A casino is an establishment for certain types of gambling. Some casinos are stand-alone buildings while others are combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shops or cruise ships. In the latter case, the casino is often called a hotel-casino or resort-casino. Casinos are also known for hosting live entertainment events such as concerts and stand-up comedy.
The term casino has its roots in the 19th century and was originally used to describe public halls for music and dancing. By the second half of the 20th century, it had come to mean a collection of gambling rooms. Some of the world’s best-known casinos are in Monte Carlo (Monaco), Cannes and Nice (France), Corfu (Greece), and the elegant spa town of Baden-Baden (Germany).
Casino games provide a predictable long-term advantage to the house, known as the house edge. Some games have an element of skill, in which case the players can eliminate this house edge by making informed decisions. Such skilled players are referred to as advantage players. Casinos generally have two types of security departments: a physical security force and a specialized surveillance department that monitors closed circuit television.
Modern casinos have dramatically increased the use of technology in their operations. For example, in a casino game such as roulette, the casino’s computer systems monitor the results of each spin, and alert security if any unusual patterns develop. In addition, the casino’s mathematicians and computer programmers regularly review each game to discover any statistical deviation from its expected behavior.
