A casino is a gambling establishment that houses and accommodates various types of gambling activities. Though casinos feature a wide array of entertainment offerings, from musical shows to lighted fountains and shopping centers, the majority of their profits are derived from gamblers who place bets on random events that may or may not occur. Popular games include blackjack, roulette, craps, baccarat and slot machines. Some states also offer legalized sports betting in casinos.

A defining characteristic of casinos is the house edge, the built-in advantage that casinos have over players. Optimal strategy for some casino games can reduce the house edge to near zero, but only a small fraction of all players employ these strategies. Casinos employ a variety of tactics to keep gamblers betting and spending as much as possible, from glitzy decor to carefully orchestrated background music. For example, research has shown that people who listen to low-tempo music while they play tend to bet longer and more aggressively than those listening to fast-paced music.

Security at a casino begins on the floor, where casino employees watch every move of patrons and look for signs of cheating. More specialized staff watch over table games, looking for suspicious betting patterns that might signal collusion or other forms of fraud. These employees are supplemented by eye-in-the-sky surveillance systems, which provide a bird’s-eye view of the entire casino and can be focused in on specific areas by workers in a control room filled with banks of monitors.