A casino, as you may have guessed from its name, is a place where people can play games of chance. It can be a large building, a hotel, a private club or an outdoor amphitheater. Regardless of the location, most casinos offer many popular games such as slots, baccarat, roulette, blackjack, craps, keno and poker. These games generate the billions in profits that fuel casino construction and operation.

Casinos are businesses, and their profits depend on the percentage of total bets that they take in. Because of this, each game has a built-in advantage that gives the casino an expected gross profit. This edge can be lower than two percent, but over millions of bets it adds up, allowing casinos to finance lighted fountains, shopping centers, lavish hotels and giant pyramids, towers and replicas of famous landmarks.

Elaborate security systems provide a high-tech “eye-in-the-sky” for each table, window and doorway. Cameras are easily adjusted to focus on suspicious patrons by security workers in a separate room filled with banks of video monitors. Electronic systems track the exact amount of money wagered minute by minute, warning staff if any bets have an unexpected statistical deviation.

Because so much currency passes through casinos, both patrons and staff can be tempted to cheat or steal. This is why most casinos have stringent security measures. In addition to cameras, most casinos have specially trained staff who can spot blatant cheating such as palming, marking or switching cards or dice.