A casino is a place where gambling takes place, often in a lavish setting, with elaborate architecture and special effects. Casinos range in size from massive resorts to small card rooms. Casino games can also be played on boats and barges, at racetracks as racinos and in bars and restaurants that offer gaming machines. The casino industry brings in billions of dollars each year to companies, investors and Native American tribes that operate them. Local governments and businesses benefit as well by attracting tourists who spend money on hotels, meals and entertainment.

In the past, casinos were run by organized crime groups, but federal crackdowns on mob involvement and the ability of real estate developers and hotel chains to pay mobsters to leave the business have left these mafia-era operators with no control over their former cash cows. Most modern casinos are run by corporations and investment funds with deep pockets. These companies can afford to hire more employees and invest in high-tech surveillance systems that include cameras mounted in the ceiling that can be directed to focus on a specific table or window.

Whether they are run by mafia gangsters or corporations, a casino’s main goal is to make profits by getting people to gamble. They do this by offering a variety of gambling games, including slot machines and table games such as blackjack and poker. Most casino games have a built-in statistical advantage for the house, which is known as the house edge. The house edge is usually less than two percent, but over time this can add up. Casinos also make money by charging players a fee to play, called the vig or rake.

Some of the biggest casinos in the world are located in Las Vegas. Other major casino destinations are Atlantic City, New Jersey; Reno, Nevada; and Biloxi, Mississippi. In addition, there are many smaller casinos across the United States, and gaming is legal in some Native American tribal lands.

Most people who visit casinos do not gamble for large sums of money. In fact, according to a 2005 study by Roper Reports GfK NOP and the U.S. Gaming Panel, the typical casino gambler is a forty-six-year-old woman from a household with above-average income. These individuals typically have more vacation time and available spending money than people of other ages, and they are the largest group of casino gamblers.

Many casinos have special rooms for high rollers who spend tens of thousands of dollars on gambling each day. These rooms are separate from the main gambling area and have more luxurious amenities. Casinos also use sophisticated surveillance technology to keep tabs on high-rollers and to prevent cheating and theft. Moreover, they have high-tech “eyes-in-the-sky” that can watch every table and every doorway in a casino at once. These cameras are controlled by security personnel in a room filled with banks of video monitors.