A casino is an establishment for certain types of gambling. Modern casinos offer a wide variety of games of chance and skill, such as slot machines, blackjack, craps, keno, poker and roulette. In addition to the gaming facilities, they often combine hotel and resort facilities, restaurants, retail shopping, and cruise ships. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy and concerts.
In the United States, casinos are most often located in cities with legalized gaming or on Native American reservations. However, they can be found in other places as well, including at racetracks converted to racinos and in other states where gambling is legal. They are usually large, heavily guarded facilities, but some are quite small. Many have luxurious interiors and a host of amenities for the patron’s comfort and enjoyment.
Something about the atmosphere of casinos encourages people to cheat, steal or lie in order to win a jackpot. This is partly due to the fact that people are often surrounded by other gamblers who shout encouragement and the noise of the slot machines, card tables, and dice rolls. The lighting is often bright and the colors are stimulating, to increase the excitement and sense of speed. The glaring lights can make it difficult to see the betting patterns on the cards and the roulette wheels, but sophisticated systems of camera surveillance enable security personnel to watch over a table or slot machine with a broader view and detect any deviation from the expected results.
Because the house always has a mathematical advantage over the individual players (except in baccarat, where skill can play a part), a casino’s gross profit is virtually guaranteed for each visit. Therefore, to attract and retain customers, the casino offers extravagant inducements such as free shows and meals and reduced-fare transportation for big spenders. This is called comping, and it’s a major source of revenue for the casinos.
Casinos have long been associated with organized crime figures, who provided the funds to open and maintain them. In Nevada, for example, mobsters controlled most of the early casinos and were instrumental in developing their reputations for illegal activity. The mafia also introduced the idea of comping for high-volume players, which has since become an industry standard.
In 2005, the typical casino patron was a forty-six-year-old female from an upper-middle class household who earned above average income. Approximately 23% of adults gambled in a casino in that year, according to Roper Reports GfK NOP and the U.S. Gaming Panel by TNS. Many casinos use a color scheme based on red, which is believed to stimulate the brain and increase excitement. They may not allow smoking or have clocks on the walls, because they want gamblers to lose track of time and concentrate more on their game. They also may provide complimentary items, such as drinks and cigarettes while a player is playing. They might also offer rooms and other amenities for “big bettors,” depending on their level of spending and the amount of money they wager.
