Casinos are entertainment and leisure centers for adults that offer a variety of games to people who like to gamble. They often include restaurants, hotel rooms, and other amenities to attract customers. Although musical shows, lighted fountains, shopping centers and elaborate themes are used to draw in patrons, casinos would not exist without the games of chance that make them profitable. Slot machines, poker, blackjack and roulette are the games that provide the billions in profits raked in by casinos every year.
The house edge for each game at a casino is mathematically determined and varies from game to game, but is always uniformly negative from the player’s perspective. The odds for each game are designed to ensure that the casino will not lose money to players over time, and to help keep gambling an acceptable form of entertainment. Casinos also earn money from food and other services, as well as a small percentage of the amount wagered on each game, called the rake. Many casinos give away complimentary items or comps to players in order to encourage them to gamble and to make them feel welcome at the casino.
Casino security starts on the casino floor, where employees watch over each game and each patron to make sure all goes as expected. Casino workers have a good view of the table games and can spot blatant cheating such as palming or marking cards or dice. In addition to watching each individual gambler, casino workers can follow the actions of groups of patrons, noting their reactions and motions that might indicate an attempt to cheat or steal. Elaborate surveillance systems give a high-tech eye-in-the-sky view of the entire casino, and are controlled in a separate room filled with banks of security monitors.