I don't like casinos much either, but I wouldn't mind owning one. The preferred shares in a profitable company shows the usual skilled negotiating that Buffet

I don't like casinos much either, but I wouldn't mind owning one. The preferred shares in a profitable company shows the usual skilled negotiating that Buffet uses to get large pieces of large companies in deals with a high margin of safety. Here, he gets a solid dividend on his investment with the possibility of upside. The problem that Berkshire Hathaway have is size : they are running out of profitable places to invest $5 billion dollars. Their primary responsibility is to invest well for their shareholders, so that's what they are doing. The parable is designed to highlight the folly of having 25% of your GDP devoted to what is essentially gambling. I don't think the story is weakened by the author having invested money in one of the 'casinos'.