A casino is an establishment for certain types of gambling. It usually offers a wide variety of games and amenities such as slot machines, table games, poker rooms, and live entertainment. Some casinos also offer restaurants, hotels and shopping centers.
A modern casino is like an indoor amusement park for adults, with the vast majority of the entertainment and profits coming from chance-based games. While musical shows, lighted fountains and shopping centers help draw in the crowds, the billions of dollars that casinos rake in every year would not exist without the games of chance themselves. Slots, blackjack, roulette, craps and baccarat are just some of the games that give casinos their reputation as the place to be for high-rollers and regular folks alike.
While a casino might look like an adult playground, there is a dark side to the business. Something about the large sums of money floating around in a casino seems to encourage cheating, stealing and scamming. That’s why the casinos spend so much time, effort and money on security.
A casino is typically staffed by a mix of croupiers, dealers and other gaming employees. Some casinos use specialized software to ensure that all players are treated fairly. Others rely on physical security forces to patrol the premises and respond to calls for assistance or reports of suspicious or definite criminal activity. Still others rely on a combination of physical security and specialized surveillance departments that operate closed circuit television systems, often referred to in the industry as an “eye in the sky.” A casino might have catwalks that allow surveillance personnel to look directly down, through one way glass, on the activities of players at tables and slot machines.