A casino is a gambling establishment that offers a variety of games of chance and skill. It may be found in large resorts, like the one at the elegant spa town of Baden-Baden in Germany, or on cruise ships and riverboats. Many states have legalized casinos, and they are often located on American Indian reservations that are not subject to state anti-gambling laws.
Casinos bring in billions of dollars each year for the corporations, investors and Native American tribes that own them. The casinos also provide jobs and tax revenues in the communities where they operate. But there is a darker side to casino gambling, and the casinos are not always so clean and wholesome as they are portrayed in the movies.
The history of the modern casino begins with the rise of organized crime. Mob money flowed into Reno and Las Vegas in the 1950s, helping the new gambling businesses to grow. The mobster investors weren’t content with just providing the bankrolls, and soon they were taking sole or partial ownership of casinos and attempting to control their operations.
Today’s casinos rely on a combination of physical security and specialized surveillance departments to keep their customers safe. The surveillance teams use closed circuit television to monitor all activities in the casino and its attached hotel rooms. Security staff also rely on the patterns of behavior that occur in various casino games. For example, the way dealers shuffle and deal cards and the expected reactions of players all follow certain patterns. These routines make it easier for security personnel to spot out-of-the-ordinary behavior.