A casino is a place where people can gamble on games of chance. It may also offer other forms of entertainment, such as stage shows and dramatic scenery. Casinos are usually located in large cities and are often combined with hotels, restaurants, retail stores and other attractions. Some casinos are also known as gaming houses or gambling dens.
A major reason why casino owners invest so much money in security is that casino patrons are notorious for trying to cheat or steal. There is something about the glitz and the huge amounts of cash that flow around in casino buildings that encourages people to try to manipulate the odds of winning.
To combat this, most casinos use a variety of surveillance and monitoring systems to keep an eye on what is going on. This includes video cameras placed throughout the casino floor and a high-tech eye-in-the-sky system that allows security personnel to watch every table, window and doorway simultaneously.
In addition, casino staff is trained to spot a wide range of suspicious activities. For example, the way a dealer shuffles and deals cards and the expected reactions of other players all follow certain patterns that make it easy for security personnel to pick up on unusual behavior. In table games like blackjack and craps, dealers have to be able to spot blatant cheating techniques such as palming or marking. In addition, roulette wheels are monitored regularly for statistical deviations that could signal tampering.
