Casino is a place where people can gamble and enjoy other entertainment. Modern casinos add luxuries such as restaurants, stage shows and shopping centers to draw in customers, but the vast majority of their profits come from gambling games. These games include slot machines, roulette, blackjack, baccarat and keno. In most cases, the house has an edge in these games, and the payouts are determined randomly by computer chips inside each machine. Casino employees monitor the games and the players for any suspicious activity, including cheating or theft.
Historically, organized crime had a strong presence in casinos in cities such as Reno and Las Vegas. But as mob money dwindled and government crackdowns on gambling became more common, legitimate businessmen with deep pockets saw the opportunity to buy out the mafia and start their own operations. They also realized that they could gain a better image for their businesses by moving away from gambling’s seamy past.
The large amounts of money handled in a casino make it easy for patrons and employees to steal, either in collusion or independently. This is why most casinos have security measures in place to prevent such incidents. For example, many casinos use a system of “eyes-in-the-sky” that allows security personnel to watch all the tables and slot machines from one room filled with banks of security monitors. They can also adjust the cameras to focus on specific patrons if they suspect that someone is stealing or cheating.