What Is a Casino?

A casino is a place where various games of chance are played and gambling is the primary activity. Modern casinos offer a variety of luxuries to help attract players, such as restaurants, free drinks and stage shows. But even less extravagant places that house gambling activities have been called casinos throughout history, such as the elegant spa town of Baden-Baden in Germany that was once a playground for European royalty and the wealthy aristocracy.

Although a host of amenities can help draw customers, casinos would not exist without games of chance. Slot machines, blackjack, roulette and the like provide the billions of dollars in profits raked in by casinos each year. The games of chance themselves are surprisingly simple: a game of chance, in essence, is an experiment in probability. Each game has an expected outcome that, in the long run, will result in a net profit for the casino.

Something about the game of chance seems to encourage people to cheat and steal, either in collusion or independently; this is why a significant portion of casino budgets go toward security. Modern casinos use technology extensively to monitor their gaming operations. For example, betting chips with built-in microcircuitry can be tracked minute-by-minute to ensure that only the amount wagered is placed; roulette wheels are electronically monitored regularly for any statistical deviation from their expected results.

While something of a casino culture exists in all areas of the country, the greatest concentration is in Nevada and Atlantic City. But in recent years, casinos have begun to spread across the country and even beyond, as states have legalized gambling.