A casino is a place where gambling takes place. It may add a few other things like restaurants, free drinks and stage shows to attract gamblers, but it is essentially a place where people can wager money in games of chance. Some casinos are more luxurious than others, but all of them house a variety of gambling activities.
Gambling has been a part of human culture for centuries. Archeologists have found dice from 2300 BC, and card games arrived around 500 AD. The modern casino began to appear in the 1700s, and has since expanded to include more than 20 types of games.
Because of the large amounts of money handled within, casinos are a tempting target for cheating and theft, either in collusion or independently. To counter this, casinos use a lot of security technology. Cameras aimed at the casino floor and patrons help monitor activities, and elaborate systems provide an eye-in-the-sky view of the entire room. The cameras can be directed to focus on suspicious patrons by security workers in a separate room full of banks of monitors.
Many casinos offer player loyalty programs that reward frequent gamblers with comps (free stuff) such as free hotel rooms, meals, drinks and show tickets. The programs also allow the casinos to develop a database of patrons that can be used for marketing purposes. The best players get even more perks, such as free room and dinners, airline tickets and limo service.