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Popular Culture Review
Yet even casinos that don’t dress themselves up as Hollywood versions of
exotic lands position themselves as larger than life. This is because casinos are,
like carnivals, places where the everyday is inverted. In order to distract the “marks”
from the very serious business at hand — namely separating “marks” from their
dollars — casino operators promote their facilities as carefree and free-wheeling.
Everything is possible, and nothing is beyond the reach of hope. If there is not
equality of opportunity, nor equality of circumstance, there is at least within the
walls of a casino equality of aspiration: everyone’s dreams of what they will do
with the big jackpot just beyond reach are equally valid.
Gambling, in its most elementary form, lets the player balance risk with po
tential reward. Historically, most forms of gambling have been very straightfor
ward. Racetracks, for example, are usually unadorned, and are quite frankly geared
towards the business of racing—and wagering on—horses. Horse players put a
great deal of time into studying past performance, track conditions, and other vari
ables, and they ask for nothing more than the chance to win. But casino patrons,
playing at games of pure chance with the odds already set against them, are usu
ally resigned to losing before they begin playing. It makes sense, then, for casino
gambling to take place in an extravagant carnival.
Similarities and Differences: Casinos and Wrestling
Casinos and professional wrestling, then have similar roots, and they also have
telling similarities. Both appeal to a range of “fans.” Both have become incredibly
popular after revealing their secrets, as it were. Both play on the emotions of their
marks, drawing them in with the phantom possibility of a big win (vicarious or
personal) that somehow remains just out of reach. The arrogant heel will finally
receive his comeuppance, at the next PPV—buy it or miss out. The next spin of the
electronic slot reels will bring the progressive jackpot—you’d better bet max coins.
The fact that the promised never materializes only strengthens the mark’s belief
that winning is just around the comer.
Indeed, several major wrestling events have been held at casinos— several
Wrestlemanias (the largest annual WWE pay-per-view) have taken place in Las
Vegas and Atlantic City. The October 17, 2002 WWE RAW broadcast from Las
Vegas’s Thomas and Mack Center (home of the UNLV Rebels basketball team)
made the connections between wrestling and gambling starkly visible, as the show
was transformed into “Raw Roulette.” On this special evening, wrestlers faced
each other in a series of specialty, or gimmick, matches, the particular match cho
sen by a turn of the “Raw Roulette” wheel (actually a gimmicked Big 6 wheel).
Matches selected included a steel cage match, “Las Vegas Showgirl match” (each
wrestler must dress like a showgirl), “Paddle on a Pole”/”Bra and Panties” match
(this hybrid, between two female wrestlers, was the apparent crowd favorite), and