A casino (Spanish for gambling house) is a place where various games of chance are played. Its popularity in modern times has spread to include many other types of entertainment and is now often attached to hotels, restaurants, cruise ships, retail shopping and more. The word itself is derived from the Latin casina, which means “small house.” The earliest casinos were actually small houses that would be rented out to gamblers for a night or two.
Today’s casino is much more elaborate than those early homes of gambling, with a lot to see and do inside. Some of the largest casinos in the world are found in cities such as Las Vegas, Macau and Monte Carlo. These places also feature a variety of dining and drinking establishments, as well as performance venues for popular and famous musicians.
But even without these added luxuries, the casino is still about the game of chance and the thrill of winning. Some of the most popular casino games are baccarat, blackjack, poker and roulette, but there are also lots of other games to play. Most casinos feature a wide array of both table and slot machines.
Something about the nature of gambling seems to encourage cheating and theft, as evidenced by the number of casinos that have to spend a considerable amount of money and effort on security. Some casinos have gone so far as to employ special cameras aimed at the ceiling, which can be adjusted by security staff to focus on certain suspicious patrons.
Some casinos even have a separate room full of monitors where security workers can watch the entire floor at once. Those in the know can use that information to spot patterns of behavior that might indicate a problem, such as when people start to win too much or lose track of time while they are at the tables.
Casinos also have to deal with the mob and other criminal groups that try to control or take over their businesses. But big business, such as real estate developers and hotel chains, with deep pockets can outspend the gangsters, buying them out and eliminating the problem. Federal crackdowns and the threat of losing a casino’s license for even the slightest hint of organized crime keep the mob away from most legitimate casinos today.
As for the casinos themselves, they are usually bright and sometimes gaudy, with colors such as red meant to stimulate the senses and make gamblers feel energized. There are usually no clocks on the walls because it’s thought that they will cause gamblers to lose track of time and overextend their gambling. Something about the nature of this gambling business, and especially the attraction of large amounts of money, seems to inspire some gamblers to cheat, steal and scam their way into a jackpot. That’s why the vast majority of casinos have a very high level of security and surveillance to keep everyone safe. But there’s no guarantee that even the best-guarded casinos are free of these problems.
