ABSTRACT
In the past 25 years, the worldwide gambling industry experienced unprecedented growth and expansion. Especially in the United States, growth during this quarter-century was exceptional. By the early 1990s casinos operated in geographically disparate places like southern Mississippi, central Minnesota, western South Dakota, northern New Mexico, and eastern Iowa. By 2005, more than 800 casinos were open to the adult population. As part of the American landscape, gambling continues to grow in acceptance as a leisure activity (McGowan, 2004, p. 2). Casinos in the United States can be found in the midst of major urban centers, small towns, Indian reservations, and a signifi cant number fl oat and cruise the country’s inland waterways, rivers, and lakes. These casinos represent a relatively new habitat for broad social interaction and ensuing research opportunities. In this chapter I propose that an anthropological research perspective and ethnographic methodology are well suited to mine these casino-based research opportunities in the process of discovery, exploration, and explanation of casino culture.
