A casino is a facility where gambling games are played. While many casinos include other attractions such as restaurants, hotels and entertainment venues, the majority of a casino’s revenue is made from gambling. Slot machines, blackjack, poker, roulette and craps are among the most popular casino games.
While casino gambling almost certainly predates recorded history, the modern casino as a whole did not come into being until the 16th century, when a gaming craze hit Europe. Italian aristocrats created private gambling clubs called ridotti, where they could gamble to their hearts’ content without fear of the Catholic Inquisition.
The modern casino is a much more sophisticated affair than its 16th-century ancestors, however. The modern casino relies heavily on technology to monitor its patrons and games. Security personnel have a “eye-in-the-sky” view of the entire casino floor, and cameras can be adjusted to focus on particular suspicious patrons. Casinos also use electronic monitors to supervise table games, allowing them to discover statistical deviations from expected results quickly.
All of this equipment and staff needs to be paid for, which means that casinos make their money from the products they sell: gambling. While musical shows, lighted fountains and shopping centers help draw in the crowds, casinos would not exist without the billions of dollars in profits raked in by games such as slots, blackjack, poker, roulette, baccarat and other popular casino games.
To make the most of their gambling potential, casino owners have a long list of strategies to keep people coming back. In addition to offering a variety of games, most casinos provide complimentary goods and services to big spenders (or comps). While the exact details vary by casino, some offer free hotel rooms, food, drinks and show tickets to those who regularly gamble there. Others give out limo service and airline tickets to frequent players as well.
In terms of actual gambling, the average casino patron is a forty-six-year-old woman from a household with above-average income. Those who have a bachelor’s or graduate degree make up about 24% of casino gamblers, according to Harrah’s Entertainment.
While the casino’s main goal is to attract and keep people gambling, it must also keep them safe. This is why the casinos are filled with so many security measures. Aside from the cameras and other technological devices, a casino’s security team is also trained to spot suspicious behavior. For example, a dealer should be aware of the fact that many patrons have a tendency to palm cards or mark them with their fingers, which can lead to cheating.