Casinos are a type of gambling establishment where players try to win money by playing games of chance. They offer a variety of games, including slot machines and card games.

How Casinos Make Their Money

Gambling is a billion-dollar business for casinos, which use slot machines, blackjack, roulette, craps and other games to attract gamblers. Some of these games are banked, which means that the house has a stake in the outcome of the game and bets against players. Others are percentage games, where the house collects a share of each bet.

How Casinos Stay Safe

In order to keep players safe, casinos have a variety of security measures. These include elaborate surveillance systems that allow security personnel to watch the entire casino from an “eye-in-the-sky” view and adjust their focus to different areas of the building. Cameras change windows and doorways to track suspicious patrons, and video monitors are kept in a separate room for review.

How Casinos Stay Safe

The biggest threat to casino safety is the Mafia, which once controlled many of these businesses. But since real estate investors and hotel chains have acquired a large portion of these businesses, they are now able to run the casino operations without the involvement of mob bosses.

How Casinos Stay Safe

Because of the social nature of casino gambling, players often interact with each other and are surrounded by other people while they play. This makes it easy for casino security to see patterns of behavior and reactions, such as the way the dealer shuffles cards or the locations of betting spots on the table.