Casinos make their money by skimming off the small percentage difference between winning and losing often found in gambling. In this problem, we want to estimate how much a casino make winning 51% of the time, while the patrons win 49% of the time.
a) Estimate the number of people that might come to a given casino on a given day. How much money would they each gamble on average?
b) combine your two estimates from part a to find the total money gambled at the casino on an average day.
a) They are asking you to make up two numbers. There is not right answer.
b) They are asking you to multipy your two numbers from part a)
The 51/49 ratio of house wins and losses has nothing to do wth the question
It saddens me to think that liberal arts majors are able to take a course such as this to demonstrate methematical competence.
how would you set the problem up?
The "total money gambled" is just the product of the number of betters and the average amount they bet, as I said. What they may really have been wanting you to provide is the net house winnings, which would, on the average, be 2% (51% - 49%) of the amount gambled.
Strictly speaking, that is not the "skimmings". It is also not the net profit, since there are huge overhead expenses in casinos. Skimming is the practice of underreporting the house profits to avoid taxes, and diverting the money elsewhere. It is strictly illegal.
To estimate the number of people that might come to a given casino on a given day, you could consider factors such as the population in the area, the attractiveness of the casino, and any events or promotions that might attract more visitors. A good starting point would be to look at the average daily attendance at similar casinos in the area or industry reports that provide this information. You can also consider conducting surveys or market research to get a more accurate estimate.
To estimate the average amount of money each person would gamble, you can look at typical gambling behavior and average bets at similar casinos. This can vary widely depending on the type of games offered and the preferences of the patrons. Data on average bets or average spending per customer can be obtained through market research, industry reports, or by analyzing historical data from the casino itself.
Once you have estimates for the number of people and the average amount gambled per person, you can multiply these two values together to find the total money gambled at the casino on an average day.
For example, let's say you estimate that 1,000 people visit the casino on an average day, and each person gambles an average of $100.
a) The estimated number of people visiting the casino on a given day is 1,000.
The estimated average amount gambled per person is $100.
b) To find the total money gambled at the casino on an average day, you can multiply the number of people by the average amount gambled:
Total money gambled = Number of people * Average amount gambled per person
Total money gambled = 1,000 * $100 = $100,000
Therefore, the total money gambled at the casino on an average day would be $100,000.