A casino is a place where certain types of gambling take place. The modern casino is like an indoor amusement park for adults, with the vast majority of entertainment (and profits for the owner) coming from gambling. Slot machines, blackjack, roulette, craps, keno and baccarat are among the most popular casino games. Musical shows, lighted fountains, shopping centers and lavish hotels help draw in the crowds.
Because so much money passes through a casino, both patrons and employees may be tempted to cheat or steal, either in collusion with each other or independently. This is why most casinos have security measures in place to protect the integrity of the gambling environment. Cameras throughout the casino monitor all activities and provide a high-tech eye in the sky that can be adjusted to focus on suspicious patrons by security workers in a room filled with banks of security monitors.
Casinos offer free goods and services to gamblers who make large bets or play for long periods of time, known as comps. These include free hotel rooms, meals, tickets to shows, limo service and airline tickets. Players can ask a casino employee or someone at the information desk how to get their play rated and comped.
Casinos are often run by organized crime figures, who rely on their ties to illegal rackets such as drug dealing and extortion for financing. In addition to providing the funds, mobsters often become involved in running the casinos and have even taken sole or partial ownership of some of them. This taint has helped give casinos a seamy image that persists to this day.