A casino is a place where people gamble by playing games of chance or skill. Slot machines, roulette, baccarat, poker and blackjack are all popular in casinos. Casinos are also known for their music, light shows and elaborate themes. They generate billions of dollars in profits for their owners each year.
The casino industry is growing rapidly worldwide, and in 2002 over 51 million people — roughly one quarter of the US population over 21 — visited a casino. Casinos are often located in areas with high income populations, and they attract gamblers from across the country and around the world.
Many different types of gambling are possible within a casino, from traditional table games like blackjack and craps to Asian games such as sic bo, fan-tan and pai gow. The modern casino is a large, noisy, exciting place where patrons can gamble or watch games of chance, eat and drink and listen to music.
Because of the large amounts of money handled, both patrons and staff may be tempted to cheat or steal, either in collusion with each other or independently. Security measures are therefore a vital part of any casino. For example, a dealer’s routines and movements are constantly monitored and the patterns of a game (such as how players react to certain numbers) are checked for abnormalities.
In addition, casino security personnel look out for the blatantly obvious (palming cards, marking dice and changing the order of betting). More sophisticated methods of cheating, such as counting cards in blackjack, are also illegal.