A casino is a building where people can gamble and play games of chance. Musical shows, lighted fountains, shopping centers and lavish hotels help draw people to casinos, but they would not exist without gambling, which brings in the billions in profits that casinos rake in every year. This article will explore the history of casinos, the most popular games, how casino’s stay safe and the dark side of the business.
Something about the large sums of money handled by casinos seems to encourage cheating, stealing and other kinds of criminal activity. To counter this, casinos invest a lot of time and money in security measures. The most obvious are security cameras, which cover the entire casino floor and all of its activities. These are located throughout the casino and can be monitored by security personnel in a separate room filled with banks of surveillance monitors.
In addition to cameras, there are also a variety of other security measures in place. Casino security begins on the gaming floors, where all casino employees are trained to spot a range of suspicious activities. Dealers are especially vigilant and can easily spot a crooked game or a player who is “palming” cards or marking dice. They are also familiar with the expected reactions and movements of players at each game, so they can quickly recognize anything out of the ordinary.
Other security measures are less visible, but just as important. For example, casino employees are trained to spot nervous or anxious players, and they are often asked to check on them more frequently. In some casinos, casino patrons are required to keep their gambling cards visible at all times. In the past, a number of famous casinos were run by organized crime figures or were owned by mobster families. However, federal crackdowns and the threat of losing a gambling license at even a hint of mob involvement caused many casinos to move away from Mafia control. Real estate investors and hotel chains eventually stepped in with deep pockets, buying out the mafia interests and turning casinos into legitimate money-making businesses.
While the world’s largest casinos are in Las Vegas and Macau, they can be found all over the globe. In fact, almost every country has legalized gambling in some form. The casino concept spread from Europe to America in the 1980s, when many American states amended their anti-gambling laws to permit casinos. Casinos are also becoming increasingly common on American Indian reservations, which are not subject to state anti-gambling laws.