It's probably the food. Many of the casinos have world renowned chefs and their food is really good.
I know a lot of people who go to the casino for food, not the gambling.
I am sure it is but what I did notice after my handful visits to the Casinos, it's usually the older crowd who are glued to the slot machines (at least). And in fact, when we got out of the Casino I noticed there were screens on the side of the entrance wall, where they kept showing all the winners from the past and believe it or not, they all were at least 65+ years old (or at least looked that age). So that was purely based on my observation after a few visits.
I actually have no idea if herc's parents play at the Casino or not. Because he mentioned his parents and the Casino, it just reminded me my experience there just the other night.
I did wonder about all those past winners as I was walking back to my hotel and wondered how much they had to lose before they won those amounts and how much they lost after they won. They don't advertise those information so I find it very misleading.
My friend told me that she doesn't care about how much she's going to lose since she was only there to have fun, so losing money was a non factor for her. While I didn't go there particular to win or even lose, I did not have the mentality of losing and perhaps that's why I ended up winning too. And it was still fun. To each her own I guess but the mentality does play into it but perhaps not all are aware.