A casino is any establishment that houses gambling activities. In addition to the games themselves, these facilities often include restaurants and free drinks as enticements to attract visitors. But they aren’t all created equal – from the luxurious Las Vegas hotels to the illegal pai gow parlors in New York, there is no shortage of places that qualify as casinos.
Something about casinos seems to encourage cheating and stealing. As a result, there are always security problems at these venues. Casinos have to spend a large amount of time, money and resources on security. This is because of the nature of gambling, where people try to beat a machine by using the machines’ programming, or their own knowledge to manipulate the outcome. The fact is, every casino game has a built in statistical advantage for the house – even if it’s only a few percent – and over the millions of bets placed by gamblers, this edge adds up.
In order to recoup this investment and make a profit, casinos offer comps to big bettors – which can include everything from free spectacular entertainment to hotel rooms and luxury living quarters. While the mob pumped cash into casinos in the past, federal crackdowns and their taint of organized crime have pushed these businesses into the hands of legitimate businessmen with deep pockets. These casino owners are choosier about who they bring in, preferring to focus on high rollers, who make up most of their gambling revenue.