What Is a Casino?

A casino is an establishment for gambling. Its most famous examples are the Las Vegas Strip and Atlantic City, but there are also many others. Most casinos combine this type of gambling with hotels, restaurants, retail shops, and other entertainment. Some even host live entertainment like concerts and sports events.

Something about gambling (perhaps the large amounts of money involved) seems to encourage people to cheat and steal, either in collusion with one another or independently. For this reason, casinos spend a lot of time and effort on security. Cameras located throughout the casino and a multitude of other security measures are standard features in most modern casinos. Some casinos have catwalks that allow security personnel to look down, through one-way glass, on the activities in table games and slot machines.

Because casinos deal with such large amounts of currency, both patrons and staff may be tempted to cheat or steal, either in collusion with one another (called collusion) or independently (called fraud). For this reason, casinos are heavily monitored by security cameras, and the employees who work there have a high turnover. In addition to cameras, most casinos employ other forms of surveillance, including electronic monitoring of the games and a variety of employee checks.

Most casinos try to lure in gamblers by offering comps, or freebies. For example, some offer frequent-flyer-type programs where the patron’s card is swiped each time he or she plays a game and then credited with points that can be exchanged for discounts on food, drinks, and other entertainment.