If you watch slots documentary, people keep playing because their brain is forced to love the game. The music, the near miss, the intermediate wins, etc., and not the money per se. But it needs users to play long enough for the dopamine mechanism to kick in. That's just my opinion that money can't be the only recipe to hook people. It's not enough.
I've lost some $$$ in dice, roulette, etc., but it is not enough to make me play every week.
I agree. Absolutely. That's why providers keep improving their slots: playing just for the money is boring for many people, and I even suspect - for most gamblers. You are right, if the game wasn't interesting by itself, people would play only if they were winning money all the time, but, well, there are no such games in this Universe.