A casino is an establishment for gambling. These casinos feature a variety of games of chance, such as slots, roulette, blackjack, poker, craps and more. Many casinos also offer restaurants, night clubs and bars. In addition, some have spas, rooftop pools and other recreational activities.
Although casinos may earn money from food, drink and other attractions, they make their real money from the games themselves. Each game has a built in advantage for the house, which can be small but adds up over time. These advantages, or “house edges,” are the source of the profits that allow casinos to build fountains, pyramids, towers and replicas of famous landmarks.
Because of the large amounts of money involved, security is a big concern for casino owners. In addition to obvious measures like cameras, most casinos have personnel who watch the action at each table, change window and doorway to catch cheating or other suspicious activity. These employees are referred to as “pit bosses” or “table managers.”
In addition, casino patrons can be tempted to steal or cheat in ways that would not occur in an honest business. These schemes may be carried out in collusion with others or independently. The amount of money handled by casino workers and patrons makes this a serious problem, and it is the reason why most casinos have sophisticated surveillance systems and trained security personnel.