CASINO

A casino is a place where gambling activities take place. It may include other entertainment features like musical shows and lighted fountains, but it is the gambling that brings in most of the revenue for the casinos. Slot machines, blackjack, roulette, baccarat and other games of chance are what makes casinos so popular and what provides the billions in profits they bring in every year.

While a casino offers a wide variety of games and entertainment, it also is designed to be as safe as possible for patrons. Security personnel monitor activity closely, and electronic systems help casinos keep track of betting chips minute by minute and alert them to any statistical deviation from expected results. Casinos are also staffed with people who know the rules of games, so they can quickly defuse disputes and deal with cheating or other disturbances.

Because of the large amounts of money that change hands within a casino, both patrons and staff can be tempted to steal or cheat in collusion with others or alone. To combat this, most casinos have a variety of security measures, from cameras that watch everyone entering and leaving the building to detailed surveillance systems that enable personnel to keep close tabs on suspicious activity.

Many casino patrons are wealthy people from other parts of the world who come to gamble, especially to the venerable Las Vegas area in Nevada. But other major gambling centers include Atlantic City, New Jersey; Chicago; and a growing number of Native American casinos.