A casino is an establishment for certain types of gambling. It is often combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shops, and/or other entertainment venues. Some casinos are known worldwide for their glitz and glamour, while others are famous for their history or architecture. Most major cities have at least one casino.

Something about gambling (probably the presence of large amounts of money) seems to encourage people to cheat or steal, either in collusion with other patrons or independently; for this reason, casinos spend a lot of time and money on security. In addition to obvious measures such as security cameras, most casinos have specially trained security personnel who monitor games for suspicious activity. The patterns of game play — how dealers handle cards, where bets are placed on the table – and the expected reactions and motions of players tend to have certain patterns, so it’s usually fairly easy for security to spot deviations from the norm.

In modern times, casinos have also become famous for offering perks to high-spending patrons. These perks are sometimes called comps, or complimentary items, and can include anything from free hotel rooms to tickets to spectacular shows to meals. The amount of money spent at a casino is usually tracked through card swipes that are linked to specific accounts. The cards allow the casino to track each player’s spending habits and give them comps based on their level of play. Less expensive comps are often available to lower-spending patrons as well.