A Casino is a place where people gamble and play games of chance. Although casinos offer many luxuries to draw in patrons, like shopping centers, restaurants and dramatic scenery, they would not exist without the millions of dollars in profits generated by games of chance, such as slot machines, blackjack, roulette, baccarat and craps. While gambling probably predates recorded history, primitive protodice and carved six-sided dice are found at ancient archaeological sites [Source: Schwartz]. Casinos began to appear during the 16th century when a gambling craze swept Europe. In those days aristocrats gathered at private gambling clubs called ridotti to indulge in the new fad.
Modern casinos offer a wide variety of casino games, including poker, bingo and baccarat. Most have a mathematical advantage for the house, known as the house edge. Players are able to reduce the house advantage by learning basic strategy and using betting systems. In addition, some casinos give out free goods and services to their most loyal players, known as comps. These can include free hotel rooms, shows and meals. The amount of time spent gambling and the level of bets made are used to determine a player’s status for comps.
Because large amounts of money are handled within the confines of a casino, cheating and stealing are commonplace. Some of these are done by casino employees and others are committed by patrons. To combat these problems, most casinos have a high security presence with cameras located throughout the facility. In addition, they have a team of workers dedicated to investigating any suspicious behavior.