What is a Casino?
Casino is a gambling establishment offering games of chance and the possibility of a short-term profit. Its revenue is generated by the house advantage, which is built into each game and varies from game to game. Casinos also make money through a percentage of the total bets placed, called a vig or rake. Casinos offer many luxuries to attract players, such as restaurants, free drinks, stage shows and dramatic scenery. But even a casino that offers no extras would technically still be a casino.
Gambling almost certainly predates recorded history, with primitive protodice and carved knuckle bones found in ancient archaeological sites. But the modern casino as an institution that combines multiple ways to gamble under one roof did not appear until the 16th century, when a gaming craze swept Europe. The first known casino opened on Venice’s Grand Canal in 1638 and drew visitors by free boat shuttle service or on foot.
Today, casinos employ a number of technological methods to ensure fair play and protect their patrons’ privacy. Security starts on the casino floor, where employees watch for blatant cheating. Card dealers are trained to spot palming, marking and other suspicious behavior. Pit bosses and table managers take a broader view of the action, examining betting patterns and noting how much the tables are winning or losing. And of course, casino computers monitor games minute by minute to discover any statistical deviations from the expected outcome. In addition to sophisticated video cameras and computer systems, some casinos use “chip tracking,” where betting chips have a microcircuit that interacts with the casino’s electronic system to reveal any anomalies.