What is a Casino?

A casino is an establishment for certain types of gambling. Often, casinos are combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops or even cruise ships. They are also a popular destination for tourists and locals alike.

While lighted fountains, shopping centers and elaborate hotel themes help draw in the crowds, casinos are mostly built on games of chance. Slot machines, roulette, blackjack, baccarat and other popular casino games provide the billions in profits that make casinos such a lucrative business.

The games themselves are not as random as one might think, but rather the result of an intricate mathematical formula. To ensure that their patrons have a fair opportunity to win, casinos monitor all bets and payouts and employ mathematicians specializing in this area of analysis known as gaming analytics. This is done to prevent cheating or collusion by players, but also to ensure that the house has a positive expected return on investment over time.

The security of a casino is handled in part by a physical security force and in part by a specialized surveillance department, commonly known as the “eyes in the sky”. Casino employees patrol the premises with heightened awareness to look out for any suspicious or blatant activity. Each table game has a pit boss or a manager who watches over the patrons, keeping an eye out for betting patterns that could signal cheating. Casinos also have cameras positioned throughout the property to monitor activity.