Artigo Acesso aberto Revisado por pares

Dutch casino space or the spatial organization of entertainment

2008; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 14; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/14759550701863324

ISSN

1477-2760

Autores

Sytze Kingma,

Tópico(s)

Digital Games and Media

Resumo

The spatial organization of casinos is closely associated with entertainment. This article analyzes the spatial dynamics regarding the segregation, confinement and concentration of gambling games within Dutch casinos. Casino space is analyzed following Lefebvre's (1991 Lefebvre, H. 1991. The production of space, Oxford: Blackwell. [Google Scholar]) three‐part dialectic of 'perceived space', 'conceived space' and 'lived space'. It is argued that casino space is deeply involved in defining casino entertainment. At the same time the (re)definition of gambling as entertainment affects the construction of casino space. This reciprocal process concerns many aspects, ranging from urban planning and architecture, via advertising, access policies and the arrangement of gambling areas, to the servicing and surveillance of gamblers by casino personnel. Although casinos are predominantly perceived as entertainment facilities, this is a heavily managed image. However, what exactly constitutes entertainment in the context of casino gambling is not self‐evident and in many respects controversial. This article highlights the ambiguous nature of entertainment and casino space.

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