A casino is a place where people can play gambling games. These include slot machines, table games such as blackjack and roulette, poker, sports betting and other games of chance. Casinos also offer free drinks and stage shows. Some even have a hotel. Some casinos are large and lavish, while others are small and intimate.
Casinos make money by imposing an advantage on their patrons, often called the house edge. This edge is tiny compared to the billions that are bet on casinos every year, but it adds up over time. Some of this money is used for luxuries such as fountains, towers, and replicas of famous landmarks. It is also used for entertainment and to pay for staff. Some casinos hire mathematicians and computer programmers to work out the house edges for their different games.
Because of the large amounts of currency handled within a casino, both patrons and staff may be tempted to cheat or steal, either in collusion or independently. This is why casinos spend a lot of money on security. In addition to traditional CCTV cameras, many casinos have high-tech eye-in-the-sky systems that can watch all tables and windows at once.
There are also special security measures for a certain type of game, such as two-up, fan-tan, boule, or kalooki. Some of these are traditional Far Eastern games, while others are specific to individual regions. For example, the Australian casino industry has taken up sic bo, which spread to a number of European and American casinos in the 1990s.