According to the American Gaming Association, about 51 million people–a quarter of all those over 21 who gambled in the United States–visited a casino in 2002. The number is expected to grow, as casinos offer a more varied array of games than ever before and attract visitors from all over the world. Some people love gambling, while others hate it, but everyone must face the fact that there is a risk of losing money. Fortunately, there are ways to minimize the risks and increase the chances of winning.
Every casino game has a built in advantage for the house, which is called the house edge. This advantage can be very small, lower than two percent, but it adds up over the millions of bets placed by patrons. The advantage is used to cover expenses such as the cost of the building, the furniture and the security. It is also used to pay for free shows and other luxuries that are offered in many casinos.
Some casinos use a high-tech eye-in-the-sky system to monitor every table, window and doorway in the facility. Other technologies include betting chips that are micro-chipped to ensure they are not being changed, and roulette wheels and dice that are electronically monitored to discover any statistical deviations from the expected result.
Casinos also offer free food and drink to keep gamblers happy, which may help them stay in the casino longer. They may also use chips instead of paper money to confuse players about the amount they are spending. While this may reduce the amount of money that is being lost by players, it does not reduce the house edge.
