Casino is a building or room in which people can gamble and play games of chance. Its popularity has made it a major source of income for many cities and states. While musical shows, lighted fountains and shopping centers may help attract customers, casinos would not exist without the games themselves – slot machines, blackjack, roulette, craps, keno and baccarat generate billions of dollars in profits each year.

Most casinos have a built in house edge of less than two percent. That advantage, called the vig or rake, is what gives casinos enough profit to build hotels and put up elaborate lighted fountains and towers. It is also what allows them to offer free hotel rooms, dinners and show tickets to “good” players who spend a lot of money. Some casinos even provide limo service and airline tickets to big players.

Something about gambling (perhaps the fact that large sums of money are involved) seems to encourage cheating, stealing and scamming. That’s why casinos devote a large percentage of their resources to security. Cameras and watchful employees keep close tabs on patrons to spot blatantly obvious crooked actions. Computers monitor roulette wheels and other table games to discover any statistical deviation from expected results.

While gambling almost certainly predates recorded history, the modern casino as a place to find all sorts of games under one roof didn’t appear until the 16th century in Italy, where wealthy aristocrats met at private clubs known as ridotti to gamble and socialize. It was not unusual for these aristocratic gatherings to be held in places where gambling was technically illegal, yet the police rarely bothered them.