan department of your local library or contact ProQuest's Dissertation Express service.