A casino is a place where you can gamble on games of chance. Although musical shows, lighted fountains, shopping centers and lavish hotels help draw in visitors, casinos would not exist without games of chance like slots, blackjack, poker, roulette and craps. These games provide the billions in profits that casinos rake in every year.
There is something about gambling that encourages people to cheat and steal, whether in collusion with each other or independently. That’s why casinos spend a lot of money on security. Casino security is typically divided into a physical force that patrols the casino and responds to calls for assistance or reports of suspicious or definite criminal activity, and a specialized surveillance department that operates the casino’s closed circuit television system.
The specialized surveillance department is able to detect a variety of things that might be going wrong in the casino. For example, casino employees observing patrons playing blackjack or poker can easily spot a player cheating by palming cards or marking and switching dice. Casinos also use video cameras to monitor table games and the betting patterns of their patrons.
Despite the large amount of cash that passes through their doors, casinos do not always make money. In fact, some casinos go bankrupt. It is believed that this is due to the high percentage of players who are addicted to gambling, which drains local economies by taking away money that could otherwise be spent on other forms of entertainment or to meet basic living expenses.