A Casino is a place where people can gamble and play games of chance. Casinos usually offer a variety of gambling activities, but they also include restaurants and hotel services. Some casinos also offer stage shows and dramatic scenery. Many casinos are very luxurious, while others are less so.
Because so much money is handled within a casino, patrons may be tempted to cheat or steal. To prevent this, casinos employ a variety of security measures. For example, cameras monitor every table, window and doorway. These cameras can be adjusted to focus on suspicious patrons by security workers in a separate room filled with banks of security monitors. In addition to surveillance cameras, casinos also enforce rules of conduct and behavior. For example, players at card games must keep their hands visible at all times.
In the past, organized crime figures controlled casinos in cities like Reno and Las Vegas. Mob money gave them a financial advantage over competitors, but federal crackdowns on extortion and other illegal rackets forced these gangsters out of the business. Real estate investors and hotel chains had deeper pockets than the mobsters, and they took over the casinos. In the twenty-first century, casinos are choosier about who they let in. They make most of their profits from high rollers, who gamble large amounts and often spend time in special rooms away from the main casino floor. They may be offered limo service, private jets and other perks for their money.