The word casino carries with it the connotation of a place where a variety of games of chance can be played and where gambling is the primary activity. But the truth is that many casinos offer much more than the simple premise of winning and losing money. They are often impressively large and beautifully decorated and include non-gambling entertainment such as restaurants, hotels and even swimming pools. Some of the largest casinos in the world are also enormous resorts where patrons can gamble, eat, drink and enjoy stage shows and other dramatic presentations.
Gambling is always a risk and casino operators take major steps to ensure that fraud, theft and cheating do not occur. These include a physical security force and a specialized surveillance department that operates the casino’s closed circuit television system. In addition, casinos employ a lot of equipment that monitors everything from the movement of money around the building to the activities of individual customers. Counterfeit detection machines, paper shredders, document boxes and other protective devices all contribute to casino security.
One of the reasons casinos make the odds so favorable for the house is that they want people to keep playing. If the odds were any worse, most people would stop playing and the casinos would lose revenue. Something about gambling (maybe the presence of big sums of money) seems to encourage people to cheat, steal or scam their way into a jackpot instead of just waiting for pure luck.