A casino is a building where people can gamble and play games of chance. Most casinos add extras like restaurants, free drinks and stage shows to help attract patrons. But there have been less lavish places that housed gambling activities and would qualify as a casino, too.
A typical casino is heavily guarded to prevent cheating, theft and other crimes. Security personnel are trained to spot a range of suspicious behavior, including palming cards and marking dice. Elaborate surveillance systems provide a high-tech eye-in-the-sky, watching every table, window and doorway. These cameras can be adjusted to focus on specific suspicious patrons by security workers in a separate room filled with banks of security monitors.
Gambling is a game of chance, but some casino games require an element of skill, such as poker and blackjack. These games are played on tables, where players sit around and interact with each other and a croupier or dealer who enables the game and manages payments.
During the mobster-era of Las Vegas, organized crime figures bankrolled casinos. They took sole or part ownership of the casinos and tried to manipulate outcomes. Today, investment banks run many of the casinos. They are financed by large amounts of money from investors who expect high profits from slot machines, video poker and other games that use computer chips. These high payouts make the casino profitable even when a player loses. This is known as the house edge.
