A casino is a place where people can play gambling games. It is also known as a gaming hall or a kasino. The modern casino looks more like an indoor amusement park than a place where people go to gamble, but the vast majority of casinos’ profits come from gambling. Slot machines, blackjack, roulette and other games of chance account for most of the billions in profits that casinos rake in each year.
Although gambling may have existed as early as ancient times, the modern casino with a variety of games under one roof did not appear until the 16th century. Gambling crazes swept through Europe at that time, and wealthy Italian nobles would hold private parties at locations called ridotti [Source: Schwartz].
The large amounts of money handled within casinos make them susceptible to theft and cheating by patrons and staff alike. Because of this, most casinos have elaborate security measures. Typically, these involve a combination of a physical security force and a specialized surveillance department. In some of the most sophisticated casinos, a high-tech “eye in the sky” system watches every table and window in the building at once, with cameras that can be individually focused on suspicious patrons.
While casinos bring in a lot of money from their patrons, they do not generate any net economic benefit to the community they operate in. In fact, studies indicate that the cost of treating compulsive gamblers and the loss in productivity due to gambling addiction completely offset any gains made by the casinos.