A casino is a room or building in which gambling games (such as roulette, blackjack, poker, and slot machines) are played. Some casinos are also known for their live entertainment, luxury hotels, and restaurants. A casino may also be a permanent facility, such as one built in a major city, or a temporary operation such as a traveling show. A number of American states have casinos, as do many Caribbean islands. Some American Indian reservations also have casinos.
Almost all casinos offer card games like poker and blackjack, dice games such as craps, and wheel games like roulette and baccarat. In table games, patrons gamble against the house, not against other players, and most games have mathematically determined odds that ensure that the casino will win money in the long run. The advantage the casino has over its customers is known as the house edge, and it is a significant source of revenue.
During the era of legalized casino gambling in Nevada, mobster money flowed into Reno and Las Vegas, and organized crime figures became involved personally in the management of some casinos. They bought out competing businesses, and sometimes took sole or partial ownership of others. These factors helped give casinos their seamy image. Today, casinos employ advanced technology to verify the honesty of their operations. For example, betting chips have microcircuitry that allows the casino to monitor bets minute by minute and quickly discover any anomaly; and roulette wheels are electronically monitored regularly to detect statistical deviations from expected results.