Slots

Praying to the God of Chance

David V. Forrest, M.D. (View Bio)
Hardcover: Delphinium Books, 2012.

Slots is a tour de force on the psychology, neurophysiology, and virtual religion of slot machine gambling. It quickly covers the slots from just about every angle, demystifying the generation of randomness in the slot chip, showing how the slot’s computer adds near-miss teasers, exposing common fallacies about slots, and illustrating through stories and brief interviews the motives of the wide variety of people who play, and the atmosphere that surrounds play.

"Slots is a most timely statement about the current ‘casino’ mentality that is a worldwide phenomenon. In North America alone, the slot machine business now exceeds $365 billion. David Forrest, a brilliant Columbia-trained psychoanalyst of diverse interests and insatiable curiosity, delves into the complex motivations of the over 40 million U.S. slot players…. Slots is a most delightful read." — R.N. Wharton, M.D., Psychodynamic Psychiatry