Casino is a gambling establishment that offers a wide range of games of chance or skill. It charges a percentage of bets (known as the house edge) to cover operating expenses and generate profit. It may also provide complimentary items or comps to gamblers. A casino is usually located in a hotel or resort and has games such as blackjack, poker, roulette, craps, and video slots.
Beneath the flashing lights, free cocktails and crooning crooners of the Las Vegas strip, casinos stand on a bedrock of mathematics engineered to slowly bleed patrons of their cash. But for years, mathematically inclined minds have sought to turn the tables and beat the house at its own game.
But there is more than just luck involved in winning at a casino, especially in the modern world of high-tech surveillance and electronic monitoring systems that have replaced wired cameras. The security system is designed to keep a close eye on every table, change window and doorway with cameras that can be controlled in an area filled with banks of monitors. Dedicated personnel oversee the cameras, and higher-ups can be assigned to focus on particular suspicious patrons, if necessary. Table managers and pit bosses also watch the games closely, catching blatant cheating such as palming or marking cards or dice. Less obvious cheating, such as colluding with a crooked dealer or changing dice, is harder to detect, and it often goes undetected. For high rollers, casinos sometimes offer special inducements such as private rooms and free spectacular entertainment and transportation.