Suppose there's a business where you pay a fixed fee to experience some sort of exhilaration. So far this could describe lots of things: a movie theater, a roll

Suppose there's a business where you pay a fixed fee to experience some sort of exhilaration. So far this could describe lots of things: a movie theater, a roller coaster, bungee jumping, prostitution, kayak rental, and yes, a casino slot machine. In all these cases, part of the exhilaration comes from not being completely sure what comes next. Kayak might tip, movie protagonist might take a wrong turn, etc. In the slot machine case, the exhilaration is the 5-10 seconds wondering whether you might be the one person this month/year who hits the big jackpot. In that one case, you get an extra bonus. In the other 99.99...% cases, you merely get the exhilaration you paid for. If you unilaterally change the transaction so it's no longer about the entertainment experience but rather increasing your chances to get the rare thing that causes the exhilaration for everyone, you're stealing -- because the rare thing wasn't actually for sale; only the entertainment value of the chance to get it was for sale. I personally don't like house-advantage casino games (i.e., not poker) because I don't attach a lot of value to the entertainment part of it, and I understand the math doesn't make it a wise financial transaction. Otherwise I have no problem with a business making a profit from providing a good or service that its customers enjoy. That includes casinos, and that's why I think it's odd to single them out as deserving to be a target of theft.