Casinos are places that house a variety of gambling games. They add a host of luxuries to help them attract visitors, like restaurants and free drinks. They also feature stage shows and dramatic scenery. But at heart, casinos are simply places where a variety of games of chance can be played and that’s all.
Slot machines, blackjack, roulette, craps, baccarat and poker provide the billions in profits raked in by casinos every year. But casinos would not be what they are without the glitz and glamour that is added to lure in gamblers.
The first casinos were built in Nevada, where gambling was legal. Then other states figured out that they could make money too, and so began opening their own casinos. Today there are more than a thousand casinos in the United States, and thousands more throughout the world.
Casinos have been around for centuries, but in modern times their popularity has exploded. They are now found everywhere from the small town of Uncasville, Connecticut to the massive Casino Lisboa in Lisbon, Portugal. But while the dazzling hotels, restaurants, shopping centers and stage shows are the big draw, the pulsating gaming action is what really brings in the players.
As a result, casinos spend huge sums on security. The most obvious measure is security cameras, which are placed throughout the casino to watch over everything from card sleeving and dice shuffling to betting patterns that might indicate cheating. But there’s more to casino security than cameras. Dealers, pit bosses and table managers keep a close eye on the games to prevent blatant cheating such as palming or marking cards. They are also on the lookout for betting patterns that might suggest someone is colluding with another player.
To reduce the likelihood of collusion between players, casinos often limit the number of people allowed to be at any given game at one time. They also ban phones and other electronic devices to eliminate the possibility of communication between players. In some cases, a casino manager will even walk over and ask a player to leave the game to reduce the chances of a collusion scandal.
In addition to keeping track of the games and players, casinos have sophisticated computer systems that are constantly scanning for irregularities. In a technique called “chip tracking,” for example, each casino chip has a built-in microcircuit that interacts with electronic monitoring systems to reveal the exact amounts wagered minute by minute and alert the casino to any anomaly. Casinos use these technologies to protect their bottom lines, and they are increasing in speed, scope and sophistication.
The word casino is thought to have originated in Italy, and originally it meant a small villa or summerhouse. It later came to refer to a place where Italians met to play social games. In the 19th century, it was common for wealthy Americans to travel to Europe and visit the many European-inspired casinos that sprung up there.