A casino, also known as a gaming establishment or a gambling house, is a place where people can gamble. Casinos are most often built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships and other tourist attractions. Some casinos feature live entertainment. The precise origin of gambling is not known, but it has existed in some form throughout most of human history. Ancient Mesopotamia and Rome had gambling, as did Elizabethan England and colonial America. Casinos can be found in most countries around the world, including in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. They are mostly owned by private companies, although government-owned ones exist as well.
Modern casinos use a wide variety of security measures to protect their customers and assets. Surveillance cameras and other technology watch patrons and employees for signs of cheating or theft. Many casinos also employ trained floor personnel to monitor and control gaming tables. Various methods are used to prevent cheating, such as the use of specialized chips with integrated microcircuitry that communicate with the table’s computer system to record the exact amount of money wagered minute by minute, and roulette wheels that are electronically monitored for any statistical deviation from expected performance. Casinos also employ sophisticated mathematics to design games that provide a predictable long-term profit for the owners, and offer short-term gains to players. Those who possess sufficient skills to eliminate the inherent long-term disadvantage of a given game are called advantage players.
Most casino games are based on chance, though some have an element of skill. Most of the games have mathematically determined odds that ensure the house has a positive edge over players, even when skill eliminates the house’s vig (house edge). Some casinos may reduce this advantage in certain games to attract more players. Craps, for example, is a popular game in the United States, but casinos there typically reduce the house advantage to less than 1 percent to encourage more bettors. In games with a significant skill element, such as blackjack and video poker, the house earns income through a commission on player bets, commonly known as a rake.
Many casinos are famous for their glamorous decor and exciting gaming tables. The casino at Monte Carlo, for instance, has been featured in numerous novels and films, most notably in Ben Mezrich’s “Bushing Vegas,” about a team of Massachusetts Institute of Technology students who beat the house out of $1 million. A more modest but still luxurious casino, Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, has hosted performers such as Frank Sinatra and Celine Dion.