A casino is a gambling establishment, where patrons wager money against the house. It has long been a source of fascination for people who don’t gamble, thanks in large part to movies like Ocean’s 11 and its sequels, and Ben Mezrich’s book Busting Vegas, about MIT students who beat the casino out of nearly $1 million. Casinos attract the rich and famous, but they also lure the unscrupulous, which makes them a natural setting for films about organized crime, bank robbery and other heists.
The casinos are designed to make money, and they do so by imposing an edge on all games that is built into the game rules. This advantage may be only a few percentage points, but over the millions of bets placed each day, it adds up to a significant amount of money that the casino collects each year. This money is used to pay for everything from the fountains, pyramids and towers that are often featured in casino designs, to five-star dining and entertainment.
Casino security starts on the floor, where dealers keep an eye on their patrons and can quickly spot blatant cheating like palming, marking or switching cards or dice. But they also watch for betting patterns and other subtle cues that might indicate someone is trying to manipulate a game.
Casinos must also consider the needs of their patrons when they set their rules. They reward “good” players with comps, which can include free hotel rooms, meals, show tickets and even limo service and airline tickets. These rewards are a way to make sure that gamblers keep coming back, rather than just playing for the chance to win big.
