A casino is a gambling establishment where people can play games of chance and win cash prizes. These facilities can be found all over the world and are operated by a variety of entities, including private individuals, companies, and sovereign tribal governments. In addition to gambling, casinos often offer restaurants, bars, and other entertainment options.
While the modern casino may look like an adult amusement park, with a wide array of games and extravagant inducements, it would not exist without the billions of dollars in profits raked in by gamblers every year. The majority of a casino’s profit comes from slot machines, blackjack, roulette, craps and other table games that involve interaction with other players.
Historically, the casinos of Las Vegas were run by organized crime families and mobster gangs, but federal crackdowns on mobsters and deep pockets from hotel and real estate investors enabled legitimate casino businesses to take hold in the city. Today, top-rated casinos include the Bellagio, a glitzy resort known for its dancing fountains and breath-taking art installations, and Caesars Palace, where the movie Ocean’s 11 was filmed.
Casinos also employ elaborate security measures. Eye-in-the-sky cameras monitor every table, window and doorway in the building, enabling security workers to instantly detect any anomaly. Dealers and pit bosses are trained to watch for blatant cheating such as palming, marking or switching dice. Many casinos are also stocked with high-tech “chip tracking” systems, which record the amounts wagered on each game, minute by minute; and roulette wheels are electronically monitored to discover any statistical deviation from normal operation.
