A casino is a place where a variety of games of chance can be played and where gambling is the primary activity. Many casinos also offer other luxuries to attract patrons, such as restaurants, free drinks and stage shows. The word casino was originally used to describe a public hall for music and dancing, but by the second half of the 19th century it had come to refer to a collection of gaming or gambling rooms. Casinos vary in size and type and are found in a number of places around the world.
Most casinos are designed to maximize profits by accumulating large amounts of money and paying out winning bets at a high rate. As such, they are often highly elaborate in construction and design with fountains, towers and replicas of famous landmarks. They also feature various types of games that depend on chance but have an element of skill (e.g. craps, roulette and blackjack) as well as video poker and slot machines. In games such as poker where players compete against the house, the casino makes money through a small percentage of each pot, called the rake.
Given the large amount of money involved, it is not surprising that casinos are subject to a great deal of fraud and theft. To counter these risks, they employ a variety of security measures. The most basic measure is a series of surveillance cameras throughout the casino floor. More sophisticated systems allow security workers to monitor all bets minute by minute and to rapidly discover any deviation from expected results. In addition, many casinos use technology to supervise the games themselves; chips with built-in microcircuitry enable them to track exact amounts wagered; and roulette wheels are electronically monitored frequently to discover any statistical deviation from expected results.