Casinos. An analysis of their interactional organization

Abstract

The present text intends to investigate the social life of the casino, especially face-to-face social life, to inquire about its internal social organization. To do this, it focuses on the perspective of the staff seen from the outside, that is, as players and not as workers. A casino will be understood as a type of playful social establishment, focused on vicarious action activities which get the attention of players. Thus, in order to understand the structure that underlies the activities that are part of this type of action, an internal ethnography is needed. To do this, the starting point is the question: How is the basic interactional social organization of the casino? That organization was found to be the fundamental and vital part of a casino. This organization is structured in a form of machination in favor of the casino, being a type of social establishment that works by conspiring in its favor. This scheme can be called a chance action situation that works in a dual way. Firstly, giving an illusion of probability games and, secondly, positioning probability and luck as important factors to shield the scheme.