A casino, also called a gambling house or a gaming palace, is a place for certain types of gambling. It is often combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops and cruise ships. Modern casinos are large and lavish, with an emphasis on entertainment, celebrity chefs and elaborate interior design. Casinos earn billions of dollars each year for the companies, investors and Native American tribes that operate them, as well as local governments that regulate them.
Something about the nature of gambling and the huge amounts of money involved encourages both patrons and employees to cheat and steal. Because of this, casinos spend a lot of time and money on security. This includes physical security forces that patrol the floor and respond to calls for assistance or reports of suspicious or definite criminal activity, as well as specialized surveillance departments that monitor closed circuit television systems (CCTV) in casino areas.
Casinos make money by taking a percentage of all bets placed on their games. This is known as the house edge and can vary between games. For example, roulette has a house edge of about two percent. Video poker machines have a slightly higher house edge of about three percent.
The typical casino gambler is a forty-six-year-old woman from a middle-class household. She is more likely to gamble than men and younger people, and she is more likely to play the slots. She is also more likely to be a parent, and she may have family members who are casino gamblers.