The management at a Las Vegas casino wrote a comical letter defending its handling of a customer who it says fell asleep at a slot machine. The issue in dispute is silly: lost winnings of $15.

But the casino’s letter is telling for what it does not address: problem gamblers logging long hours at slot machines.

The fact that some gamblers fall asleep at slot machine should be a shock, but apparently not to casino operators. (See photo here of another sleepy slots player.) The casino points out this particular gambler is a “regular” at the casino who often falls asleep at the machine. (He initially wrote a letter claiming his gambling winnings were stolen and the casino did nothing but asked him to leave, which prompted the casino’s response claiming the gambler nodded off.)

Call us crazy, but a regular gambler who repeatedly falls asleep at a slot machine may single a person who gambles too much, or at the very least for too long. It sure undermines the notion that gamblers go to casinos for fun and entertainment. The fact that the casino is aware of the issue but does nothing about it shows how little casinos police issues of problem gamblers. The truth is casinos are designed to lure customers back again and again and to keep them gambling for as long as possible. Hence, no clocks or windows in casinos, and plenty of free drinks and cheap buffetts. (Gambling late at night is the most dangerous time and sleep deprivation adds to gambling risk.)

But that is the casino business model. The industry even has a name for it: “Play to extinction.” The troubling tactic is even more alarming when you consider that governments – which are supposed to protect the public – sanction and essentially partner with casinos in a business that is designed to empty the pockets of taxpayers.