Drinking and Sex in Gambling
Even one drink can alter reactions considerably, which is why casinos in countries, aside from America, aren't allowed to offer drinks at the gaming tables, and why systems players never drink when playing.
In the U.S., not only are you allowed to drink and play at the same time, but the drinks are frequently provided by the house. Take a drink only if you're playing purely for fun, and expecting to lose everything you bet. Otherwise, follow the examples of the dealers, and drink only when your shift at the tables is over.
You might, of course, have a run of dumb luck even while drinking, but the odds are against it, and the smart gambler always bets the odds.
Sex is usually more of a distraction for men than for women. This may have to do with the different natures of the two genders, or it may be because the majority of bettors are still men and the majority of seductive hangers-around are still women.
Those advertising posters that show the high roller with a blond on each arm speak directly to the common fantasies that both men and women harbor about gambling. Men expect to be attractive when they're winning big money and sure enough, women find the thrill of gambling, and the chance to be associated with a big winner, very enticing.
Sexist or not, these men are stereotyped roles of the gambling subculture, and social changes in the '60s and '70s have hardly touched this world. So it's women who are distracting in Vegas, or Atlantic City, or Nice, and it's men who get distracted.
The fact is that lots of women come to gambling towns hoping to wind up on the arm of a big winner, either as a paid companion (to put it politely), or an unpaid one, who nevertheless shares in the fun.
Lots of men have at least as much ambition to spend some time with a beautiful lady in a casino town as to spend some time with a pile of beautiful money. The important thing to remember, if you want to win, is to keep the two separate.
It's not a good idea to even think about the opposite sex at the gambling tables, let alone have a member of that sex hanging on your arm.
By all means, be as attractive as you can manage to be in this life, but ask your object of your desire to wait in the other room while you take care of the betting.