A casino is a place where people can gamble by playing games of chance or skill. Casinos may also offer other entertainment such as stage shows and dramatic scenery to attract customers. A casino may also offer an assortment of food and drink, including alcohol, to the customers.

Many casinos contain numerous slot machines and table games. The house usually earns money by charging a commission, known as the rake, on each wager made by a player. In some casino games, such as poker, the house has a mathematical advantage. This advantage is known as the house edge and can be calculated using basic strategy. In other games, such as roulette, the house edge depends on the rules of play and the type of wheel used.

In the early part of the twentieth century, the casino gained a reputation as a place where organized crime figures met to gamble. The Mafia poured money into Reno and Las Vegas to capitalize on gambling’s seamy image. But legitimate businessmen soon saw the potential, and hotels and real estate developers bought out the mob and started building their own casinos.

Today’s casinos rely on elaborate surveillance systems to deter crime and cheating. Cameras mounted on the ceiling track every table, window and doorway; they can be focused on suspicious patrons by security workers in a room filled with banks of monitors. In addition, pit bosses and table managers watch over the games with a broader view, looking for betting patterns that may indicate cheating.