A casino is a gambling establishment offering various games of chance. Casinos can be found in most countries, where gambling is legal. These games of chance often include roulette, blackjack, craps, and poker. A casino may also offer non-gambling entertainment, such as concerts and shows. Casinos are typically large, heavily staffed, and carefully designed to manipulate gamblers’ behavior by creating an artificial sense of blissful happiness. They do this by wafting scented oils through ventilation systems and designing slot machines that can be programmed to “give away” near-misses in order to keep people playing for longer periods of time.
Gambling, in one form or another, has been part of human civilization for millennia. Evidence of dice-based gambling dates to 2300 BC, and card games appeared in Europe in the 1400s. The earliest known American casino opened in Atlantic City in 1978, and the first Indian-owned casinos appeared during the 1980s on reservations that were exempt from state antigambling laws.
Some casinos have become global brands, such as the glamorous Monte-Carlo, which attracts celebrities and royalty from around the world. Other casinos are nestled in posh spa towns, such as Baden-Baden in Germany’s Black Forest. Many of these casinos combine gambling with luxury hotels, restaurants, and other amenities. Some even have a golf course or an enclave of exclusive villas.
