I recently went to a casino with some coworkers. The two guys I went with are, by all appearances, as intelligent as I am, with roughly equivalent (or perhaps even greater) liquid assets. They also enjoy going to the casino greatly, again perhaps more than I myself do. They are both aware that counting exists, and I have told them many times it is a rather simple skill to learn. They remain, however, complete ploppies, with one simply going by gut instinct and not even following basic strategy. In your experience, why do such people exist? They both enjoy making money and are successful investors in other more traditional areas. Is it just a cheap thrill to them or perhaps a belief that counting does not actually work? Is counting actually more complicated than I believe and myself and the APs I know just are naturally talented at it?

As a correlation to this, with a sufficient bankroll, counting provides a long term return that is incredibly difficult to match (albeit limited on the extreme upward spectrum). With knowledge of counting and to a lesser extent, other AP strategies, so widespread, why isn't counting used as a viable investment by more people? Trust issues? Skepticism? Or is investing in AP more widespread than I believe?

Interested in all of your takes.