A casino (also known as a gambling house or a gaming establishment) is an establishment where people can gamble. Some casinos are specialized in specific types of gambling, while others have a variety of games available. Many casinos also offer food and beverage services. Some are located in cities or tourist attractions, while others are isolated from the rest of the city and built as standalone structures.
Casinos are staffed with people who watch over the games and patrons to make sure everything goes as it should. Security staff look out for blatant cheating, such as palming, marking cards or switching dice. In table games, pit bosses or table managers keep an eye on betting patterns that could indicate cheating. Casinos often give out free goods or services, called comps, to gamblers based on their level of play or how long they spend in the casino.
Gambling has been a part of human culture for thousands of years, with the first documented examples occurring in ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt and Greece. Modern casinos have become major entertainment complexes, with lavish decorations and facilities for a wide range of games. Casinos can be found in Las Vegas, Nevada; Atlantic City, New Jersey; Macau, China; and many other locations around the world.
Most casino games involve some element of chance, though there are a few that require skill, such as poker and blackjack. Casinos make money by charging a commission on the bets placed by patrons, which is known as the house edge. This advantage can be very small, less than two percent in some cases, but it adds up over time and millions of bets. Casinos use a number of methods to attract and keep customers, including bright lights and noise, to create an environment that is appealing to the senses.
The earliest casinos were run by criminal gangsters, who used the funds from gambling to fund their other illegal activities. When legitimate businessmen saw the potential profits from casinos, they began to invest their own money in them. Eventually, real estate investors and hotel chains bought out the mob’s stakes in the casinos, and they now dominate the industry. Because federal law prohibits even the slightest hint of mob involvement in gambling operations, casinos are very careful to avoid any association with organized crime. Local economic studies have shown that the net effect of casinos on a community is negative, because they draw away spending from other forms of entertainment and can increase problem gambling. Moreover, the cost of treating casino gambling addicts and the loss of productivity by workers who are addicted to gambling can outweigh any income that casinos bring in. This has led some communities to ban or restrict casino development. Others have subsidized them to offset the harm to their local economy. In some cases, casino operators have chosen to build casinos on American Indian reservations, which are exempt from state anti-gambling laws. These casinos usually feature traditional games, but some have added more modern games like slot machines and video poker.