My name is Judson Johnson, and I have spent much of my adult life immersed in the world of casinos. I wasn’t born into this life—I wasn’t one of those kids who grew up with dice in their hands or chips on the table. No, I grew up in a small town in the Midwest, where the biggest gamble anyone took was whether the crops would survive another dry summer. My fascination with casinos didn’t begin until much later, after a twist of fate brought me to Las Vegas.
I guess you could say I’ve always been a writer at heart. In college, I studied journalism, thinking I’d end up reporting on city council meetings or writing human-interest stories. But something about that felt too safe, too predictable. I wanted excitement, something that felt alive. After college, I bounced around a few local papers and dabbled in freelance writing. Then, during a spontaneous trip to Las Vegas with some friends, I found myself drawn to the energy of the casino floor. It wasn’t just about the gambling; it was the atmosphere, the personalities, the strange ecosystem that existed within those neon walls.
I became fascinated by the stories behind the tables—why people gambled, how they approached the games, the strategies and myths that swirled around blackjack, poker, and slots. I started writing articles about my observations, initially for small gambling websites and newsletters, but eventually for larger publications. What began as a few casual pieces turned into a full-blown career. My niche had found me, and I leaned into it.
Over the years, I’ve written about everything from the psychology of gambling to the inner workings of casino management. I’ve interviewed dealers, high-rollers, and even a few professional gamblers who’ve managed to beat the house (at least temporarily). I’ve traveled to casinos all over the world, from the glamorous high-stakes tables in Macau to the quirky, small-town casinos tucked away in the back roads of America. And every place has its own story, its own unique culture.
The world of casinos is more than just flashing lights and the sound of spinning roulette wheels. It’s about risk and reward, the eternal push and pull between hope and reality. It’s a mirror for human behavior, for our desires, our weaknesses, and our unrelenting hope that the next roll, the next hand, might just change everything. My job as a writer has been to capture that, to put into words what so many people feel but can’t quite express.
Of course, like anyone who spends enough time around casinos, I’ve had my moments at the tables. I’ve won a little, lost a little more, and learned a lot. But my biggest wins have always come from the stories I’ve been able to tell, the people I’ve met along the way, and the thrill of trying to understand what makes this strange, fascinating world tick.
Writing about casinos has given me a front-row seat to one of the most exciting, unpredictable industries on the planet. It’s a world that keeps me on my toes, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I may never hit the jackpot at the tables, but through my writing, I feel like I’ve won something much more valuable—the chance to tell the story of a world where anything can happen, and often does.
So here I am, Judson Johnson—casino writer, observer of human nature, and someone who believes that life, like gambling, is all about knowing when to take a chance.