The literature on symbolic gambling motives deals mainly with the idea of the "present self". However, if some recreational gamblers' mood states or fantasies are focused on winning the big jackpot, perhaps their envisioned possible "future self" deals only with being a gambling winner (Markus & Nurius, 1986; Morgan, 1993). As Morgan pointed out, ". . . the ability to clearly imagine a future role or situation is a significant factor in guiding behavior toward or away from that envisioned role . . . devising plans of action aimed at accomplishing or avoiding the envisioned future self" (p. 430). Perhaps those who envision a positive future self as "winners" may continue to gamble while those who envision a negative future self as "gambling addicts" may rarely gamble.

Hedonic Motives for Gambling

Rather than symbolic or economic motives, other gambling researchers have taken a pleasure-seeking stance. These researchers suggested that gambling is pursued for purely hedonic reasons, including positive reinforcement, self-esteem enhancement, and pure pleasure-seeking or play.

Some psychologists dealing with pathological, compulsive gambling pointed out the similarities in the behavior of rats and pigeons on an intermittent reinforcement schedule and the behavior of pathological gamblers who seem to operate in a trancelike state. Although not usually considered hedonic behavior, seeking positive reinforcement is one very simple form of pleasure-seeking. These researchers contended that early and random "wins", or rewards, motivate gamblers to continue their behavior, even as losses mount and the behavior becomes destructive (Custer, 1982; Montgomery & Kreitzer, 1968; Skinner, 1953).

Kusyszyn (1984) saw gambling as pleasure induction and self-esteem enhancement. His work dealt with non-pathological gamblers (as does the present research). Kusyszyn stated that gambling involves all three dimensions of human behavior: cognitive (decision-making), conative (wagering), and affective (hopes, fear, arousal, pleasure, etc.). Gamblers might enter a mood state that reaches a peak or a high (see also Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). Kusyszyn also interpreted gambling as fulfilling two basic human needs: confirmation of existence, and affirmation of worth. Similarly, Martinez (1983) believed gamblers are trying to choose an activity-among many that are societally available-that enhances their self-esteem. Gambling activity engenders conscious moods that ". . . make possible a favorable, fantasized self-image" (Martinez, 1983, p. 125).

Walker (1992b) put forth a theory attempting to explain why some people gamble only occasionally, while others become compulsive gamblers. The basis of his theory is the premise that irrational thinking maintains gambling behavior: "Since all unfair gambles have an expectation of loss, no economically rational person should accept the opportunity to gamble" (Walker, 1992b, p. 373). Important for the present work, however, is Walker's rationale for why occasional gamblers do not develop problems: ". . . the occasional gambler has . . no real concern over losing . . . the entertainment afforded by gambling is the primary motivation . . . the loss of money will be written off as part of the entertainment . . . they budget for the loss" (Walker, 1992b, pp. 374-375). Similarly, Brenner and Brenner (1990) argued that entertainment is more an issue than risk-taking. They explain that, "The 'losses' incurred from such games can be compared to the price one pays for other types of entertainment and have less to do with people's willingness to take risks than with how they choose to entertain themselves" (1990, p. 21).

The classic theories of Huizinga (1955) and Caillois (1958) treated gambling as pure play (see also Herman, 1976). Huizinga outlined many motivations underlying play, as well as what made play attractive, even in those situations where play involved risk-taking. More recently, Bammel and Burrus-Bammel (1982) updated these theories by stating that play has the following characteristics: (a) it is intrinsically rewarding, (b) voluntary, (c) pleasurable, (d) absorbing, (e) a means of self-expression, and (f) it has a quality of escape. Gambling may also be described by these characteristics and treating gambling as play allows a study of gambling as a leisure phenomenon. Leisure researchers, while traditionally focused on the intrinsic motivation of leisure (Iso-Ahola, 1980; Neulinger, 1974) and its autotelic nature (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990), have also begun to examine leisure and play with extrinsic motivations and goal orientations (Kelly & Kelly, 1994).

In summary, the various motives for gambling and other leisure behaviors discussed above and outlined in Table 1 include economic motives, symbolic motives, and hedonic motives. Before moving on to present a study of gambling motives that relies on consumer behavior theory, it is necessary to consider some relevant motives for experiential consumption. Many consumer researchers also use symbolic and hedonic motives to explain modern and post-modern consumer behavior in the context of experiential consumption. A brief overview of some pertinent theories about modern consumers is presented in the following section, along with some key findings of the experiential research stream. The purpose of this overview is to outline the historical roots of experiential consumption, and some previously examined motives for experiential consumption. Many of the theoretical ideas from experiential consumer research are used later in this paper to provide a conceptual basis for the study of gambling motives and behaviors.

Modern And Post-Modern Views Regarding Motives for Experiential Consumption

In both sociology and consumer studies, researchers have recently outlined the historic basis for modern consumption motives, and attempted to place consumption in an appropriate cultural context. These researchers also outlined what typifies modern and postmodern consumers (for examples see Belk & Dholakia, 1996; Campbell, 1987, 1994; Costa, 1990; Firat & Venkatesh, 1995; Fournier & Guiry, 1993; Oropesa, 1995). Concurrently, some consumer researchers launched a concerted effort to study the phenomena of, and motives underlying, disparate experiential consumer behaviors including experience-seeking (Hirschman, 1984), compulsive behavior (O'Guinn & Faber, 1989; Hirschman, 1992), plastic surgery (Schouten, 1991), flea market patronage (Sherry, 1990), river rafting (Arnould & Price, 1993), skydiving (Celsi, Rose, & Leigh, 1993) and the consumption of professional baseball (Holt, 1995). The following section of the paper addresses (a) the historic rise of experiential consumption, and (b) individual motivations for experiential consumption. The potential theoretical connections between this consumption-based research and gambling theory will be explained throughout the review.

The Rise of Experiential Consumption

In his thought-provoking essays concerning the rise of modern consumption motives, Campbell (1987, 1996) suggested that modern consumer culture has emerged from the Romantic movement. He believes that although Romantic thought is the antithesis of the idea of utilitarian consumption, the Romantic tendency to encourage daydreaming and other forms of "autonomous hedonism" served as an impetus for the rise of modern consumerism. In Campbell's view, constant searching for pleasure results in constant longing, and this longing is an enjoyable frustration. In turn, constant longing leads to more and more unfulfilled wants, and hence the modern cycle of ever-changing production and consumption.

Fournier and Guiry's (1993) work on pre-purchase dreaming activities carries this theme of constant longing into the consumer behavior literature. These authors treat pre-purchase dreaming as acts of consumption and point out that this behavior flourishes in materialistic cultures. This behavior is not simply the constant acquiring of "things", because as Campbell (1994) pointed out, we also throw things away rather quickly. It is the search for new things, for constant novelty, and the perpetual generation of unfulfilled desires that is the main motive driving modern consumers (Belk, Ger, & Askegaard, 1996). Similarly, Oropesa (1995, p. 216) argued that our societal assumptions of the value of hard work and self-denial have given way to " . . . impulse pursuit of novelty, excitement, and change through consumption." Firat and Venkatesh (1993; 1995) also discussed how postmodern consumers disavow a larger social purpose and engage in hedonism and noveltyseeking. Echoing the literature on gambling, Oropesa (1995) posited that one main reason for hedonic novelty-seeking is that modern progress has reduced many of the risks, and much of the uncertainty, in our lives and so as consumers we seek out novel, pleasurable stimulation and excitement. If, as a culture, we are being increasingly driven by the search for hedonic pleasure and novelty, then perhaps the rise in recreational gambling reflects this hedonic, novelty-seeking phenomenon.

Individual Motivations for Experiential Consumption

While the research just described discusses why a more hedonistic, fantasy-driven consumer culture may be arising within Western society, there are also researchers who study the phenomenon of experiential consumption at the more personal level of the individual consumer. Concerning romantic tendencies within consumption, researchers hypothesized that both romantic and classical tendencies exist in any given consumption experience (Holbrook, 1996; Holbrook, O'Shaughnessy, & Bell, 1990). Hirschman (1984) proposed that when consumers seek out new experiences they may be: (a) cognitive experience seekers, who value new experiences for their ability to stimulate thought, (b) sensory experience seekers, who seek experience for sensory stimulation, or (c) novelty seekers, those who desire novel stimuli, whether cognitive or sensory. Although all three types of consumers are seeking new experiences, their underlying motives are different. Therefore, one might suggest that recreational gamblers are similarly motivated by the search for new thoughts, new sensory experience, or by a search for any novel stimulation.

Studies of three very different experiential consumption domains (plastic surgery, sky-diving, and river rafting) identify some additional consumption motives that might also help explain recreational gambling consumption. Schouten's (1991) study of plastic surgery identified several main motives driving consumers of plastic surgery, including hedonic (fantasizing) and symbolic (taking control) motives; these motives seem to mirror those theorized for gambling and leisure (cf. Csikszentmihali, 1990). In their study of sky-diving and other high risk leisure consumption, Celsi, Rose, and Leigh (1993) identified "categories" of motives: normative, hedonic, and selfefficacy, that led participants to "risk their lives for play." Arnould and Price (1993) studied river-rafting, using the term "extraordinary experience" to describe their informants' sense of "newness of perceptions and process." These authors describe this type of experiential consumption as typified and motivated by high levels of emotion and by interpersonal interaction. Based on consumer research across a variety of domains, we see that experiential consumption is motivated by both hedonic and symbolic motives, just as recreational gambling is theorized to be.

For most experiential consumption, consumer motives would not appear to be economic. However, the work of Sherry (1990) synthesized economic and hedonic motives by categorizing marketplace institutions by their location along two continua: festive versus economic functions and formal versus informal structure. An economic function is more rational and utilitarian while a festive function is more hedonic and experiential. This idea of a continuum from rational to hedonic functions can perhaps also be used to explain recreational gambling motives because as Kelly and Kelly (1994) pointed out, leisure models should be created as dialectics, not with impenetrable cells. Rational motives need to be included if one is to study "serious leisure", or leisure pursued for reasons other than the experience itself (Kelly, 1992).

In summary, many motives (economic, symbolic, and hedonic), have been suggested for experiential consumption. An organizing framework for these sometime disparate motives was provided by Holt's (1995) research with professional baseball spectators. This framework has clear implications for those researchers studying experiential consumption and leisure domains, like recreational gambling, and so it is discussed in some detail. Holt's research integrated experiential consumer behaviors into a 2 x 2 typology of consumption, based on the structure and purpose of consumer actions. Note that Holt dealt with actions (behavior), not motives. However, as will be discussed below, his framework leads one to infer underlying motives. For Holt, structure of actions referred to whether actions focused on the consumption object itself, or on interaction with others regarding some consumption object. Purpose could be autotelic (consuming as an end in itself) or instrumental (consuming to pursue some other ends). Holt named the cells of the resulting 2 X 2 matrix as consuming as experience, consuming as integration, consuming as classification, and consuming as play.

Holt originally described the emotional states arising during consumption, after Holbrook and Hirschman (1982), as consuming as experience. He labeled the process whereby consumers bring an object into their identity or change their identity to match the consumption object as consuming as integration. The consuming as classification metaphor explains how consumers use objects to signal their classification to others. Consumers classify using the object itself as the classifier, or by using their actions to classify themselves. Finally, in his discussion of consuming as play, Holt described interaction with others for interaction's sake. These classifications helped organize a discussion of experiential consumption, and put forth the relatively novel idea that consumers can consume simply for play.

Other consumer researchers have begun to focus on this play aspect, and the idea of play certainly seems likely to be a fruitful avenue for research into the consumption of gambling. Deighton and Grayson (1995) stated that "play" happens when two or more people agree to temporarily interact. These authors argue that "... playfulness is a significant contributing motive in much consumer behavior, deserving of more theoretical weight and empirical attention" (p. 668). Belk (in press) also points out the neglected role of play in consumer research, particularly in treatments of travel and tourism. Studying gambling as experiential consumer behavior will likely allow for more elaboration on these themes of playful motives for gambling.

In summary, previous theory in the gambling, leisure, and consumption literatures identify many diverse motivations for gambling behavior. The literature on experiential consumption strongly suggests there may be some motives, in addition to the traditionally proposed gambling motives (economic, symbolic, and hedonic), that are worth investigating in a gambling setting. In the research described below, an ethnographic study investigates the motives underlying recreational gambling and offers a typology of gambling motives that accommodates both the data collected and previous theoretical perspectives.

Setting, Sample, And Method For Empirical Study

The setting for this study was a large Northeastern casino. As is typical in the casino industry, the actual casino spaces (that is, where adults may actually gamble) are only a part of a vast entertainment complex that includes cinemas, performing arts theaters, restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. Data were collected in all of these areas, not only in the casino itself.