A casino is a gambling establishment that offers a variety of games of chance. It may include tables, slot machines, blackjack, poker and roulette. In addition to gaming, many casinos offer entertainment and dining options. Casinos have been found in places as large as resort hotels and as small as a single card room. They are operated by private companies, investors, Native American tribes and state and local governments.
Because of the huge amounts of money handled within a casino, both patrons and staff members may be tempted to cheat or steal, either in collusion or independently. That’s why casinos spend a lot of time, effort and money on security. Casinos have high-tech “eye-in-the-sky” surveillance systems that allow workers to watch every table, window and doorway from a control room filled with banks of security monitors.
Casinos also rely on their staff to catch cheating or theft. Dealers watch players for blatant sleight-of-hand tricks, and pit bosses look for betting patterns that could signal cheating at the tables. Some casinos even have a “higher-up” person keeping track of each employee, watching their work and noting statistical deviations that might indicate an unauthorized activity.
Casinos bring in billions of dollars each year for the companies, investors and Native American tribes that run them. They also generate millions of dollars in tax revenues for state and local governments. But critics argue that casinos hurt local economic development by causing people to shift spending away from other forms of recreation; and that the cost of treating problem gamblers offsets any financial benefits they bring.