A casino is a building or large room used for gambling. Its modern facilities feature a variety of games of chance for entertainment purposes, including blackjack, craps, roulette, and video poker. Some casinos also have restaurants and bars. Casinos are often located near or combined with hotels, resorts, retail shopping, and cruise ships. The precise origin of gambling is unknown, but it is believed to have evolved from a number of different traditions in many cultures throughout history.
Gambling is legal in some states and prohibited in others. A few states permit casinos only on American Indian reservations and some restrict them to riverboats. In the United States, the largest concentration of casinos is in Nevada. Other major cities with casinos include Atlantic City, New Jersey; Las Vegas; and Chicago. Casinos are also common on some cruise ships and in other countries.
In modern times, casinos use a wide variety of security measures to prevent cheating and robbery. They may employ a staff of security guards to patrol the floor and watch patrons, or they may have cameras that monitor every table, window, and doorway. The cameras can be directed by security workers in a room filled with banks of monitors to focus on suspicious patrons. In addition, many casinos use sophisticated electronic surveillance systems that monitor gaming tables and machines for statistical deviations from expected results.
Some people who visit casinos are rewarded for their play with free goods and services, such as hotel rooms, dinners, tickets to shows, or even limo service and airline tickets. This is known as comping. The amount of money a player spends at a casino and the type of game played determines his or her comp rating.
