A casino is a place where people can gamble and play games of chance. Some casinos are huge, like those in Las Vegas. Others are small businesses defined more by the types of gambling they offer than by glitz and glamour. Casinos are found around the world, though some places are more associated with gambling than others.
The modern casino is a bit like an indoor amusement park for adults, with the vast majority of the entertainment (and profits for the owners) coming from gambling. Slot machines, blackjack, roulette, craps, baccarat and other popular games of chance are what drive the billions of dollars in revenue raked in by U.S. casinos every year. Musical shows, lighted fountains and lavish hotels help draw in the crowds, but the casinos would not survive without the gambling.
Casinos make their money by charging a fee for playing games, called a rake. The rake is usually calculated as a percentage of the total amount of money wagered on a game. The rake is collected by a person known as a dealer or croupier. Casinos may also offer free food and drinks to players, which encourages them to play more. The use of chips instead of real money is another way casinos encourage gambling. Chips make the gambling experience less stressful for players, and they allow the casinos to track the amount of money played.
In addition to charging for gaming, many casinos earn a lot of their money by selling tickets and hotel rooms to special events. Some even host concerts, comedy acts and other live entertainment. Casinos may also make a profit by running restaurants, bars and other facilities on the premises.
When most people think of a casino, they imagine one of the giant resorts in Las Vegas, with bright lights and games of chance everywhere you look. But casinos come in all shapes and sizes, from small buildings located in quiet towns to large complexes on the outskirts of big cities. Some are owned by large corporations, while others are run by local groups.
A few casinos have a distinctly dark side. During the Mobster era, some casinos were partly bankrolled by organized crime figures. The mobsters were willing to invest in casinos because they had plenty of cash from their drug dealing and other illegal rackets. They often had a personal stake in the business and could influence decisions at the casinos.
Some modern casinos have high-tech surveillance systems that offer a “eye-in-the-sky” view of the entire floor. Security personnel in a separate room can adjust the cameras to focus on specific patrons, or watch for any suspicious behavior. The cameras can also record the actions of patrons, so that casino officials can review the footage later if a crime or cheating is suspected. The cameras in the casinos can also be triggered to start recording whenever someone enters or leaves a certain area, such as the entrance of a restaurant.
