What 1,027 Gamblers Fear More Than the Number 13

_{We asked 1,027 American casino-goers about the rituals they actually follow and the charms they actually carry. One of the answers involves a toe. (Image: Gabe Palmer; Nicholas Klein)}

Casino floors are governed by two sets of rules. The first is printed in the operator's manual: minimum bets, payout schedules, the dress code. The second is older, stranger, and observed with far more conviction. Don't whistle at the craps table, don't count your money where the dealer can see, and never, under any circumstances, abandon a hot slot machine. 

We wanted to know which of these unwritten rules Americans still follow, what they carry into the casino for luck, and, most importantly, what they have witnessed other gamblers do in the name of a winning streak.

So we surveyed 1,027 U.S. adults aged 21 and older, all of them recent casino-goers. What came back was roughly half rational, half deeply weird, and 100% the most entertaining dataset we have worked with this year. These are the seven findings that stuck with us.

1. Nearly Half of Americans Carry a Lucky Charm to the Casino

Almost half of American casino-goers (45.2%) said they walk in with a good luck charm of some kind. The runaway favorite is the humble lucky coin, carried by 16.9% of respondents, well clear of jewellery (7.5%) and religious items (5.5%). The more sentimental crowd carry a photo of a loved one (2.7%) or a chip from a previous win (3.1%).

The coin's dominance makes a certain kind of sense. It costs nothing. It fits in any pocket. It links the modern gambler to roughly two millennia of pre-game ritual without asking them to remember a single Latin phrase. As far as superstitions go, it is wonderfully low-maintenance.

2. The Biggest Casino Jinx Isn't the Number 13

Ask anyone what bad luck looks like and they will point to a black cat or the number 13. Ask an American gambler, and the picture changes completely. The most-feared casino jinx in our survey was counting your money at the table (21.2%) — three times more feared than lending money to another player (6.9%), sitting near seat 13 (6.1%), whistling at the table (6.0%), or saying "seven" at a craps game (2.5%).

For anyone wondering where the money-counting taboo even comes from, blame Kenny Rogers. His 1978 hit The Gambler turned "never count your money sitting at the table" into casino scripture, and 48 years later it is still the loudest superstition on American casino floors. Sorry, triskaidekaphobia. You finished a distant third.

3. Americans Are Split on Superstition

We asked respondents to rate how seriously they take casino superstitions on a 1-to-5 scale. The results split sharply at both ends.

"People are funny when it comes to casino superstitions. We understand the math and the games, but we just can't help but think other forces might've been involved when someone experiences a big win." — Dan Michalski, Executive Editor, Casinos.com

• 32.2% gave themselves a 1, meaning "not at all superstitious"
• 28.7% gave themselves a 4 or 5, meaning "seriously superstitious"
• Just 24.5% landed in the neutral middle at 3

Put plainly: Americans either dismiss casino superstitions entirely or commit to them with conviction. The fence is unusually empty for a five-point scale, where the neutral middle normally hoovers up the largest share. Gambling, it seems, doesn't really do beige.

4. After a Loss, Americans Get Suspiciously Rational

Here is what gamblers told us they do after a losing session.

• 38.5% stop being superstitious for a while
• 23.5% stick with the same ritual next time
• 16.5% blame the dealer or the machine
• 14.2% blame a charm or ritual they forgot
• 7.4% scrap the ritual entirely

The largest group treats their casino superstitions like a Netflix subscription. Canceled in a fit of post-loss rationality, quietly resubscribed the moment the cards run hot again. Another 30% externalize the loss without ever questioning their own beliefs, either by blaming the dealer or by blaming a forgotten ritual. Only 7.4% scrap the system and start fresh, which is roughly the same percentage of people who genuinely enjoy doing their taxes.

5. The Pre-Casino Ritual Americans Won't Skip? Dinner.

Most respondents (55.3%) said they have no specific pre-casino ritual. Among those who do, the breakdown is enlightening.

• Eat a specific meal: 11.6%
• Say a prayer or send a wish: 10.6%
• Wear specific clothing or colours: 7.0%
• Knock on wood or another physical ritual: 4.9%
• Take a specific route or entrance: 4.5%
• Park in a specific spot: 3.5%
• Listen to a specific song or playlist: 2.6%

A specific meal beat prayer by a single percentage point. American gamblers, on this evidence, treat their pre-casino dinner with roughly the same reverence as their pre-casino faith. We are not theologians, but we suspect this is the first time anyone has been able to write that sentence honestly.

6. 1 in 4 Americans Perform Rituals When Betting Online. Alone. In Bed.

This is the finding that surprised us most. Online sports betting and online casino games happen in private — usually on a phone, often in bed, often after midnight. There is no dealer to perform for. No fellow gamblers to impress. No one watching at all. And yet, 22.9% of Americans said they still perform a superstitious ritual when placing an online bet. Another 13.3% said they sometimes do.

That puts more than a third of online bettors (36.2%) performing rituals for an audience of nobody.

"Online gambling stripped away the dealer, the table, even the free drinks. What it couldn't strip away was the ritual." — Dan Michalski, Executive Editor, Casinos.com

It contradicts a common assumption that casino superstitions are a social performance — something you do for the dealer, the table, or the chat at the slots. The data points the other way. Casino rituals are a private psychological tool. People perform them because the performance itself helps them manage the moment, whether anyone is watching or not.

7. The Strangest Things Americans Have Seen at the Casino

We asked respondents to describe the strangest thing they had ever seen another gambler do for luck. Of the 820 who answered, some patterns emerged immediately. Kissing dice, chips, and machines was overwhelmingly common. So was rubbing slot screens, blowing on dice, talking to machines (sometimes affectionately, sometimes — according to one respondent — "sexually"), and wearing the same unwashed clothes for an entire trip.

And then there were the answers that defied any category at all.

"They took their wife's shoe and sock off and sucked her toe for good luck. This was in the Bahamas." — Survey respondent

"Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A man jumping up and down like a kangaroo with both hands, fingers crossed. It really didn't look like it worked — but good workout, I guess." — Survey respondent

"In Vegas, a man was escorted out of the casino for wearing a hoodie. And I went on to win $5,000 at the blackjack table." — Survey respondent

"My daughter put her won chips in her shoe — that way she's standing on her riches." — Survey respondent

"A craps shooter had to shake the dice exactly five times, then yell 'gotcha' on the roll. He lost consistently." — Survey respondent

"I saw a gambler bring a huge pile of long-haired troll dolls and brush their hair." — Survey respondent

"My husband told me about a woman who sacrificed her first-born daughter in exchange for a winning streak at cornhole. Admittedly, it did seem to work." — Survey respondent

We are not going to comment on the last one.

The Takeaway

The cliché of the big American gambler, rabbit's foot in one hand, dread of the number 13 in the other, is, on this evidence, comprehensively out of date. Today's American gambler is more likely to carry a lucky coin, more worried about being seen counting cash than seat 13, and just as happy to perform their rituals on a phone screen as at the craps table.

The deeper takeaway is that these rituals are not the customer's quirk. They are part of the product. Players who can sit in their preferred seat, hold their preferred machine, and complete their preferred routine without being interrupted are players who feel lucky. And lucky players, in our experience, are the ones who come back.

"If a player insists on the same seat, the same dealer, and the same machine, the worst thing a casino can do is fix what isn't broken." — Dan Michalski, Executive Editor, Casinos.com

About the Survey

Casinos.com surveyed 1,027 U.S. adults aged 21 and older across all 50 states. The survey was conducted online by SurveyMonkey Audience between April 15th and May 11th, 2026. Respondents were screened for casino visits within the past five years. The survey included quotas balanced across age, gender, and major U.S. region. Margin of error is approximately ±3.1% at the 95% confidence level. 

Full methodology and data are available on request from [email protected].

Fair Use

Journalists and publishers are welcome to use this data. Please credit Casinos.com and link back to this article.