Casinos are a fun way to spend time and can add a nice touch to a vacation. They usually have a party atmosphere and are the place to go for excitement and glamour. But beneath the flashing lights, casinos stand on a bedrock of mathematics that is engineered to slowly bleed their patrons of cash. The mathematicians who design these algorithms are called Gaming Mathematicians and Gaming Analysts.

Because so much money is handled in a casino, both the patrons and the staff may be tempted to cheat or steal, either in collusion or independently. To prevent this, the casinos use surveillance cameras located throughout the building and a count room where the casino workers gather to bundle up winnings and loses into bundles of chips that will be transported by armored car for deposit in a bank.

Many casinos have special comps for their players, such as free hotel rooms, meals and drinks. They will also extend free limo service or airline tickets to large bettors who spend hours at the tables or slot machines. They do this because they know that these people will return to the casino and gamble more often.

Despite these efforts, there are some physics students who have managed to turn the table in casinos by using the laws of probability to exploit weaknesses in a rigged system. These stories, along with the myth that it is possible to beat a casino, have skewed public perception of how fair or unfair a game is.