the house always wins

proverb

In a casino, all gambling is designed so that the house (i.e. the casino owners) will always net a profit, regardless of the successes of individual patrons.

“You know what they say about death and taxes. The house always wins.”

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Meanings

proverb
  1. In a casino, all gambling is designed so that the house (i.e. the casino owners) will always net a profit, regardless of the successes of individual patrons.

    Don't go to a casino. All their games are designed to make you lose more money than you earn, so that the house always wins.

  2. broadlyA given system is designed to net a profit for, or benefit, some (specified or implied) people.

    You're surprised by the high prices in the prison commissary? I'm not — the house always wins, after all.

    1 more example

    The Reddit amateurs may be gloating about their victory over elite hedge funds now, but in the casino of Wall Street the house always wins, and many Redditors may be flirting with financial catastrophe.

    2021 February 3, Farhad Manjoo, “Can We Please Stop Talking About Stocks, Please?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
  3. broadlyIn a given system or situation, over a long enough timescale, a particular (specified or implied) outcome is inevitable.

    You know what they say about death and taxes. The house always wins.

    1 more example

    ... thermodynamics has its way. The end may be a long time coming, but come it must: the odds cannot be beaten. Sooner or later, the timelessness of equilibrium sets in. In the gambling casino of nature, the house always wins.

    2005 November 1, Michael Munowitz, Knowing: The Nature of Physical Law, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 282

Translations

Bulgarian казиното винаги печели
  • казиното винаги печели (kazinoto vinagi pečeli)Translations
Italian il banco vince sempre
  • il banco vince sempreTranslations
Polish kasyno zawsze wygrywa
  • kasyno zawsze wygrywaTranslations
Spanish la casa siempre gana
  • la casa siempre ganaTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

the house always wins. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20house%20always%20wins

MLA

“the house always wins.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20house%20always%20wins. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “the house always wins,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20house%20always%20wins.

Source: the house always wins on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.